Eastern Platinum reports on PGM upgrades and continued production
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Eastern Platinum has reported the completion of all the reconfiguring and optimization of the small-scale PGM circuit (previously the scavenger plant circuit or PGM Circuit D) including the additional work required as part of the restart for the main PGM plant circuit (PGM Main Circuit). The commissioning was completed last week and production has resumed with the first dispatch of PGM concentrate occurring on March 23, 2021.
The Company completed the upgrades to obtain higher quality concentrate in order to be able to consistently produce a minimum of 200 tons of PGM concentrate per month. This is expected to have a positive impact on the Company’s revenue.
The PGM Circuit D utilizes the initial work on the PGM Main Circuit. The next phase of the PGM Main
Circuit work continues to be scheduled to start in May 2021, with commissioning expected in October 2021.
The company estimates this will add a further 800 tons of PGM concentrate per month to production, thereby increasing production four-fold and continuing to grow Eastplats’ revenue.
Diana Hu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eastplats stated, “The Company is ramping up its PGM production at a time of increasing demand and rising PGM pricing. Several countries recently legislated new curbs on pollution from gasoline and diesel engines boosting the use of PGMs in autocatalysts, the largest application of PGMs.”
Eastplats owns directly and indirectly a number of Platinum Group Metals (PGM) and chrome assets in the Republic of South Africa. All of the Company’s properties are situated on the western and eastern limbs of the Bushveld Complex, the geological environment that hosts approximately 80% of the world’s PGM-bearing ore.
Operations at the Crocodile River Mine currently include re-mining and processing its tailings resource, with an offtake of the chrome concentrate from the Zandfontein UG2 tailings facility (the Retreatment Project) and the processing and extraction of PGMs.
