Ivanplats (formerly Ivanhoe Nickel and Platinum) is a private Canadian company focused on exploration and development of major copper, platinum, gold, nickel and iron ore deposits, primarily on the African continent. The company's near-term objective is to advance and develop two major projects: Kamoa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Platreef, in South Africa.
KAMOA PROJECT, DRC
Major Copperbelt discovery being delineated
Ivanplats’ 100%-owned Kamoa copper deposit – independently discovered by Ivanplats in 2008 west of the Kolwezi district of the Central African Copperbelt – now ranks as the most significant copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo since Belgian colonial-era exploration more than 100 years ago. A NI 43-101 resource update, completed by AMEC in March 2011, substantially increased Kamoa’s Indicated Resources and the overall resource grade.
A full range of studies is underway at Kamoa, including scoping/pre-feasibility (AMEC), metallurgy (Xstrata Process Support), geotechnical (SRK Consulting), hydrogeology (Golder) and socio-economic and environmental (African Mining Consultants).
A regional exploration program also is underway, with drilling planned at prospective targets on Ivanplats’ more than 9,000 square kilometres of exploration tenements in the previously unrecognized western extension of the famous Central African Copperbelt, which hosts such world-class deposits as Kolwezi, Tenke-Fungurume, Konkola and Nchanga.
PLATREEF PROJECT, BUSHVELD COMPLEX, SOUTH AFRICA
ITOCHU Corporation joins Ivanplats in the development of the Platreef platinum-nickel-palladium-gold-copper-rhodium project
Ivanplats’ Platreef platinum-nickel-palladium-gold-copper-rhodium project, on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, is approximately eight kilometres south of Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena mining complex.
On June 3, 2011, ITOCHU Corporation, one of Japan’s leading general trading companies, announced that it had acquired an interest of 8% in the Platreef Project for 22.4 billion Japanese Yen (approximately US$280 million) to participate in Platreef’s exploration and development. The transaction established an implied valuation of the Platreef Project of approximately US$3.5 billion. ITOCHU now holds an aggregated Platreef interest of 10%, which includes its 2% holding previously acquired in September 2010. Ivanplats owns the remaining 90% of the project.
ITOCHU reported that it had agreed with Ivanplats that the proceeds from ITOCHU’s investment will be spent on further exploration, feasibility studies and initial development of the project. The parties will endeavor to realize the project’s earliest possible advance into production. ITOCHU has acquired production off-take rights in the Platreef Project proportional to its participation, which ITOCHU said will help to secure platinum-group-metals resources for Japan. ITOCHU is planning to utilize the financial assistance scheme of Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) for further project development.
Ivanplats plans to complete pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, headed by principal contractor AMEC, which will support an application for a mining licence and underground development of the Flatreef discovery.
Completion of a 43-101-compliant resource update in March 2011 saw continued resource growth; there was a tenfold increase in the high-grade inferred resource during this period. Drilling during the second half of 2011 will focus on conversion of a portion of the high-grade Flatreef resources from Inferred to Indicated status. This area, which has the potential to support an initial, high-grade, underground mining operation, is informally named Mine 1. Studies underway include geotechnical (SRK), socio-economic and environmental (Digby Wells), metallurgical (Xstrata Process Services) and hydro-geological (Golder).
June 3, 2011 ITOCHU News Release: Participation in the exploration and development of PGMs
GABON
New gold and copper-gold exploration projects
Ivanplats acquired two licences totalling approx. 1600 square kilometres situated in prospective Archean greenstone belts. Field work began in February 2011.
