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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (44720)	10/8/2009 3:10:02 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 197061

UPDATE 1-Northam Platinum to build new mine in 2010 Thu Oct 8, 2009 1:45am EDT reuters.com * To fund project via rights issue, own cash, bank debt * New mine could double Northam Platinum's output (Adds details) JOHANNESBURG, Oct 8 (Reuters) - South Africa's Northam Platinum Ltd (NHMJ.J) said on Thursday it would start construction on a big new platinum mine by early 2010 and the first phase would cost about 3 billion rand ($403.3 million). Northam Platinum -- a unit of black owned Mvelaphanda Resources (MVLJ.J) -- owns the deepest platinum mine in the world and is betting that the development of the vast new Booysendal mine will expand its production options. The company said in a statement that it had completed a feasibility study for Booysendal, which could more than double Northam Platinum's output, pushing it to rank fourth after the world's third-biggest platinum producer, Lonmin Plc (LMI.L). "Our intention remains to fund the project through a combination of a rights issue, internal retentions (own cash) and medium-term bank debt," said Glyn Lewis, the company's chief executive. "Booysendal is living up to our expectations and is likely to be a significant, long-life producer, and one of the new-generation PGM (platinum group metals) mining projects of the future." Northam Platinum's production of metals in concentrate during the year to end June rose by 3 percent to 302,474 ounces. Lewis said the first phase or module of the project could give rise to sales of some 130,000 ounces of mainly platinum and palladium, rhodium, gold a year, rising by a further 115,000 ounces per annum from the second phase, to a total of 245 000 ounces for both phases. The first phase of the project's life-of-mine is expected to exceed 20 years, during which period further production expansions would be developed, he said. Lewis said South Africa's power utility, Eskom [ESCJ.UL], has undertaken a feasibility study for a new substation to be situated on the Booysendal property. Northam Platinum is the only fully independent black-owned platinum group metal producer listed on the JSE Ltd (JSEJ.J). Shares in Northam Platinum ended at 33.50 rand on Wednesday. (Reporting by James Macharia)