Northam increases interim refined PGM output
Mon Jan 13 2025
NORTHAM Platinum reported a 3.7% increase in equivalent refined platinum group metal (PGM) production of 451,213 ounces for the six months ended December compared to the same period in the previous financial year.
Chrome production was 7.5% higher at some 716,622 tons, a factor that Northam said helped reinforce its position in the lower half of the cost curve.
“The group continues to grow PGM production from own operations towards our strategic goal of one million 4E ounces per annum, whilst preferentially targeting mechanised mining from quality UG2 orebodies, and concurrently reducing our overall risk profile through operational, geographical, metallurgical and revenue diversification,” it said in a production update on Monday.
Third party PGM supply fell to 59,743 oz in PGMs from 83,107 oz previously which it said was to be expected given the outlook of the PGM market.
Paul Dunne, Northam CEO raised eyebrows last year when he said that South Africa would be unable to sustain 3.9 million ounces in annual PGM production owing to the slump in metal prices over the past two years. “Current prices remove the incentive price for new mines which will see a depletion of South Africa’s resource base,” he said.
“The damage has been done and depletion is inevitable.”
Northam’s full year guidance remained unchanged, it said today. It previously forecast equivalent refined metal production of between 880,000 to 910,000 ounces at a unit cost of R25,500 to R26,500 per 4E oz for the current (2025) financial year compared to R23,811/oz last year.
For the six month period there were safety problems at Eland, an operation Northam is ramping up when two employees were killed. The first involved a barring incident which occurred during shotcreting operations in a development tunnel, and the second related to a conveyor belt engineering incident occurring during a maintenance procedure.
“In spite of these events and the resultant stoppages, stoping production remains on target, with an increase in run of mine UG2 ore milled,” said Northam. “This, together with upgrades to both the PGM and chrome concentrators, led to improved recoveries and consequently higher production of PGM and chrome concentrate,” it said.
Source: https://www.miningmx.com