Dmitry Fedorov: I want our jewelry to be displayed at a museum in the future

Dmitry Fedorov is the founder of the eponymous jewelry house. His main focus is the creation of Orthodox-inspired premium luxury jewelry of high artistic merit. He told Rough&Polished about his journey in the jewelry industry, about choosing the ‘Orthodox...

28 october 2024

Responsible business practices ‘no longer optional’, says WDC President Feriel Zerouki

The president of the World Diamond Council takes time out of her busy schedule to tell Rough&Polished readers about the critical work of the WDC. Zerouki, the first female present of the body, which includes all the important industry organizations among...

14 october 2024

James Campbell: Botswana Diamonds optimistic as it enters uncharted territory of using AI for mineral exploration

London-listed Botswana Diamonds has expressed optimism about the company’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to scan the exploration database in Botswana to look for new mineralised deposits. Company managing director James Campbell told Rough...

07 october 2024

Artur Salyakayev: For me, happiness is freedom to make my ideas happen and create valuable products

Artur Salyakayev is an art entrepreneur, founder of the International Jewelry Academy (IJA) and the INCRUA jewelry company. He has initiated and developed successful projects in jewelry industry and services sector. He is also a leading expert...

30 september 2024

Paul Zimnisky: China key for sustained recovery in demand for natural diamonds, prices

The curtailing of upstream and midstream natural diamond production in the past months is starting to have an effect on prices, according to the New-York-based independent diamond and jewellery analyst and consultant, Paul Zimnisky. He told Rough & Polished’s...

23 september 2024

Eastplats commissions PGM processing facility at SA’s Crocodile River Mine

08 october 2024

Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) is advancing commissioning activities of the platinum group metals (PGM) processing plant at its flagship Crocodile River Mine (CRM), located within the Bushveld Complex, host to approximately 80% of the world’s PGM-bearing ore, in north eastern South Africa.

The plant, it said, has begun processing run-of-mine (ROM) UG2 ore from the Zandfontein underground operations at the CRM.

Zandfontein's underground operations will produce 40,000 tonnes of ROM ore per month by the end of 2024, while the next ramp-up phase will increase production to 70,000 tonnes of ROM ore per month by the end of 2025.

“This operational milestone marks our transition from a tailings storage facility chrome recovery operation to a growing PGM concentrate and metallurgical chrome concentrate producer, and we look forward to reporting PGM and metallurgical chrome revenues from the Zandfontein underground section as ROM ore tonnages ramp up,” said company president and chief executive Wanjin Yang.

Eastplats said it will continue to process historical tailings to recover chrome from its chrome retreatment project, at the CRM, but expects this to wind down in the early part of 2025.

The company expects to complete the second phase of its tailings storage facility programme to recover chrome and PGMs from tailings generated from the newly operating Zandfontein underground.

It said PGM revenue is expected to account for 65% or more of Eastplats’ total revenue by 2026.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished