Zondereinde mine, which has been operational for almost thirty years, forms part of the Northern Platinum Belt. While platinum comprises the majority of minerals gathered here, the mine also produces palladium, rhodium, gold, ruthenium and iridium. The mine has an output of around 300 000oz of platinum each year and it remains economical and productive. The life of mine expectancy now stands at 30 years after recent acquisitions.
Zondereinde is an established, conventional, long-life underground mine – one of the deepest platinum mines in the world – collecting ore from the undulating PGM rich Merensky and UG2 reefs which form part of the 2-billion-year-old Bushveld Complex. The main method employed is the breast mining technique, and the processing facilities consist of smelting, flotation and dense media separation. Once the base metals have been extracted, the ore is processed further by grinding roll crusher and then primary ball mill. Surface infrastructure at the complex includes concentrators for Merensky and UG2, a base metals removal plant and a smelter. The complex is known for using hydro-powered equipment such as rock drills.
