The American-Canadian billionaire and also a mining magnate, Robert Friedland, has gone on to initiate the first phase of a $2-billion platinum-group metals project in South Africa. The project is all set to impact local communities and would employ more than 2,000 individuals and also foster the economic growth of the region.
Ivanhoe Mines is going to be investing $1.2 billion in the initial phases, eyeing a potential expansion by adding $800 million.
Robert Friedland, the mining billionaire, has gone on to launch the first phase of a much-awaited US$2-billion platinum-group metals project in South Africa. With this, he has realized a vision that has been 37 years in the making by way of decades of exploration and planning as well as development.
A Cornerstone African Mining Project
Friedland, the founder as well as the executive co-chairman of Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., went on to inaugurate the Platreef mine on November 18, 2025, alongside Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president.
The project can indeed be called one of the most prominent new mining developments in the continent and also a rare large-scale investment in the struggling mining industry of South Africa.
World-Class Deposit
Calling Platreef the largest undeveloped precious-metals mine in the world, Friedland went on to say that the operation is all set to become one of the lowest-cost worldwide sources of palladium, platinum, nickel, copper, and rhodium.
as well as gold.
According to South African President Ramaphosa, present at the ceremony, it indeed gives them a glimpse of the bright future of the mining industry in South Africa. He added that they do maintain that mining is indeed a sunrise industry, which has to continue to play a major enabling role in the development of the nation.
Ramaphosa further said that the modern concentrator plant of Platreef goes on to reflect how South Africa is indeed positioning itself as a strategic partner when it comes to the global energy transition and also the next wave pertaining to green industrialization.
Investment and Expansion Plans
The Canadian-American mining entrepreneur and billionaire, Robert Friedland, apparently has a global reputation for developing major mining projects throughout Asia, Africa as well as North America.
Friedland first gained international attention in the early 1990s after discovering the Voisey’s
Bay nickel-copper deposit in Canada, which was later sold for $4.3 billion to Inco.
Notably, Friedland also happened to be the driving force behind the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project development based out of Mongolia and has increasingly focused on Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kamoa-Kakula copper project.
A Strategic Investment
It is well to be noted that Ivanhoe Mines is offering a commitment of $1.2 billion when it comes to the first two phases of the Platreef project, with Phase 2 anticipated to come online in the latter half of 2027. If it gets approved, a potential Phase 3 could as well go ahead and add another $800 million, hence further expanding the capacity of the mine.
According to Friedland, the Phase 1 mine is only a baby first step to an operation that they will be making almost 10 times bigger across the two further phases in terms of expansion, therefore underscoring the long-term vision of Friedland for the project.
Interestingly, Platreef also goes on to mark the first major venture in South Africa by Friedland. Ivanhoe Mines goes on to have 64% of the project, whereas 26% is owned by the Black economic empowerment partners, which includes the likes of 20 local communities that represent almost 150,000 residents.
Notably, the mine has already become a major source of employment, with more than 2000 people that work on-site, most coming from the nearby communities, hence highlighting the local economic impact on the community.
Delays and Development Issues
It is worth noting that the Platreef deposit was first identified in the 1980s; however, earlier production timelines got delayed because of capital allocation as well as fluctuations when it comes to commodity prices.
Matthew Keevil, the spokesman from Ivanhoe, went on to explain that the rescheduling
was majorly based around the capital expenditure plans that were related to certain other projects, hence offering context in terms of the long development period.
He further added that they have been spending some time now and also money at Kamoa-Kakula in the last five to six years, and it is indeed not typical to go ahead and build two tier-one mines simultaneously. Apparently, PGM prices also competitively bottomed in that period, while copper has had a moment in the sun.
A New Era When It Comes to African Mining
With Platreef now getting into production, the country is positioning the mine as a flagship in terms of modern and high-tech Africa-based mining, which is capable of supplying global green-energy markets while at the same time supporting the local economic growth.