Shaft 1 reaches a depth of 750 metres below surface as development of tier-one mine continues to advance at Ivanhoe’s Platreef platinum-group elements, nickel, copper and gold project in South Africa Construction of 750-metre station to begin this month
April 23, 2018
Shaft 1 reaches a depth of 750 metres below surface
as development of tier-one mine continues to advance at Ivanhoe’s
Platreef platinum-group elements, nickel, copper and gold project
in South Africa
Construction of 750-metre station to begin this month
to provide initial mine development access to the high-grade orebody
First two blasts successfully completed at surface box cut for Shaft 2
Project financing process progressing
MOKOPANE, SOUTH AFRICA – Ivanhoe Mines’ (TSX: IVN; OTCQX: IVPAF) Executive Chairman
Robert Friedland, Chief Executive Officer Lars-Eric Johansson and Ivanplats’ Managing Director
Dr. Patricia Makhesha announced today that Platreef’s Shaft 1 has reached a depth of 750
metres below surface and lateral development of the first mine access station now is underway.
The 750-metre station on Shaft 1 will provide initial, underground access to the high-grade
orebody, enabling mine development to proceed during the construction of Shaft 2, which will
become the mine’s main production shaft. The mining zones in the current Platreef Mine plan
occur at depths ranging from approximately 700 metres to 1,200 metres below surface. Shaft 1’s
750-metre station also will allow access for the first raise-bore shaft that will provide ventilation
to the underground workings during the mine’s ramp-up phase.
The first of the mine’s planned fleet of mechanized, mobile, underground mining equipment – a
small, 5.5-tonne load-haul-dump machine (LHD) – has arrived on site and will be used for off-
shaft station development work on the 750-, 850- and 950-metre levels. People from Platreef’s
surrounding host communities are being trained as operators of the LHD.
The LHD will be the first piece of mechanized, mobile equipment to be used underground on the
northern limb of South Africa’s famous Bushveld Complex. The thick, flat-lying orebody at the
Platreef Project is ideal for bulk-scale, mechanized mining. As underground development
progresses, the mine plan calls for the addition of significantly larger mechanized mining
equipment, such as 14- and 17-tonne LHDs and 50-tonne haul trucks.
Sinking of Shaft 1 will resume after the 750-metre station is completed. The shaft is expected to
intersect the upper contact of the Flatreef Deposit (T1 mineralized zone) at an approximate shaft
depth of 783 metres. As shaft sinking advances, two additional shaft stations will be developed
at mine-working depths of 850 metres and 950 metres. Shaft 1 is expected to reach its projected,
final depth of 980 metres below surface in 2019.
“Soon we will be able to show our stakeholders and investors Flatreef’s remarkably thick, high-
grade mineralized zones that will allow us to be at the forefront of safe, underground bulk
mining,” said Mr. Friedland.
2
“Our focus is to keep advancing the Platreef Project along its critical path. Our continued
development of shafts 1 and 2 will provide access to the high-grade orebody and help to ensure
that the project is able to meet the expected start-up of the first phase of the underground mine
and concentrator.”
Mr. Friedland noted that the Platreef Project team and its South African sinking contractor,
Aveng Mining, achieved a record monthly shaft-sinking rate of 54 metres in March. The project
also has attained 160 days without a lost-time injury, a notable achievement given the safety
challenges that shaft-sinking operations encounter. Ivanhoe remains committed to its
workplace objective of an environment that causes zero harm to employees, contractors, sub-
contractors and consultants.
“We believe that the unique characteristics of our Flatreef Discovery offer us the opportunity for
a highly-mechanized and safe working environment for a new generation of skilled and trained
South African workers.”
Approximately 40% of Platreef’s shaft-sinking team now is comprised of employees from local
communities who had no previous mining experience. New employees receive intensive, on-site
training for underground mining and complete a workplace-safety induction program.
Platreef: a significant new source of nickel, copper and platinum-group-metals
for the world’s electric-vehicle revolution
In July 2017, Ivanhoe issued an independent, definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Platreef that
covers the first phase of production at an initial mining rate of four million tonnes per annum
(Mtpa). The DFS estimated that Platreef’s initial, average annual production rate will be 476,000
ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, plus 21 million pounds of nickel and 13
million pounds of copper.
“Many investors don’t realize that, in addition to Platreef being projected to become one of
Africa's largest producers of platinum-group metals, the mine also is expected to be a
significant producer of nickel and copper — two metals that are fundamental components for
the electric-vehicle revolution,” said Mr. Friedland.
