A mineralogical perspective on the recovery of platinum group elements from Merensky Reef and UG2 at the Two Rivers mine on the Eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa

Abstract

Published studies dealing with the process mineralogy of Pt mines on the Bushveld Complex is generally limited to the Western Bushveld. The recognition by mine management that another resource, in addition to the Upper Group 2 (UG2) reef currently being mined at the Two Rivers platinum mine (TRP), is urgently required in order to extend the life of mine, presented an opportunity to conduct such a study on the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex. A process mineralogical investigation was undertaken on ore from the Merensky Reef (MR) and the UG2 at TRP. This was conducted on a suite of geological samples (channel samples) collected from the underground workings, as well as metallurgical samples obtained from the rougher circuits at the concentrator plant during the processing of MR and UG2 ore. The geological and metallurgical samples were analysed for bulk composition and quantitative mineralogy, while the geological samples were also subjected to laboratory-scale milling and flotation tests. This study shows that, although mineralogically distinct, the MR and UG2 behave similarly in terms of metallurgical performance. This holds promise for the proposed blending of MR and UG2 ores at TRP. An evaluation of the bulk rock (ore) Pt/Pd ratio as a possible indicator of the level of hydrothermal alteration of the ore, demonstrates that this may be of use in predicting recovery plant performance.