Mining billionaire Robert Friedland has launched the first phase of a long-awaited US$2-billion platinum-group metals project in South Africa, realising a vision that has been 37 years in the making through decades of exploration, planning, and development.
A Landmark African Mining Project
Friedland, founder and executive co-chairman of Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., inaugurated the Platreef mine on Tuesday alongside President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The project is one of the most significant new mining developments on the continent and a rare large-scale investment in South Africa’s struggling mining industry.
World-Class Deposit
Describing Platreef as “the world’s largest undeveloped precious-metals mine,” Friedland said the operation is poised to become one of the lowest-cost global sources of platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, copper and gold.
“It gives us a glimpse of the bright future of South Africa’s mining industry,” Ramaphosa said at the ceremony. “We maintain that mining is a sunrise industry that must continue to play a critical enabling role in our nation’s development.”
He added that Platreef’s modern concentrator plant reflects how South Africa is “positioning itself as a strategic partner in the global energy transition and the next wave of green industrialization.”
Robert Friedland, the Canadian-American mining entrepreneur and billionaire, has built a global reputation by developing major mining projects across Africa, North America, and Asia.
He first gained international attention in the early 1990s after discovering the Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper deposit in Canada, which was later sold to Inco for $4.3 billion.
Friedland was also the driving force behind the development of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia and has increasingly focused on Africa, including the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ivanhoe Mines is committing $1.2 billion to the first two phases of the Platreef project, with Phase 2 expected to come online in late 2027. If approved, a potential Phase 3 could add an additional $800 million, further expanding the mine’s capacity.
“The Phase 1 mine is just a baby first step to an operation that we’ll be making 10 times larger, over two further phases of expansion,” Friedland said, highlighting the long-term vision for the project.
Platreef also marks Friedland’s first major venture in South Africa. Ivanhoe Mines holds 64% of the project, while 26% is owned by Black economic empowerment partners, including 20 local communities representing roughly 150,000 residents.
The mine has already become a significant source of employment, with over 2,000 people working on-site, most drawn from nearby communities, underscoring the project’s local economic impact.
Source: Africabusinessinsider
