PTM touts ‘brand new’ Bushveld discovery
March 9, 2011
By: Matthew Hill
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based junior Platinum Group Metals (PTM) said on Tuesday it had discovered a “brand new” extension to South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, which hosts about 80% of the world’s platinum resources.
"We’ve drilled our first hole [and we have since] intersected about 120 km2 of brand new Bushveld. Who thought that was possible?” CEO Mike Jones said in a presentation in Toronto.
In a subsequent interview with Mining Weekly Online, he said the discovery was made at PTM’s Waterberg prospect located “off the north end of the north limb”. The project is a joint venture with the Japanese government, he said.
“It’s potentially a very large area of the north limb,” said Jones, speaking on the sidelines of the MineAfrica’s Investing in African Mining seminar.
“It’s still early exploration, but it’s interesting that there are still things to find.”
TSX-listed PTM is building its Western Bushveld Joint Venture Project 1 (WBJV1), for which it raised $143-million late last year in a bought deal financing.
The company has budgeted $100-million for the first phase of construction at the mine.
A 2009 feasibility study pegged the cost of a 275 000 oz/y platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold mine at WBJV1 at $443-million.
Jones told Mining Weekly Online that PTM was looking to raise $260-million from bank loans to complete the project.
“We got 15 banks now involved in reviewing the project who have signed confidentiality agreements, involved in technical due diligence. We’ve been very impressed with the banking response,” he said.
AFRICAN DISCOUNT
In his presentation, Jones said mining companies operating in Africa showed an “enormous discount” to valuations of their peers elsewhere, and that this created significant opportunities.
He said the discount ranged from 30% to 50% by a number of measures.
“In my view, this offers an enourmous opportunity,” said Jones.
“The potential is wide open. There are entire belts and regions in Africa that are yet to be flown or geologically sampled.”
