20 Shaft Platinum Project South Africa

Mining at the Rustenburg complex started in 1969. To expedite production at 20 Shaft, Byrnecut was contracted to assist and train Impala’s personnel in trackless development methods and systems.

Byrnecut’s scope of works included decline and lateral development, as well as rehabilitation. We also managed all fleet maintenance.

Using tried-and-tested mining and maintenance methods, Byrnecut’s safety and training procedures were implemented at 20 Shaft to maximise the machine availability and thereby increased development rates. Focus on the safety and training aspects of mechanised development also helped the project reduce the risks associated with handheld development activities in large profile drives.

Impala Platinum engaged traditional handheld stoping methods and produced 150,000oz of platinum per year.