Implats to unveil review in February

[miningmx.com] – A STRATEGIC review of the South African shafts owned by Impala Platinum (Implats) would be complete in December and would be unveiled at the firm’s interim results presentation in February.

The company, the world’s second largest platinum producer, said earlier this year that it would examine the viability of operations and projects in the wake of a strike by AMCU which may have threatened the future viability of some shafts.

There have also been some questions about whether Implats would need to ask the market for capital as well as the possibility the company could sell some properties pending the outcome of its strategic review.

Commenting in its first quarter production update, the group added that its half-year and full-year platinum output targets of 250,000 ounces and 575,000 oz respectively would be unaffected by safety-related stoppages during the period.

Four employees and a contractor were killed at Implats’ Lease Area mine in Rustenburg and at its Marula facility which led to a four-day shutdown of operations in order to mourn the victims, the company said.

Gross platinum production during the period was 25% lower at 280,000 oz owing to lower production at Impala Rustenburg as it ramped-up operations following the AMCU driven five-month wage strike that ended in June 2014.

Lower production from Zimplats, impacted by the Bimha Mine safety closure, and safety and industrial action stoppages at Marula, also impacted production, the company said.

The mine was shut in August following its partial collapse in July, a development that Zimplats, in which Impala has an 87% stake, said could lead to the loss of 70,000 oz.

However, Implats said today that partly owing to the ramp-up of its phase two expansion at the mine, which would reach full production in the second half of the financial year, the production loss would be minimised to 30,000 oz. “The re-engineering of mining operations and further production mitigation measures at the
Bimha Mine are ongoing,” it said.

Platinum production at Mimosa increased by 11%, while Two Rivers maintained production levels at 44,000 oz. Impala Refining Services (IRS) throughput increased by 11% largely due to the timing of the treatment of stockpiled material.

In line with reduced platinum production, group unit costs rose by 62% to R26,698 per platinum ounce compared to R16,488 achieved in the previous corresponding period.
Gross cash at the end of the quarter under review was R3.3bn, it said.