mineral resource and mineral reserve statement ... - Impala Platinum

MarulaMarula’s mining operation is located on the eastern limb ofthe Bushveld Complex, some 35km to the north-west ofBurgersfort. The geological succession is broadly similarto that of the western limb with the same two horizonsoccurring in the Critical Zone and hosting economicallyexploitable quantities of PGMs, namely the Merensky Reefand the underlying UG2 Reef. Both reefs sub-outcrop inthe Marula mining rights area and dip generally in a westsouth-westdirection at about 13°. The vertical separationbetween the Merensky and UG2 Reefs is around 400m.The UG2 Reef is defined as a main chromitite layer, withmost of the mineralisation contained within this unit,followed by a poorly mineralised pegmatoidal pyroxenitefootwall. The Merensky Reef is the upper portion of apyroxenite layer, with a chromitite stringer close to thecontact with the hangingwall and with the mineralisationdecreasing from this upper chromitite stringer into thehangingwall and footwall.Marula holds a prospecting right and two contiguousmining rights covering a total area of 5 717ha acrossthe farms Clapham and Winnaarshoek, and portions ofthe farms Driekop, Forest Hill and Hackney. At present,Implats has an effective 73% interest in Marula. The threeempowerment partners now each hold a 9% interest inMarula. Marula entered into a royalty agreement with theadjacent Modikwa Mine to allow limited mining on an areacontiguous to the Driekop hybrid section. These MineralResources and Mineral Reserves have not been reflectedin the 2010 statement as the ownership is fully vested withModikwa.Current mining activities target the UG2 Reef only. Themine is being converted to a conventional breast miningmethod over an extended period. Hybrid mining at theForest Hill and Driekop areas will be used to supplementproduction. Potential future mining of the Merensky Reefwill largely be influenced by the market outlook.Marula Merensky metal ratios% 5PGM+AuMarula UG2 metal ratios% 5PGM+AuPt 54.2%Pd 29.6%Rh 2.7%Ru 5.5%Ir 0.9%Au 7.1%Pt 37.1%Pd 38.0%Rh 8.3%Ru 12.1%Ir 3.4%Au 1.0%www.implats.co.za 28 Implats Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Statement 2010