Anglo American Platinum's board of directors has approved the 30-year life extension of the Mototolo/Der Brochen project in South Africa for USD$244.9 million (R3.9 billion).

The mining company said the project's approval supports its strategic approach of maximising value from its core portfolio of assets, investing capital into life-extension projects that "generate strong returns."

The execution of the project will begin in Q1 2022. Capital investment will take place over six years, with the majority invested in 2022, 2023 and 2024, with financial returns of 25%.

Natascha Viljoen, chief executive officer of Anglo American Platinum, described the Der Brochen project as an example of "high-quality, low-cost expansion."

Additionally, Viljoen said the company is also working to improve workstreams at its Mogalakwena project and that the business has continued to benefit from the "strong market fundamentals" despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company's workstreams at the Mogalakwena project include technology upgrades, downstream processing, and increasing concentrator capacity.