NORTHAM Platinum formally opened the smelter complex expansion at its Zondereinde near Thabazimbi in South Africa’s Limpopo province.
The smelter is the fruit of a partnership with German technology group Heraeus South Africa which contributed €20m (R291m) to the expansion in return for an agreement from Northam that it make 40% of its refined precious metals for sale to Heraeus, among other conditions including an extension of the two parties 30-year partnership.
“Today we are celebrating the fruits of a mutually beneficial, long-standing business partnership between our companies,” said Paul Dunne, CEO of Northam Platinum. He said the addition of a second furnace at Zondereinde was critical because it supported the expansion programme at Booysendal and immediately raised the group’s processing capacity to more than one million platinum group metal ounces.
