OVERVIEW
- Commitment to zero harm – no fatalities in the period
- Group production of platinum metal in concentrate(1) increased to 614, 000 ounces, up 14% over the Q3 2014 strike impacted period when the Rustenburg, Amandelbult and Union operations were ramping up
- Mogalakwena production increased to 90,000 ounces, a 2% increase due to improved mining performance, recoveries and higher grades
- Refined platinum production increased by 33% to 611,000 ounces compared to the strike affected Q3 2014
REVIEW OF THE QUARTER
OPERATIONS
Anglo American Platinum remains committed to zero harm and saw an improvement in safety performance during the period. The Company had no fatalities. The Lost time Injury Frequency Rate (“LTIFR”) per 200,000 hours at managed operations for the quarter was 0.92, lower than the normalised LTIFR (adjusting for the strike) of 0.95 for 2014.
Total platinum production increased by 14% to 614,000 ounces compared to 541,000 ounces in Q3 2014, where strike-affected mines were ramping up to normal production during the quarter. Production increased 6% versus Q2 2015 due to increased throughput, as the third quarter has the highest number of working days in the year.
Platinum production from own mines and tailings retreatment increased 25% to 395,000 ounces due to the Rustenburg, Amandelbult and Union operations being strike affected during Q3 2014. Lost production in Q3 2014 as a result of the ramp-up following the five month long strike which ended 24 June 2014 was approximately 92,000 platinum ounces. In addition, as part of the on-going optimisation of Union mine, production was 11,000 ounces lower in Q3 2015 following the closure of the mine declines at the end of 2014.
Mogalakwena production increased by 2% to 90,000 ounces due to higher achieved head grade and improved recoveries at the concentrator. The mine was impacted by community disruption in the quarter which led to a loss of production of 9,000 ounces. A pathway to resolve matters with communities was agreed, production has since recovered and the mine remains on course to meet full year production guidance of 380,000 ounces.
Rustenburg (including WLTR) increased platinum production from 101,000 ounces to 122,000 ounces; Union mine increased from 34,000 to 38,000 ounces; and Amandelbult increased from 75,000 to 126,000 ounces due to the mines ramping up to normal production in 2014 following the strike.
Unki mine production was flat at 16,000 ounces for the quarter despite a five day shut down for general plant maintenance, due to grade optimisation.
Production from the Joint Venture & Associate operations (mined and purchased) was broadly unchanged at 209,000 ounces.
Refined platinum production increased by 33% to 611,000 ounces, following a return to normal production after the industrial action and subsequent ramp up in Q3 2014. Refined palladium and rhodium increased for similar reasons. The mix of metals returned to normal compositions as all mines produced at normal rates.
OUTLOOK
Full year refined production guidance remains at 2.3 to 2.4 million ounces. Capital expenditure guidance, comprising of stay in business and project capital expenditure has been revised and will likely be around R4.0bn for the full year (the lower of our previous guidance range of between R4.0 to R4.5 billion) as disciplined capital allocation remains a priority. Major project capital decisions have been postponed to at least 2017. The outlook for unit cost is within the guided range of between R19,250 to R19,750 per platinum ounce (as guided to the new unit cost metric to be used by the group).
The above information has not been reviewed or reported on by the Company’s external auditors.
1 In keeping with industry benchmarks, production disclosure has been amended to reflect own mine production and purchases of metal in concentrate. Previous disclosure of own mine production and purchases of metal in concentrate was converted to equivalent refined production using standard smelting and refining recoveries.
Download the Anglo American Platinum Limited Production Report for the third quarter ended 30 September 2015