PALABORA MINING COMPANY ( PMC )
South Africa ’ s only producer of refined copper and Limpopo ’ s biggest employer , Palabora Mining Company ( PMC ) is in expansion mode , a task it is executing with exceptional respect for both community and ecology
Palabora Mining Company was incorporated in South Africa in August 1956 and was owned and managed by Rio Tinto until 2013 when it was acquired by a consortium led by the Industrial Development Corporation ( IDC ) of South Africa Limited and China ’ s Hebei Iron & Steel Group . Acting CEO Maboko Mahlaole was working at the company in the capacity of HR Director at the time of the acquisition , and has seen PMC pursuing new and encouraging strategies under its new owners .
Nobody could say that Rio Tinto and its minority partner Anglo American were not committed to the mine , but at the time of the recession , the implementation of an expansion plan to extend the mine ’ s life for a further 20 years was in doubt . The high copper grades obtained from the original open pit mine , which created the ‘ biggest hole in South Africa ’ having been largely exhausted , and the $ 410 million underground mine , whose production capacity reached 30,000 tonnes of ore per day reaching the end of its life , a decision had to be made , and in November 2014 the board finally approved a $ 9.3 billion expansion programme to extend the mine at a deeper level . The Lift II mine will be dug 450 metres below Lift I and will ensure a continuation of copper mining in Palabora to 2030 and beyond .
This long term vision had to encompass not only building the deep mine , but also addressing the beneficiation operations . As much as 30 percent of the headline cost will be taken up
42 August 2015