South Africa’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) has granted environmental authorisation (EA) for a mining right and related infrastructural activities to Southern Palladium’s 70% subsidiary, Miracle Upon Miracle Investments, for the development of the Bengwenyama platinum group metals (PGMs) project.
“The EA paves the way for the award of the Mining Right and reflects the strength of our permitting work, including a comprehensive environmental impact assessment and a compliant public participation process,” said company managing director Johan Odendaal.
“This milestone demonstrates our commitment to responsible development and sets a clear path toward project execution. In parallel, we are refining the development pathway outlined in the original pre-feasibility study.”
He also said that a revised Stage 1 plan—focused on a smaller-scale, lower-capex operation producing 80,000 tonnes per month (tpm) through a single decline and truck haulage—is now well progressed, and is expected to reduce up-front capital requirements for project development significantly.
Southern Palladium said Stage 2 would expand production to 200,000tpm, as proposed in the earlier pre-feasibility study, and can be initiated later once Stage 1 is successfully operating.
The company said preliminary analysis suggests a material reduction in upfront capital expenditure, due to the smaller-scale plant and single-decline access.
This revised approach with lower up-front costs is expected to be financeable through traditional debt and equity channels.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
