Production at the Crocodile River platinum-mine in South Africa has officially resumed after a ceremonial detonation of the first blast by Barplats' new chairman Loucas Pouroulis.

Mr Pouroulis, who purchased a majority share of the mine earlier this month, led the consortium acquiring Impala Platinum's 83.2 per cent interest in Barplats Investments for R390 million.

Mr Pouroulis, who was the original owner of Barplats (initially called Lefkochrysos) when it began operating at Crocodile River in 1987, welcomed the opening and forecast a prosperous period ahead.

"The extent and quality of Barplats assets, and a new, enthusiastic team give me every confidence that we will successfully complete what was started 18 years ago. The project goal is to return the mine to its rated capacity of 150,000 tons per month over the next three years," Mr Pouroulis told Business Report.

Moving forward Barplats MD David Salter identified a three-part strategy for the mine.

"The new mining plan will have three phases - start-up, lasting about eight to 12 months; build-up to full production during the ensuing 28 to 36 months; and maintenance of production at the highest economic level thereafter," he explained.

"Currently, the team is evaluating several possible mining plans for the Zandfontein Section with the goal of identifying the most cost effective, efficient plan for short and long term return of value from the assets," Mr Salter commented.

Initial production will come from the Maroelabult Section of the mine, with output from the Zandfontein Section expected to begin around the end of 2004.