Expanded ConRoast Smelter Secures Feed Supply

Braemore Resources has secured two key off-take agreements for platinum group metal (PGM) concentrate feed supply to its recently-upgraded 3.2 MW ConRoast smelter in Johannesburg, South Africa. The plant was initially established as a pilot operation to test ConRoast technology developed by Mintek, the South African government’s minerals research organization. The technology is capable of processing high-chrome PGM concentrates that are difficult or impossible to process by conventional smelting methods.

Braemore’s new off-take agreements are with Anglo Platinum and Northam Platinum, with the Anglo Platinum agreement being a short-term contract. For the present, the agreements contract out the smelter’s total capacity of 70,000 oz/y of PGMs, depending on feed grade.

Braemore CEO Leon Coetzer said, “These agreements bring further certainty to our strategy to become a PGM producer and take Braemore a step further toward establishing the first independent, blackempowered smelter in South Africa. The utilization by these major producers of Braemore’s expanded smelter to process high-chrome concentrates is a significant endorsement of the ConRoast technology. Northam Platinum produces limited quantities of a high-chrome-content PGM concentrate, and this technology will increase their operational flexibility.”

As featured in Womp 08 Vol 10 - www.womp-int.com