History

Situated 40 km east of Rustenburg on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa's Northwest Province, is IFM's Bufflesfontein facility. IFM has retained the original name, 'Buffelsfontein', which translates as 'Buffalo Spring'. 

At the initial planning stage, IFM's mission was to construct a low cost Ferrochrome production facility, to produce 267,000 tons per annum (tpa) of ferrochrome, or 3.5 per cent of global supply. 

Construction began in October 2005, just three years after the incorporation of IFM. The stringent project schedule saw the first ore extracted at Buffelsfontein as early as January 2006, with the beneficiation plant and the pelletising/sintering plant commissioned in January 2007. Furnace 1 came on line in January 2007 and furnace 2 followed in February 2007.   

In December 2005, IFM exercised an option to acquire Purity which holds an 80 per cent stake in Sky Chrome. The Sky Chrome property, a property with an estimated chrome ore resource of 58 million tonnes, is situated five kilometres from IFMSA’s Buffelsfontein mine. Management anticipates that the acquisition will allow the Group to extend the life of the ferrochrome facility in excess of 30 years and to double its production capacity through its planned Expansion programme. 

In response to South Africa’s electricity constraints, IFM undertook a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Project in 2008 to convert waste gas from its Furnaces to electricity.  Through this project, IFM aims to Generate c.11% (13.7MW) of overall electricity requirements and reduce its electricity costs by 10%.  Furthermore, the project is expected to displace c.144,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and qualify for Carbon Emissions Reductions (Carbon Credits).  The co-generation plant is on schedule and within budget for commissioning in September 2010. 

In February 2010, IFM announced it had entered into a UG2 supply agreement with Rustenburg Platinum Mines Limited (“RPM”) a subsidiary of Anglo Platinum Limited.  Under this agreement, IFM will be entitled to 15,000tpm concentrate from the expected commissioning date of July 2011. This represents approximately c. 30% of IFM’s beneficiated ore needs at a substantially reduced input cost. 

From the outset and going forward, IFM is determined to deliver on its capital projects on time and within budget, whilst paying the utmost respect to the environment and to the needs of all of its stakeholders.