Pallinghurst to challenge Lonmin

[miningmx.com] — PALLINGHURST Resources said it would challenge Lonmin, the world’s third largest platinum producer, in terms of metal output by improving output at its Platmin-controlled concentrator.

In an interview with Business Day, Pallinghurst CEO, Arne Frandsen, said: “Our focus over the next 12 months is to get Platmin to steady state annual production of 250,000 oz of platinum group metals and get the ownership of these three properties into one entity to create a new force in the platinum sector”.

Pallinghurst, which also has precious stones and manganese related investments, controls Platmin and has a joint venture with the Bakgatla community in South Africa’s North West province. The joint venture bought 80% of the Maganzynskraal property.

The Platmin concentrator can produce 350,000 oz a year, said Business Day. It will take 12 months and about R600m to double the plant’s capacity to 700,000 oz, pushing ore from the shallow Sedibelo and Magazynskraal resources, it said.

“This will put us neck-and-neck with Lonmin,” Frandsen told Business Day.