Ivanhoe Mines: SA grants right to dig platinum

Ivanhoe Mines had received state approval to start building a platinum mine in South Africa, the mining developer founded by billionaire Robert Friedland said yesterday. The Vancouver-based firm said: “The mining right… will be for an initial period of up to 30 years and will be renewable for an unlimited number of consecutive periods.” Ivanhoe plans to develop the mine in three phases, with the first two taking output to 785 000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold a year. The asset is alongside Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena mine. – Bloomberg