The joint development forum (JDF) in the Bushveld region of South Africa has outlined some of the action it says is necessary to ensure adequate infrastructure is available to maximise platinum mining in the area.

According to the JDF chief Dicksen Masemola platinum producers on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex will be hamstrung without suitable water, electricity, waste and road infrastructure.

As a result the JDF, and its associated communities, mines, businesses, and government representatives, are seeking to create a sustainable mining environment in the region.

The absence of water for water-intensive platinum mining is at the top of many of these stakeholders' agendas, with the creation of a new dam foremost for new requirements.

JDF coordinator Dirk Kleingeld told Mining Weekly a ringfenced business is now being planned which will divert 70 per cent of its water to the mining community.

The water business is expected to be worth about R200 million a year, and construction costs have been estimated at R1.4 billion.

Further plans for new roads are now being drawn up following the completion of an Anglo Platinum-funded traffic study, as are proposals for housing for Anglo Platinum workers.