The South African Department of Minerals and Energy has approved Aquarius Platinum's environmental proposals for the Kroondal Platinum Mine.

The environmental management programme report (EMPR) for Aquarius' pool and share project at Kroondal has been given the green light, paving the way for construction of a new concentrator and shaft to begin this month on schedule.

According to Mining Weekly, under the terms of the deal with Anglo Platinum, Kroondal attributable pgm ore reserves will increase by 2.53 million ounces to 3.76 million ounces.

Production at the Kroondal mine will also double to 505,000 pgm ounces by 2005.