A project ceremony was recently held at Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef Mine, in Limpopo Province, South Africa, marking the achievement of three major development milestones. The milestones include the completion of construction of the 4 Mt/y Shaft #3; the breaking of ground for the Phase 2 concentrator site; and the commencement of widening of Shaft #2. The project milestones are a major advancement for the Phase 2 expansion and the future Phase 3 expansion.
The on-site ceremony was attended by Ivanhoe Mines’ President and CEO Marna Cloete, senior management from Ivanhoe Mines and Ivanplats, as well as representatives from Ivanplats’ shareholders Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), ITOCHU Corporation and the broad-based black equity empowerment (B-BBEE) group.
Ivanhoe Mines Founder and Co-Chairman Robert Friedland commented: “The Platreef Mine is not a typical South African precious metals mine scratching at narrow, one-metre-thick seams. The Platreef Mine is a once-in-a-generation geological wonder… a discovery so vast that it will be producing precious metals for generations to come. The flat-lying orebody is approximately twenty-five times thicker than our industry incumbents, averaging 26 metres of continuous mineralisation…thickness means scale, which means mechanisation, and mechanisation means lower costs and safer operations.”
He added: “Years ago, our Japanese partners had the foresight to recognise this potential…the consortium, led by ITOCHU Corporation, made a bold, decisive investment, without which we would not be where we are today. We thank you for your continued support. We are ramping up the mine at a time when metal prices are rising. Scarcity is real and the demand is relentless. Platinum, palladium, rhodium, copper and nickel are identified by countries all around the globe as critical minerals and therefore strategic to agenda of many of the world’s developed and developing economies.”
The completion of Shaft #3, along with its associated underground materials-handling and crushing infrastructure, increases the total available hoisting capacity five-fold to approximately 5 Mt/y. The new shaft will enable greater flexibility in hoisting both ore and waste rock to the surface, which is severely constrained through Shaft #1 alone. It also supports underground development for Phase 2 expansion from Q4 2027. Construction was completed on schedule in late March and is undergoing the final stages of commissioning. Once fully ramped up, Shaft #3 will significantly increase the rate of underground mining and underground development. The hoist systems have been supplied by Winder Controls and its parent company SIEMAG TECBERG.
Since first production in Q4 2025, the Phase 1 concentrator has batch-processed (campaigned) lower-grade development ore as underground development progressed. Long-hole stoping of the Platreef orebody is expected to soon commence, enabling the Phase 1 concentrator to ramp up to commercial production from mid-year. Underground development will also significantly ramp up in preparation for the start-up of the Phase 2 concentrator, which is expected to be operational by the end of next year. Underground development will focus on opening additional mining areas to increase the mining rate to feed the new 3.3 Mt/y Phase 2 concentrator.
The Ivanplats’ project team broke ground on the Phase 2 concentrator site on April 9, 2026. DRA Global is the engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) contractor for the Phase 2 underground infrastructure and the 3.3 Mt/y Phase 2 concentrator. DRA Global was the EPCM contractor that delivered Platreef’s Phase 1 concentrator on schedule in June 2024. The Phase 2 concentrator is targeted for completion by the end of next year. Concurrently with the major earthworks now underway at the Phase 2 concentrator site, engineering work is focused on completing the process and mechanical design and equipment layouts. The procurement of long-lead mechanical and electrical equipment has already commenced.
Following the completion of the Shaft #2 concrete headgear in Q4 2025, construction activities have now focused on widening the shaft to its final diameter. The shaft was initially raised-bored to a diameter of 3.1 m in Q4 2024. The contract to widen the shaft, to a final diameter of 10 metres, was awarded to United Mining Services (UMS) of Johannesburg, South Africa. Site mobilisation by UMS was completed during the first quarter, with the first ‘slipe’ blast completed on schedule on April 1, 2026. The method used to widen Shaft #2, is called ‘slipe and line’, which involves blasting rock in small ‘slipes’ (vertical benches) around the shaft perimeter and installing a lining to support and secure the shaft walls as the excavation progresses.
Shaft #2 is expected to be ready to hoist labour and materials by the end of 2028 and be ready to hoist ore by the end of 2029. Shaft #2 will support both the steady-state operations of Phase 2 and the future Phase 3 expansion.
In February 2025, two independent studies were completed on the three-phase development of the Platreef Mine. This included an updated Feasibility Study on the Phase 2 expansion to 4.1 Mt/y of processing capacity, as well as a Preliminary Economic Assessment covering a new Phase 3 expansion to 10.7 Mt/y of processing capacity. The results from both studies reinforce the multi-generational Platreef Mine’s industry-leading margins.
The Platreef Mine is projected to be the lowest-cost primary platinum-group-metals producer globally. The Phase 2 life-of-mine total cash cost is estimated to be $599/oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (3PE+Au), net of nickel and copper by-product credits. Life-of-mine total cash costs are projected to fall further to $511/oz of 3PE+Au following the Phase 3 expansion. This compares very favourably with a basket spot price of approximately $2,000/oz of 3PE+Au, as at April 22, 2026. The Platreef Mine’s low cash costs are primarily due to its unique thick orebody, which enables economies of scale, as well as the high grades of nickel and copper that are payable by-products.
The Phase 2 expansion is expected to increase annualised production almost five-fold to over 460,000 oz of 3PE+Au, plus approximately 9,000 t of nickel and 6,000 t of copper. The Phase 3 expansion further doubles annualized production to over one million ounces of 3PE+Au, plus approximately 22,000 t of nickel and 13,000 t of copper. The Phase 3 expansion is expected to rank the Platreef Mine as one of the world’s largest primary platinum group metal producers on a platinum-equivalent basis.
ITC Platinum has committed to fund its proportionate share of the Phase 2 expansion. ITC Platinum, a Japanese consortium including JOGMEC and ITOCHU Corporation, previously acquired a collective 10% interest in the Platreef Mine in two tranches. The first 2% interest was acquired in September 2010 for $10 million and the second 8% interest was acquired in June 2011 for $280 million. Ivanhoe Mines owns a 64% interest in the Platreef Mine and the B-BBEE group own the remaining 26%.