Northam concludes a ten-year offtake agreement with Ivanplats
Northam has announced that it has concluded a ten-year purchase of platinum group metal (PGM) concentrate agreement with Ivanplats, a subsidiary of Ivanhoe Mines. Production from the Platreef Project is scheduled to commence in 2024.
In terms of the Offtake Agreement, Northam Platinum will purchase 20 000 tonnes of PGM concentrate per annum, representing approximately 50% of PGM concentrate to be produced from Phase 1 of the Platreef Project. Ivanplats retains the option to reduce the Offtake Volume by up to a maximum of 5 000 tonnes per annum.
Paul Dunne, Northam Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer, commented “Northam is pleased to have secured significant future off-take of metal relating to a very important orebody. The Ivanplats orebody is one of a very few remaining untapped large PGM resources. It is mechanisable and situated in a geographically important area. The metal content is especially favourable to Northam’s operational requirements and will be complimentary to our own production profile. The transaction serves to further de-risk Northam’s operations from a mine to market perspective, providing additional diversification of supply over a ten year period, whilst enhancing the flexibility and utilisation of its recently upgraded metallurgical processing facilities.”
The Platreef Project is owned by Ivanplats, which is 64% owned by Ivanhoe Mines. The Platreef Project hosts an underground deposit of thick PGMs, nickel, copper and gold mineralisation on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in Limpopo Province, approximately 280 kilometres northeast of Johannesburg and eight kilometres from the town of Mokopane.
