Project

The Marikana Mine with Mining Right (MR) No: NW 30/5/1/2/2/113 MR, is an existing opencast and underground mine located in the North West province near the town of Marikana, approximately 30 km to the east of Rustenburg. The mine has been placed under Care and Maintenance since 2012 and no mining activities are currently taking place.
Sibanye-Stillwater has obtained approval under the Environmental Management Programme (EMPR) to establish the Marikana In-Pit Rehabilitation Project by rehabilitating the opencast areas (Main Pit) using retreated tailings from the adjacent Sibanye-Stillwater Kroondal Operations.

Sibanye-Stillwater are proposing the development of a platinum and chrome tailings reprocessing operation at their existing Marikana Mine.
The proposed project will require the establishment of tailings storage capacity to accommodate the reprocessed tailings as well as tailings currently being deposited to the Marikana TSF, which is nearing the end of its design life.
Sibanye-Stillwater have identified the area of previous open pit mining operations (Main Pit) to the east of the existing Marikana Plant and TSF as a potential site for a single large TSF to accept tailings from the proposed operations. It is proposed that deposition will commence in the remaining voids, to be followed by the development of a surface TSF over the voids and the previously disturbed surrounding areas. Sibanye-Stillwater is proposing to rehabilitate the opencast areas using retreated tailings from the current arisings of the Kroondal K1, K2 and in future possibly from Karee 3B concentrating plants and the re-working of the existing Kroondal and Marikana Mine TSF.

OMI Solutions (Pty) Ltd (OMI) has been appointed as the independent environmental assessment practitioner to undertake A WULA in terms of the Water Use Licence Application and Appeals Regulations of 24 March 2017 (GN R267 of 2017); published in terms of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998) (NWA), was lodged with the North West Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on the 23rd of February 2021 with the following Reference No: WU20334.