[miningmx.com] — IMPALA Platinum said on Friday that output of refined platinum rose 9% in the nine months to the end of March.
Implats said nine-months production rose 9% to 1.38 million ounces on the back of higher throughput at its mines. Production of palladium and rhodium rose 4% during the same period.
Production during the January-March quarter stood at 425,000oz.
Output during the first three months of 2011 was impacted by safety-related stoppages at its Impala Rustenburg and Marula operations, resulting in a total loss of around 10,500oz of platinum.
South Africa has a dire safety record compared with the industrialised world, and deaths have led to temporary closure of mines, denting output.
Companies have invested heavily to improve safety in a bid to dismiss claims by unions that they were putting ounces before lives. But analysts have said it is unlikely they will reach a zero-harm record in the near term.
Implats said full-year production at its Impala operation was estimated at around 940,000oz. Production at Marula remained constrained by the lack of mining flexibility, it said. Implats said its Zimbabwean unit Zimplats was running at its Phase 1 nameplate capacity of 180,000oz, while its expansion to 270,000oz remained on track.
South African miners have been battling with safety-related stoppages and strikes over wages, with unions demanding above-inflation increases, which employers said they could not afford.
The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) said earlier this month it was demanding a 14% pay rise for its members at Implats, more than triple the official inflation rate, which stood at 4.1% in March.
Last year, the union and Implats agreed on a 7.5% to 8% rise in wages after talks which took weeks and only just managed to avoid a strike.
