[miningmx.com] — AQUARIUS Platinum, the world’s fourth largest primary platinum producer, swung to a net profit in the year to end June as higher metal prices outweighed lower output resulting from the temporary closure of the Everest mine.
The group moved to a net profit of $27.8m, after $34.3m of exceptional costs, from a loss of $45.7m the previous year.
Revenue jumped 52% to $472.2m as platinum group metal prices almost doubled.
In July, the miner posted below forecast production for the fourth quarter and warned that it may shut its Blue Ridge mine in South Africa for up to seven months to revamp it following the death of two miners last month.
The company’s current year has started badly with an accident at another South African mine – Marikana, a 50:50 joint venture with Anglo Platinum, killing five miners. It expects unit costs to rise 5% as a result of interim safety measures.
