OVERVIEW

• Tragically, 3 fatalities occurred during the quarter
• Group platinum production (expressed as metal in concentrate) was marginally higher than the comparative period in 2015 at 586,000 ounce
• Strong operational performances achieved by Unki, Union and the joint ventures operations
• Refined platinum production increased by 33% to 748,000 ounces for the quarter, reflecting the recovery at the Precious Metals Refinery after a planned stock take and safety stoppage in Q1 2016

REVIEW OF THE QUARTER

OPERATIONS

Tragically we had three losses of life due to work related incidents during the second quarter of 2016. Mr Mlamuli Kubheka and Mr Mveliso Ntamehlo were fatally injured in a winch related incident at Amandelbult mine on 26 April 2016 and Mr Tamsanqa Ngqambiya sustained fatal injuries in a fall of ground at Rustenburg Mine on 3 June 2016. Our condolences go to the families, friends and colleagues of Mr Kubheka, Mr Ntamehlo and Mr Ngqambiya. These tragic incidents came after a record fatality-free period of 323 days highlighting the Company’s focus on improving safety.

The Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (“LTIFR”) per 200,000 hours worked at managed operations reduced 35% to 0.72 compared to the LTIFR of 1.11 of Q2 2015.

Total platinum production was up 1% to 586,000 ounces as a result of improved performances during the quarter at Unki, Union and the joint venture operations.

Mogalakwena increased total milled volumes by 6% in Q2 2016, however a return to normalised lower grades resulted in a 3% decrease in platinum production to 99,000 ounces.

Amandelbult production increased 1% to 106,000 ounces. This strong mining performance was offset by a single incident on 26 April 2016 that resulted in two fatalities, and the subsequent mine stoppage which resulted in a loss of 18,000 ounces.

Unki production increased by 12% to 18,000 ounces for the period. The increased production was due to improved underground mining efficiencies which resulted in increased milled volume, and a 9% increase in grade due to improved mining height control.  

Joint venture production (mined and purchased) increased 9% to 203,000 ounces due to strong production performances from Modikwa, Mototolo, BRPM and Kroondal which was partly offset by Bokoni. Production at Bokoni decreased by 14% as a result of community unrest causing 10 days production loss.

Platinum production from Rustenburg operations including the Western Limb Tailings Retreatment (WLTR) was down 8% to 112,000 ounces. Mine production was lower due to the impact of the Section 54 safety stoppage associated with the fatality, mining through difficult ground areas, and marginally lower grade. WLTR increased 27% to 14,000 ounces in part due to new production from the East tailings dams. 

Following the significant restructuring at Union, the mine continued to improve performance against its optimised mine plan with production 31% higher at 41,000 ounces mainly due to improved underground mining efficiencies and increased stability at the concentrator plant.

Refined platinum production increased by 33% to 748,000 ounces. The increase is a result of refining the backlog of production not processed in Q1 2016 as a result of a planned stock take at the PMR and a Section 54 Stoppage which closed the PMR for 12 days, and materially impacted production for a further 37 days. The remainder of the shortfall in refined production will be caught up in H2 2016.

Download the Anglo American Platinum Limited Production Report for the second quarter ended 30 June 2016