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Lonmin to lose 40,000 oz in burnout Posted: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 [miningmx.com] -- LONMIN’S ill-fated No.1 furnace is giving trouble again and has been shut down for up to 40 days which will cost the group between 30,000oz and 40,000oz in lost platinum production in the six months to March 2007. Lonmin is the world’s third largest producer of platinum and had targeted production of just over one million ounces of platinum in its current financial year to end-September. This is the third major problem in the last four years with the new furnace. In December 2002 the No 1 furnace exploded after a "run out of slag and matte" which caused major damage resulting in reconstruction of the furnace. Lonmin was forced to have a substantial amount of its production temporarily toll-treated by competitor Impala Platinum as a result. In November 2004 there was another explosion after "an ingress of water through the roof of the No 1 furnace" but, according to Lonmin, this incident was "unrelated to the matte tap hole explosion experienced two years ago and is minor in comparison." Commenting on the second incident in December 2004, Lonmin CEO Brad Mills commented: "A complete review of our operational risks and a new hazard audit of the entire smelter complex is being conducted with the participation of independent professionals with a view to codifying the new techniques learned in the implementation of new smelter technology." According to a statement released to the JSE's Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) by Lonmin, the latest incident involves: "A leak adjacent to one of the matte tap holes." But that leak - which implies that molten metal has burnt through the wall of the furnace - has occurred after yet another rebuild of the furnace which was completed earlier this year as part of the planned maintenance schedule. In February, Lonmin said that it "... is pleased to announce the successful completion of the planned extensive rebuild of the No.1 furnace. The rebuild was completed safely in 27 days (matte tap to matte tap) some five days ahead of schedule. "The work completed included the replacement of all the copper waffles within the furnace and should allow us to run the furnace continuously for a period of around 2 years with only tap hole maintenance." At the time, Lonmin Platinum president Alistair Ross said: "I am delighted we have completed the rebuild in record time and within budget. "This was made possible by the strong partnership forged between Lonmin and our key contractor on the project ANMAR. I would like to thank all the members of the Lonmin and ANMAR teams for their hard work in making this happen.” Asked to comment on the number of accidents at the furnace Lonmin vice-president Alex Shorland-Ball said: "The furnace involves new technology and we seem to be learning the hard way how to manage that technology."Free news alerts: click here to subscribe
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