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About Sheba's Ridge
Following the successful conclusion of the acquisition of Ridge Mining plc, Aquarius officially took over management of the Sheba’s Ridge project on 1 August 2009.
Ownership is split, with Aquarius currently holding a 39% interest in the project, Anglo Platinum 35% and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) holding 26%.
The project is held under a "new order" prospecting permit, which was issued in January 2006
Location and Geology
The core area of the Sheba’s Ridge project is on the farm "Loskop Suid", approximately 20 kilometres south of the town of Groblersdal.
It is a Sulphide Mineral Resource containing an estimated:
- 1.4 million tonnes nickel
- 19 million ounces 3PGE
- 0.5 million tonnes copper
A pre-feasibility study completed in December 2007 envisages mining 18 million tonnes of ore per annum over a 20-year mine-life based on conventional open-pit mining methods. This study examined the project in considerable detail and included: environmental and social impact studies; geology; mineral resource and ore reserve estimation; mine planning; engineering geology; mining equipment and method; waste storage infrastructure; experimental metallurgy; planning of the concentrator; smelter; converters and acid plant; further treatment of matte and a detailed financial model.
Initial indications for annual production are for 24,000 tonnes of nickel and 390,000 PGE ounces at an operating cost of US$1.30/lb nickel (net of by products). The project is, however, currently under review.
Production
Exploration of the Sheba’s Ridge Project began in April 2001. The Phase I programme identified three distinct units of mineralisation: a layer similar to the UG2 termed the "Platchro layer"; an upper mineralised pyroxenite (UMP) layer analogous to the Merensky Reef; and a wide sulphide zone similar to the Platreef.
Discontinuity of the UMP and Platchro layers resulted in the Phase II exploration programme concentrating on the bulk sulphide mineralisation.
The Phase II exploration programme began in July 2002 and included 126 diamond boreholes of which 104 boreholes (totalling 32,600 metres) were drilled on a 100-metre grid along an arc 3.5 kilometres in length. In 2004, a fourth phase which involved the drilling of 45 holes to investigate the oxide zone together with some exploration of extensions to the mineralisation. The resource identified lies within a mineralised, approximately 80-metre thick sulphide layer that contains a richer mineralised continuous unit of approximately 30 metres thick. The mineral resource has been modelled to 450 metres below surface and excludes overburden and weathered material to a depth of 40 metres from surface.
The Sheba’s Ridge mineral resource contains 19 million ounces of 3PGE, 1.4 million tonnes of nickel and 500,000 tonnes of copper. Based on forecast long-term prices for the various metals, approximately 63% of the value of the ore is represented by nickel, 30% PGE, 5% copper and 2% gold. |