Early in 1987, we completed the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation design for an extension at Western Platinum for Lonmin Management Services. This was followed by another project for the same client, a complete platinum concentrator for Western Platinum No. 4 Shaft. Three further plants of similar design, together with a tailings plant, were undertaken between 1987 and 1992.

A large platinum smelter was undertaken for Lonmin in 1990 (whilst busy with one concentrator and one tailings plant) and brought into operation in approximately twelve months, a proud claim by any project company we believe! In all, well over $500m in project work has been completed for this client.

In the early 90’s a Slag Milling plant was constructed for Western Platinum Mine, to further improve the efficiency of this operation, which is recognized as one of the most cost-effective producers of PGM's in the world.

After a lull period since the early 1990’s, Lonmin once more entered an expansionary phase which called for the doubling up of its Karee Concentrator Plant. This work was undertaken by DRA in the year 2000/2001. This project was characterized by an advanced level of Process Control and Automation. One of the results of this technically advanced plant was its ability to be brought on-stream after a very short commissioning period and ramping-up to name plate capacity within a matter of days. Following the successful commissioning of this project, DRA was then tasked with the responsibility to build two larger, identical concentrators, one situated at Karee K4 Shaft and the other one, some 30km away at Eastern Platinum. A tight schedule was set which called for the construction within a 15 month period. Both concentrators were tested on waste rock in the same week, exactly on schedule and went into production three days later.

Kroondal Platinum Mine Project Design & Construction

A study was completed in 1999 for a Perth based client, Aquarius Exploration, to establish a new mine at Kroondal near Rustenburg. This led to the award of an EPCM contract, for the design and construction of the Kroondal Platinum Mine project. The project included a world first in the form of a production DMS plant ahead of the UG2 Milling and Flotation section. The project is operated on a contract basis by Minopex.

Indicative of the satisfaction of our efforts for Aquarius Platinum, was the award in 2001 of their next project, the Marikana Concentrator, rated at 125 000tpm, differing from Kroondal in that it was designed without a DMS plant. This process was brought on stream, on time and under budget.
During the construction of the Marikana project, further work was undertaken to expand production at Kroondal from 150 000 to 200 000tpm.

Work continued for the Aquarius Group in the form of a new concentrator termed the Kroondal PSA Project which is a new concentrator, to access an adjacent ore-body in Anglo American’s property at Rustenburg Platinum mine. This project was a joint venture between Aquarius and Anglo American. Further work for Aquarius involved the preparation of a bankable feasibility study for the Everest South Project and the subsequent construction and operation of the project which assisted Aquarius in achieving its target of reaching 600 000 ounces of Platinum per year. The project included surface and underground infrastructure, and was finished on time and under budget.

Marula Platinum Mine
Total Surface Infrastructure, Underground Conveyors & 230,000tpm Concentrator

A milestone for DRA was the award in 2002 of our largest contract to-date, that being the Marula Project for Impala Platinum. Our scope of work not only included the 230 000tpm concentrator but the total surface infrastructure together with a portion of the underground conveyors. This project represented our first endeavour in the plus R1 Billion project league.

A further project in the “Big League” was awarded to a joint venture company between TWP and DRA, called Vhumbanani. This project, for Anglo Platinum, is in the R1 Billion bracket and has been conducted on state of the art CAD equipment using an Anglo Platinum specified 3D software design system. The scope of Vhumbanani’s work has recently been extended to include further work for Anglo Platinum, most notably the construction and commissioning of the largest throughput single platinum concentrators in the southern hemisphere, i.e. 600ktpm PP Rust plant completed in 2007.

An earlier project completed in 2002 had demonstrated DRA’s capability to Anglo Platinum when we installed a 30 000tpm plant at Amandelbult, following a visit by the Anglo Platinum team to see the plant which we had completed at Messina. This project was extended in 2005 to 75000 TPM on the congested brownfields site. Following the very successful completion of the Aquarius / Anglo Platinum PSA project, Anglo Platinum awarded the design and construction of the Mototolo 200ktpm UG2 Concentrator to DRA. This project was again completed within budget and in record time to meet the required performance criteria in 2006.

Messina Platinum Project

The DRA management of the Messina Platinum Project set a significant milestone in the mining industry with respect to the fast tracking of engineering projects. The instruction to proceed with the design and execution of the Interim Plant Project was received on 12 January 2001 and mechanical completion was signed off on 25 June 2001. Remarkably, the project was also completed well within the project budget.

In the meantime, Messina had proceeded with the construction of the 90 000tpm Voorspoed Project. Once again DRA collected a bonus for completion under budget and ahead of schedule.
During 2003, DRA undertook a feasibility study for Anglovaal for its new Platinum project at Two Rivers. This project rolled into detailed design and construction during 2005. Included in DRA’s scope is our largest involvement to date on surface and underground infrastructure, including underground ore and men transport. Surface work includes our first water dam, plus roads and slimes disposal sites.

DRA has been intimately involved in the smelter expansion at WPL, in close conjunction with Hatch who have supplied the actual furnace, Many other less noteworthy, but nonetheless important, projects have been undertaken for Lonmin including compressor upgrades, winder installations, reticulation projects etc.

Mimosa Project - Zimbabwe

Our position as the world's most experienced contractor for PGM plant was recognized by Zimasco who selected DRA as their consultant for the development of their Mimosa pilot project in Zimbabwe. Following the successful operation of this pilot project rate at 800tpd, DRA was commissioned to construct a full scale production unit rated at 4 000tpd. This gave DRA first hand experience in the construction of a significant project in Zimbabwe. The depressed state of the Zimbabwean economy necessitated innovative solutions to be found during the execution of this project. Nevertheless, DRA completed the project on schedule and under budget.

Further expansion work was completed at the Mimosa operation (now under the control of Aquarius Platinum Limited) which has clearly demonstrated the viability of PGM production on the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe. Our relationship with this client has been almost continuous for nearly ten years.

In recognition of the experience gained in the successful implementation of our work at Mimosa, combined with satisfaction on the part of Impala Platinum during our construction of the Marula Project, DRA has been awarded the engineering phase of Zimplats’ (Impala) major project which is the Ngezi Project, South of Harare. Extensive infrastructure work including housing, roads, HV power systems and dams have all been part of this expansion. The first phase plant is currently under construction.

Northam Platinum upgrade project was a 75000 ton per annum UG2 concentrator incorporating the largest rod mill installed in Africa. Construction was completed in nine and a half months and three and a half weeks ahead of schedule. In addition, the project was under budget.

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