From Bloomberg. Story by Franz Wild.

Billionaire Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. gained the most in 17 months after overcoming local opposition to get final approval to build one of the world’s biggest platinum mines in South Africa.

The country’s Department of Mineral Resources signed off on the license to produce platinum-group and base metals at the $1.6-billion Platreef project in the Northern Limpopo province for a renewable 30-year period, the Vancouver-based company said in a statement today.

The authorization “signals the South African government’s determination to grow our country’s economy,” Mines Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi said, according to the statement. “The Platreef Project will attract foreign capital, create much needed jobs and contribute significantly to socio-economic development in areas surrounding the project.”

The approval means Ivanhoe’s local unit, Ivanplats, will scrap a plan to cut jobs at Platreef, it said. The company had initiated the process because it said it didn’t have a definite date to start mining.

Read more at Bloomberg.