Northam Platinum has completed the implementation of a major element of its expansion project in the west of the Zonderveld mine, opening the third shaft (No. 3 Shaft) on Friday. This project represents significant investment in the long-term future of one of South Africa's operating Platinum Group Metals (PGM) mining operations.
Shaft No. 3 has a vertical length of 1382 meters and is intended for transporting personnel, materials, and services to the western expansion area. It is the deepest PGM hoisting shaft in the world drilled by the hoisting method. Its construction aims to improve access to ore reserves and alleviate logistical difficulties associated with servicing the expansion from the existing Zonderveld mine complex, located 4 kilometers away.
Zonderveld is a traditional underground mine located on the northern part of the Bushveld Complex's western limb. The western expansion will add 3.6 km of mineable length west of current underground workings and is estimated to contain over 20 million ounces of PGM in the Merensky and UG2 seams.
Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunn stated that this project is a defining investment for the long-term outlook of the Zonderveld mine. He noted that thanks to this project, the lifespan of the Zonderveld mine will increase by 40 years, securing the future of 12,000 employees and their descendants for many years to come. The successful completion of the vertical shaft construction also demonstrated the company's engineering capabilities and commitment to safety.
According to Dunn, drilling to this depth was carried out by a machine without risk to people, which is the first such case in South Africa. The total amount spent by Northam before commissioning amounted to 6.3 billion Rand. The next phase, involving the construction of a rock shaft, has already begun.
The planned Shaft No. 4 at a depth of 1500 meters will set another world record. Furthermore, the refrigeration plant designed to cool primary rocks at 70°C and power hydraulic equipment is the largest in the world. Dunn emphasized that these investments reflect Northam's long-term confidence in South Africa's mining industry and its country.
The expansion of the mining area is expected to support the creation of approximately 600 additional permanent jobs, as well as provide a long-term contribution of Zonderveld to employment, procurement, and economic activity in Limpopo. The project development began in 2020 after the acquisition of the western expansion resource block. Statistical data for the project includes: approximately 566 tons of structural steel used, 380 tons in the headgear structure, and 186 tons in the winding house structure, with a lining area of approximately 6055 m².
Northam operates three wholly-owned mines—Zonderveld, Buysendal, and Eland—located in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. The company also owns a metallurgical complex in Zonderveld, including a smelting workshop and base metal recovery facilities.
For the year ending June 30, Northam achieved a record production volume of refined metals from its own operations—938,754 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold (4E), as well as a record 158,138 ounces of 4E equivalent refined metal from third parties. The total volume of chrome concentrate produced and sold also reached a record of 1.69 million tonnes, an increase of 17.4% compared to the previous year. This increase resulted from improved throughput in Upper Group 2 (UG2), raw material quality, and concentrator recovery, especially at the Eland mine, where product recovery more than doubled in the last year.
Quaise Energy has successfully raised $134 million in a Series B round to accelerate the commercial deployment of its geothermal energy technology. Prelude Ventures led this round, with JERA and Idemitsu serving as strategic investors, alongside Safar Partners and other existing company partners.
Quaise plans to use this technology to extract geothermal electricity from previously inaccessible but costly resources on an industrial scale. Founded in Houston, the company aims to produce clean, stable electricity from wells where temperatures range from 400 to 1000 degrees Celsius and depths exceed a mile beneath the Earth's surface.
The company asserts that 'Project Obsidian' will become the world's first commercial power plant based on superhot geothermal energy. Theoretically, such a plant could power a facility comparable in capacity to modern coal or nuclear plants while offering competitive and renewable tariffs. Work on this facility is already underway on federally owned geothermal sites in the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon. Project Obsidian is planned to begin feeding energy into the grid in 2030, providing constant base load for the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to Project Obsidian, Quaise continues to work on its specialized drilling equipment—a 'millimeter wave' type system. This system uses high-frequency energy to vaporize rock, allowing it to reach temperatures of 300–500°C at depths exceeding five miles underground.
For over ten years, the company has been developing its drilling technology, building upon research initiated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During 2025, the company successfully drilled over 100 meters through granite using its full-scale system at a test site in Central Texas. The company is currently approaching a depth of one kilometer at the same site. According to Quaise, this will be the deepest penetration achieved using millimeter wave drilling and the deepest recorded by any non-contact drilling technology.
Managing Director Mark Cupta of Prelude Ventures noted that the company's recent field achievements prove that superhot geothermal energy can become a practical, large-scale energy source capable of meeting future electricity demand. The growing interest in geothermal energy is driven by countries' efforts to find a reliable, low-carbon energy source alongside solar and wind generation. Unlike intermittent renewables, geothermal energy can generate electricity continuously regardless of weather conditions. Quaise believes that its drilling technology significantly expands the number of suitable locations for geothermal energy production, which can reduce dependence on fossil fuels and strengthen national energy independence. The attracted capital will allow the company to continue commercializing its drilling technology and advancing Project Obsidian toward generating initial revenue. Additional funding is expected to support the construction and development of projects later this year.
