A spiral pilot plant has been commissioned at Aquarius's Marikana platinum project in the North West Province of South Africa.

The equipment will be supplied by Multotect Process Equipment, and will initially be used to conduct tests on chromite removal from PGM concentrate, something that traditional flotation plants cannot always do with ease.

Energy savings can be made by ensuring that the hard chromite material is not ground with the desirable PGM materials.

Multotec spokesman Raf Abela said 'it is easier to remove the chromite using a gravity concentration step, such as spirals, and, given that spiral is the most economical gravity concentration method for removing chromite, it was decided to install the pilot plant at Marikana to obtain accurate results for detail design.'

Once the test information has been analysed, the most suitable full-scale plant for the process can be constructed. The spiral pilot plant has been on site for four months.

The news follows yesterday's (August 20th) announcement by the London and Australian-listed platinum miner that it intends to raise capital from its obligation to include an empowerment partner at its South African operations.

CEO Stuart Murray said the money gained would be used to help finance new projects, develop existing schemes and reduce the company's liabilities.