26 Jul 2010 16:45
26 July 2010
Marikana 4 Shaft - S54 suspension lifted
Aquarius Platinum Limited ("Aquarius" or the "Company") today announces that the Inspectorate of Mines carried out a safety audit of 4 Shaft at Marikana Platinum Mine on Friday 23 July 2010, following which the S54 suspension notice issued on 7 July in respect of 4 Shaft was lifted, and mining operations recommenced there at 10pm on the same day. This followed presentations to the Department of Mineral Resources ("DMR") in respect of 4 Shaft at Marikana on Thursday 22 July 2010. At these meetings the Company reported on the work undertaken in terms of safety and rehabilitation at 4 Shaft since the tragic accident that took place there on 6 July 2010, and outlined interim safety measures to be put in place while the comprehensive safety review of Codes of Practice continues across the South African hard rock mining industry in order to further help the prevention of rockfalls.
In keeping with Aquarius' continuing commitment to safe and sustainable mining, these interim measures include the use of a range of tools and other measures that may contribute to early detection of geological features, including:
• Stope Closure Robot Devices for early detection of rock movement
• Ground Penetrating Radar for early detection of geological anomalies
• Snake Eye Cameras to examine the rock layering in the hanging wall to identify zones of weakness while drilling support holes
• Additional stope lighting to illuminate the hanging wall to enhance identification of slips and joints in the hanging wall
• Altered blasting design to reduce potential damage to the hanging wall
• Where the rock layering is identified as thinner than can be reinforced with tendon support, moving from the current reinforced arch support system to a suspension support system which results in the hanging wall layers being supported from a competent beam above
• As necessary, altering the stope layout from bord & pillar to room & pillar (without altering extraction rates and mining efficiencies) by aligning the mining direction so that the pillars straddle the pre-identified jointing in the hanging wall
• The recruitment and training of additional Strata Control Observers to assist the production teams in identifying geological anomalies
These measures will have little or no effect on reserve extraction percentages or bord widths, but will have an impact on marginal cost. Management's preliminary estimate is that unit costs will rise by approximately 5% as a result of the implementation of these measures, but as this is an early stage estimate, further cost guidance will be given in due course.
The Company and the DMR have mutually agreed to the above plans of action and the Company will routinely report to the DMR on their implementation.
The suspension of 4 Shaft negatively impacted production at the Marikana mine in July. Approximately 150,000 tonnes have been mined at Marikana in the month of July, resulting in the production of approximately 4,400 4E ounces attributable to Aquarius. This reflects a reduction in 4E ounce production of approximately 40% at the Marikana mine for the month.
For further information please contact:
In the United Kingdom and South Africa
Gavin Mackay
+44 7909 547 042
In Australia:
Willi Boehm
Aquarius Platinum Corporate Services
+61 8 9367 5211