铂金有限公司（Platinum Ltd.）正接近做出决定，这一决定很可能将世界上最大的铂金矿转为地下开采。
Platinum Ltd. is nearing a decision that’s likely to take the world’s largest platinum mine underground.
莫加拉克瓦纳（Mogalakwena）位于南非首都比勒陀利亚（Pretoria）与津巴布韦边境之间的中途点，是该公司的旗舰资产，拥有超过八十年的可采储量。但随着露天矿中矿石品位下降，开采成本上升，瓦尔特拉（Valterra）正在探索地表以下更深层的资源。
Mogalakwena — half way along the road from South Africa’s capital Pretoria to the Zimbabwe border — is the company’s flagship asset, with more than eight decades of reserves remaining. But as ore grades decline in its open pits and mining the material becomes more expensive, Valterra is exploring deep beneath the surface.
该地下项目名为桑兹卢特（Sandsloot），多年来一直在评估中，但如今终于似乎即将成为现实。瓦尔特拉计划在今年晚些时候开始试采，并在2027年作出最终投资决策。
That underground project, known as Sandsloot, has been under evaluation for years but finally appears on the cusp of becoming a reality. Valterra plans to begin trial mining later this year and to reach a final investment decision in 2027.
“我们认为，转为地下开采是对我们最具成本效益的选择，”首席财务官萨尤丽·奈杜（Sayurie Naidoo）在接受彭博电视（Bloomberg Television）采访时表示。
“We believe that going underground is the most cost-effective option for us,” Chief Financial Officer Sayurie Naidoo said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s .
在莫加拉克瓦纳建设地下矿的绿灯批准将是该公司自2025年6月从英美资源集团（Anglo American Plc）分拆以来迈出的最重要一步。届时，它将在全球铂族金属产量预计在未来几年持续下降之际，释放数百万盎司的高品位矿石。
The green light for an underground mine at Mogalakwena would be the firm’s most significant step forward since being spun off from Anglo American Plc in June 2025. It would unlock millions of ounces of high-grade ore at a time when global production of platinum-group metals is expected to dwindle in the years to come.
“我们在投资组合内就拥有许多、许多十年的铂族金属（PGMs）储备，因此供应不是问题，”首席执行官克雷格·米勒（Craig Miller）在同一节目中表示。
“We have many, many decades of PGMs available just within our portfolio, so the supply is not a concern,” Chief Executive Officer Craig Miller said on the same show.
瓦尔特拉在南非拥有三处运营项目，而南非几乎拥有全球80%的这些金属储量。但莫加拉克瓦纳的演变将对该国按价值计算的最大铂族金属矿商的未来至关重要。
Valterra owns three operations in South Africa, which holds nearly 80% of global reserves of the metals, but the evolution of Mogalakwena would be pivotal for the future of the country’s biggest PGM miner by value.
这 partly 是因为该项目正值铂族金属需求最大的来源——即用于减少汽油和柴油车有害排放的装置——正因电动汽车的兴起而面临压力。
That’s partly because the project comes as the biggest source of demand for PGMs — devices that curb harmful emissions from gasoline and diesel cars — is under pressure from the rise of electric vehicles.
瓦尔特拉的领导层仍持乐观态度，称电动汽车电动化的采用预测一直被证明是过于乐观的。
Valterra’s leadership remains bullish, saying that forecasts on the uptake of battery EVs have consistently proved to be overoptimistic.
“我们仍然认为，PGMs（铂族金属）将在未来出行中发挥作用，”首席执行官克雷格·米勒在同一节目中表示。他指出了内燃机的持久生命力、混合动力汽车的作用，以及从长远来看，氢能交通的潜力。
“We still feel that PGMs will have a role to play in future mobility,” Chief Executive Officer Craig Miller said on the same show. He points to the staying power of internal combustion engines, the role played by hybrid cars and – in the longer term – the potential for transport powered by hydrogen.
此外，涉及数据中心和先进芯片大规模投资的人工智能基建，“是我们看到潜力更大的领域，”奈杜说。
In addition, the artificial intelligence build-out, involving massive investments in data centers and advanced chips, “is an area where we see a lot more potential,” Naidoo said.