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Key attributable FY2011 data:

location:

The Everest mine is located on the southern portion of the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex near the town of Mashishing, in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa

comprises:

Two decline shaft systems completed end FY2010 – one a belt, people, material and vehicle access way and the other a vehicle access way. A third access way, the valley box cut, is currently under construction. The concentrator plant has a capacity of 250,000tpm

ownership/management:

Dedicated AQPSA management team

safety:

Focus on safety performance for the first full year of operation following the resumption of mining activity in April 2010. There were no fatalities in FY2011 and 1 million fatality-free shifts were achieved during the year

resources and reserves:

As at end June 2011, total attributable mineral resources of 3.22 million 4E ounces after application of geological losses. Total attributable mineral reserves of 1.46 million 4E ounces

refining:

Offtake agreement with Impala Refining Services

number of employees:

As at end June 2011, 1,681 employees including 1,665 contractors

about everest

Everest, Aquarius’ third operation in South Africa, is its sole wholly owned operation. The project was awarded its mining licence in June 2003, following which construction began initially in October 2004. The first shipment of concentrate was made in November 2005, one month ahead of schedule.

In terms of a transaction with a black economic empowerment (BEE) consortium led by Savannah Resources, R860 million was injected into AQPSA and used to fund the development of Everest. Some of the surface rights within the Everest mine area have been transferred to the local Bakone and Phetla community – the land’s historical owners – in terms of a settlement agreement reached with the land restitution authorities. The land required for mining is in turn leased back to Everest.

Following the subsidence event and the halt in operations in December 2008, a R259 million re-establishment project was initiated, following the completion of which mining operations were resumed by the end of the 2010 financial year.

location and geology

Everest is approximately 450km east-north-east of the company’s flagship operation, the Kroondal Platinum Mine. The orebody is a well-defined, elongated basin-like structure of UG2 Reef lying beneath a hill and extending from surface to a depth of around 250m at the deepest point. The shallow nature of the orebody makes the development of Everest relatively cost-effective.

recent acquisitions

Aquarius’ most significant acquisition in recent times is that of Buttonshope (Booysendal South), which is adjacent to AQPSA’s Everest mine. This R1.2 billion acquisition will increase Aquarius’s resource base by 31.1 million ounces of PGM (4E), or around 24%.

As the UG2 ore body at Buttonshope is contiguous with that at Everest, AQPSA can access this reef horizon from existing Everest infrastructure. According to an initial assessment of the costs and benefits of the consequent expansion potential at Everest, expenditure of around R850 million could extend Everest’s life of mine from around the current six to more than 30 years, while simultaneously enabling increased production levels that will in turn make use of both current excess and expansion capacity at the Everest processing plant. This capital would be spent primarily on a second decline shaft, mining and underground infrastructure, debottlenecking of the plant and a new tailings dam to cater for the extended life-of-mine. Additional technical studies will be conducted to confirm these estimates.

Ultimately the expansion planned around Buttonshope will enable Everest to increase its current planned annual steady-state production of around 190,000 PGM ounces by 25% to 250,000 PGM ounces annually from 2017.

production

The re-establishment project and development of the additional Valley access decline were completed during the first half of the year. Development mining began and progressed well in the Valley decline, a system which will create mining flexibility and enable additional and faster access to the western orebody of the mine and, ultimately, to the Buttonshope orebody.

Recruitment and training of new production crews was completed during the year, in line with the planned ramp-up in production. In line with the retrenchment agreement signed with the unions when operations were suspended in December 2008, most of those currently recruited are former employees.

The ramp-up in production initially progressed as planned for the first eight months of the year with grades and recoveries both improving steadily. In the final months of the year, mining was scheduled to take place on the shallower fringes of the Everest orebody, where an oxidised zone of approximately 50m in depth was anticipated. However, the actual oxidised layer was found to occur significantly deeper (at approximately 75m), and the resulting friable rock and bad ground conditions encountered negatively impacted mine production, head grade and consequently unit costs during this period.

Primary development amounted to 5,037 metres. Stockpiles at the end of the financial year were approximately 3,000t.

Plant stability allowed for slightly improved recoveries, despite the oxidised material being treated. The oxidised material and associated bad ground conditions negatively impacted production in the final months of the year, and caused the mine to produce below plan. The mining cycles have been adjusted to take into account the area of oxidisation and to allow for the installation of additional support.

Processed tonnes improved during the year to 1.38Mt. A head grade of 2.77g/t 4E was achieved for the year. The lower-than-expected grade is attributed to the increase in waste mined. Recoveries increased by 44% to 82%, with the plant operating optimally. Tail grades for the year averaged 0.43g/t.

The chrome recovery spiral plant was commissioned early in the year and has been a notable success for Everest with a total of 101,640 tonnes of chrome ore concentrate being processed and sold.

key statistics - as at 30 June 2011

mineral resources and mineral reserves - as at 30 June 2011

The Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves have been confirmed in accordance with the South African Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC 2007) and its equivalent, the Australian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC 2004).