Unki gets the green light

Vancouver — The World’s largest platinum producer is moving ahead with the US$90 million development of the Unki deposit in Zimbabwe.

Lying near Gweru on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, Anglo American Platinum (AAPTY-Q) envisions a 85,000 tons per month mine and on-site concentrator, producing concentrate containing some 58,000 oz of refined platinum per year. The concentrate is earmarked for South Africa where it will be smelted and refined. Production from the plant is expected by 2007.

Anglo American plans to develop the Unki platinum mine have been put on hold due to the lack of the Zimbabwe government to grant tax holidays. Anglo has spent more than US$60 million on the project, but has yet to extract any minerals.

Anglo American Platinum would hold a majority shareholding in Unki and would also manage operations, while the Zimbabwe subsidiary of Anglo American (AAUK-Q) will hold the minority stake. The initial development costs will be funded from existing cash resources and borrowing facilities.

Zimbabwe’s platinum resources are located along the Great Dyke, which also hosts significant chromite reserves. The Great Dyke is a 450 km-long mafic and ultramafic intrusive structure that runs through central Zimbabwe, with a maximum width of just 11 km.

The development of platinum deposits in Zimbabwe dates back to 1969 when Union Carbide launched trial mining at Wedza. However, the operation never moved forward due to uneconomic platinum prices.

A number of exploration program and resource evaluation projects were undertaken since then but nothing of significance was found until 1994 when the Mimosa mine started small scale production. This was followed by the BHP (now part of BHP Billiton (BHP-N) and Delta Gold, (now part of Placer Dome (PDG-T)), joint venture for the development of the Hartley mine. This marked the country’s largest capital investment project, which closed down in 1999, following poor results and unsafe working conditions. Mine owner BHP, now BHP Billiton (BHP-N) withdrew from the project, selling its 67% stake in the mine for US$3 million to Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats).

In Nov., 2001, Makwiro Platinum Mines, which is owned by Zimbabwe Platinum Mines started operating an open cast mine at Ngezi along the Great Dyke. Makwiro

The project is still subject to Zimbabwean and South African regulatory and fiscal approvals, but Anglo American Platinum expects them to be granted shortly.