| Refineries |
| Rustenburg Base Metals Refinery processes Waterval
converter matte to produce precious metals concentrate
and base metal final products. The precious metals are
further refined at the Precious Metals Refinery. A
comprehensive asset optimisation project has been
initiated by refineries' management and will continue in
2008. |
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| Rustenburg Base Metals Refinery (RBMR) |
| PRODUCTION |
| RBMR consists of two metallurgical plants: the magnetic
concentration plant (MCP) and the base metals
refinery (BMR). The MCP performed relatively well,
increasing rhodium, palladium and ruthenium
recoveries despite the reduction in receipts from
lower mining production. The BMR produced 18,900
tonnes of nickel, which was 11% lower than in 2006
owing to lower receipts, exacerbated by plant
rehabilitation work associated with the sodium
sulphate removal circuit. Excess base metals were tollre
fined by an external refinery. |
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| COSTS |
| Cash operating costs increased by 15% in 2007 to
R554 million. Cash cost per tonne of base metal
produced increased by 26% to R19,023 owing primarily
to significantly higher reagent and energy costs as well
as lower throughput. Similarly, cash cost per platinum
ounce produced increased by 30% to R248. |
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| CAPITAL EXPENDITURE |
| Capital expenditure was R417 million, of which
R66 million was ongoing capital expenditure and
R351 million for expansion projects. Ongoing capital
expenditure included optimisation of the MCP milling
and magnetic separation circuit, and equipment
rehabilitation of the sodium sulphate removal circuit in
the BMR. The BMR expansion project received Board
and regulatory approval to expand nickel capacity to
33,000 tonnes per annum. Construction is under way,
with ramp-up to full capacity scheduled for the fourth
quarter of 2010. Base metals in excess of the BMR's current capacity will continue to be toll-refined in the
interim. |
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| Deryck Spann |
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| OUTLOOK |
| The operating initiative to improve efficiencies in terms
of safety, costs and recoveries will continue into 2008.
A feasibility study to expand the MCP to meet future
converter matte production will be presented to the
Board for approval in the first quarter of 2008. |
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| Projects |
| MCP EXPANSION PROJECT |
| The MCP receives its feed from the ACP Plant in the
form of a slow-cooled matte. The purpose of this plant
is to separate the base metal fraction and the precious
metal fraction, with the former being further processed
by the base metals refinery and the latter by the
precious metals refinery. Owing to the forecast increase
in PGM production, this operating unit will be expanded
to meet higher production requirements. A feasibility
study to expand the plant began in the first quarter of
2007, with the intention of seeking Board approval in
the first quarter of 2008. The project duration is
approximately 18 months, with completion planned for
the third quarter of 2009. |
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| BMR EXPANSION PROJECT |
In May 2007, the Board approved a R1.9 billion expansion of the base metal refinery in Rustenburg. This will increase its nickel processing capacity from 21,500 to 33,000 tonnes per annum in line with Anglo Platinum's forecast production targets, and will include the installation of a semi-automated nickel electrowinning tank house and nickel aerosol abatement system. This change in the tank house harvesting process, from the current manual operation to a semiautomated operation, will allow Anglo Platinum to limit exposure of operational staff to the tank house environment, safeguarding them against a potentially hazardous environment.
The project is forecast to start ramp-up by the fourth quarter of 2009, with full capacity reached by the end of 2010. |
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| Precious Metals Refinery (PMR) |
| The PMR receives final precious metal concentrate from RBMR and metallic concentrate directly from some concentrators and joint ventures. The concentrate is refined into high-purity PGMs, customised to meet market requirements. Impure gold is toll-refined by an external refinery. |
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| PRODUCTION |
| Refined production for 2007 decreased by 12% to 2,474,000 platinum ounces, owing to lower receipts from decreased production at the mining operations. Overall recoveries were at 99%, with a marked improvement in refined metal purities achieved. Pipeline stocks were maintained at acceptable levels. |
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| COSTS |
| Cash operating costs increased by 13% to R380 million compared with 2006. Cash cost per refined platinum ounce increased by 31%, exacerbated by inefficiencies associated with reduced throughput in 2007. |
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| CAPITAL EXPENDITURE |
| Capital expenditure was R74 million for the year, of which R42 million was for expansion projects and R32 million for ongoing capital expenditure. The majority of expansion capital was associated with project closeout costs. A review of capacity requirements in line with Anglo Platinum’s growth plan is currently in progress. |
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| OUTLOOK |
| Due to the high fixed cost nature of the operation and
a projected increase in throughput, unit cash costs for
2008 are expected to decrease compared with those in
2007. Platinum production is expected to be 2.4 million
ounces in 2008. |
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| Projects |
| PMR Expansion Project |
| The first phase of the PMR capacity increase project, which increased the refinery’s capacity from 1.8 to 3.5 million platinum ounces, was substantially completed in 2006. The second phase of the expansion was initiated in 2007, with the start of a study to estimate the capital cost required to increase capacity from 3.5 to 5 million platinum ounces. This increase is in line with the Company’s forecast PGM targets. The project is currently in concept definition phase. A phased approach is proposed over an estimated five-year project life cycle, concluding in 2012. |
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| Final platinum bar preparation |
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