“Nickel is trading at three-year highs, due in part to the increased demand for metals needed for
electric-vehicle batteries. There is a growing market realization that the new era of electric
vehicles will be a disruptive, long-term force that will have a material impact on certain key
metals — such as nickel, copper and cobalt — as early as 2020.”
Ivanhoe is working with potential concentrate-processing partners to study ways to incorporate
an upgrading step to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate.
3
Platreef’s Shaft 1 sinking headgear and related surface infrastructure.
Construction of Shaft 2 surface box cut underway
The first two surface blasts for Shaft 2’s box cut were successfully completed earlier this
month; four additional blasts are planned. The blasting will enable the excavation of the box cut
to a depth of approximately 29 metres below surface and the construction of the concrete hitch
(foundation) for the 103-metre-tall concrete headgear (headframe) that will house the shaft’s
permanent hoisting facilities and support the shaft collar. Excavation of the box cut is expected
to be completed by the end of the year.
Shaft 2, to be located approximately 100 metres northeast of Shaft 1, will have an internal
diameter of 10 metres, will be lined with concrete and sunk to a planned, final depth of more
than 1,104 metres below surface. It will be equipped with two 40-tonne rock-hoisting skips with
a capacity to hoist a total of six million tonnes of ore per year – the single largest hoisting
capacity at any mine in Africa. Headgear for the permanent hoisting facility was designed by
South Africa-based Murray & Roberts Cementation.
4
Drilling holes in preparation for the first blast at the Shaft 2 box cut.
First blast at the Shaft 2 box cut.
5
Removal of surface material during construction of the Shaft 2 box cut.
Members of Platreef’s shaft-sinking team in Shaft 1.
6
Platreef’s engineering team members surveying at the 450-metre-level station,
which will serve as an intermediate water pumping and shaft cable-termination
station.
Trainee operators from the local Mokopane community with Platreef’s new
5.5-tonne, load-haul-dump machine (LHD).
7
Shaft 1 expected to intersect the Flatreef orebody at a depth of 783 metres
Geotechnical drill hole GT008, drilled vertically below Shaft 1, indicates that the shaft will
intersect the upper contact of the Flatreef Deposit (T1 mineralized zone) at an approximate shaft
depth of 783 metres. The grade for the T1 mineralized zone at this location is 4.83 grams per
tonne (g/t) 3PE (platinum, palladium and rhodium) plus gold, 0.33% nickel and 0.15% copper
over a vertical thickness of 12 metres (see downhole plot of drill hole GT008 below).
A well-developed chromitite stringer, marking the stratigraphic contact between the T1 and T2
mineralized zones, is expected to be intersected at a shaft depth of 792.1 metres. This will be
followed by the T2 mineralized zone, which grades 4.14 g/t 3PE+gold, 0.35% nickel and 0.18%
copper over a vertical thickness of 11.26 metres (at a 2 g/t 3PE+gold grade cut-off).
Downhole plot of Shaft 1 geotechnical drill hole GT008 displaying grade shells
at a 2 g/t 3PE+gold cut-off grade.
Note: Metres quoted in text are based on depth below shaft bank; metres in Figure 1 are quoted based on drill
hole depth below surface.
8
Development focused on construction of a state-of-the-art underground mine
The Platreef Project, which contains the Flatreef Deposit, is a tier-one discovery by Ivanhoe
Mines’ geologists. Based on the findings of the July 2017 independent DFS, Ivanhoe plans to
develop the Platreef Mine in three phases to achieve: 1) An initial rate of four million tonnes per
annum (Mtpa) to establish an operating platform to support future expansions; 2) a doubling of
production to eight Mtpa; and 3) expansion to a steady-state 12 Mtpa.
As Phase 1 is being developed and commissioned, there would be opportunities to refine the
timing and scope of subsequent phases of expanded production.
Given the size and potential of the Platreef Mineral Resource, Shaft 2 has been engineered with
a crushing and hoisting capacity of six Mtpa. This allows for a relatively quick and
capital-efficient first expansion of the Platreef Project to six Mtpa by increasing underground
development and commissioning of a third, two-Mtpa processing module and associated
surface infrastructure as required.
A further expansion to more than eight Mtpa would entail converting Shaft 1 from a ventilation
shaft into a hoisting shaft. This would require additional ventilation exhaust raises, as well as a
further increase of underground development, commissioning of a fourth, two-Mtpa processing
module and associated surface infrastructure, as described in the PEA as Phase 2 of the
project.
Platreef Mine site, showing first-phase surface infrastructure and surrounding
host communities.