Impala platinum mine

Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) is a leading producer of platinum and associated platinum group metals (PGMs). Implats has a primary listing (IMP) on the JSE Limited and a secondary listing on the LSE (IPLA). The company may also be traded via a sponsored level 1 ADR programme (IMPUY) on the NYSE. The group is one of the most efficient and lowest cost primary platinum producers in the world. Implats’ mining interests are found on the two most significant known platinum group mineral-bearing orebodies in the world: the Bushveld Complex in South Africa (the Leeuwkop project, Marula Platinum and Two Rivers Platinum) and the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe where Implats operates Zimplats and has an interest in Mimosa Platinum. The group's operations on the Bushveld Complex in South Africa and the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe give it an attributable mineral resource inventory (inclusive of mineral reserves) of 237 million ounces of platinum. The Implats group has a four-pronged operational structure: managed mine-to-market operations; managed mine-to-market projects; non-managed mine-to-market operations; and Impala Refining Services (IRS). Following a successful drilling and exploration programme in the early-mid 1960s, a mine with an initial annual production capacity of 100,000 ounces of platinum was established north of Rustenburg. The first blast was on 3 June 1967 and, in November 1968, a lease covering 27,000 acres (predominantly owned by the Bafokeng Tribe - now the Royal Bafokeng Nation) was granted for what was to become Impala Platinum, the flagship operation of the Implats group. On the corporate side, a company called Bishopsgate Platinum Limited, of which Impala Platinum Ltd was a wholly-owned subsidiary, was listed on the JSE on 26 January 1973 and on 19 October 1978, its name was changed to Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats). In 1990, Implats acquired an effective interest in Western Platinum and Eastern Platinum (collectively Lonplats). In 1995, agreement was reached on a full merger with Lonplats although this was subsequently blocked by the European Union. In 1998, IRS was established to capitalise on Implats' surplus smelting and refining capacity. Between 2000 and 2004, Implats acquired further mineral rights enabling it to establish Marula Platinum. It also acquired strategic stakes in Zimbabwean operations, Zimplats and Mimosa, and entered into a joint venture with the then Avmin group to develop the Two Rivers Platinum project. The stakes in Barplats and Lonplats were sold. Black economic empowerment transactions were negotiated during 2006 and 2007. Implats finalised a deal with the Royal Bafokeng Holdings (Pty) Limited (RBH) in terms of which Impala Platinum agreed to pay the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) all future royalties due to them, thus effectively discharging any further obligation to pay