eBusiness Weekly
Oliver Kazunga
South Africa’s platinum producer, Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats), which owns Zimbabwe’s biggest operation, Zimplats, says the persistence depreciation of the Rand has adversely impacted the translated dollar cost and capital base of Zimbabwean and Canadian operations.
In a production update and initial trading statement for the year ended June 30, 2023, Implats said the operating environment in the year under review was typified by continuing headwinds and regional power constraints provided a notable impediment to operational continuity and delivery.
“While input pricing across key consumables eased in the latter half of FY2023, rand depreciation persisted, limiting the benefit to our South African operations, and adversely impacting the translated dollar cost and capital base of our Zimbabwean and Canadian assets,” it said.
The group’s gross production increased by 2 percent to 3,25 million ounces of the six elements (6E) which are platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, and gold from 3,19 million ounces during the comparable period last year.
Implats said Zimplats has benefited from the commissioning of the third concentrator at the end of first quarter of 2023 and, despite the impact of lower grade and regional power disruptions, the local operation delivered a 5 percent increase to 611 000 ounces in matte production.
In June this year, Zimplats commissioned the US$104 million concentrator in Ngezi, Mashonaland West Province.
The installation of the plant is also part of the firm’s expansion project expected to generate employment to over 2 000 people with the net benefit of the Government estimated at just over US$1 billion over a five-year period.
During the year under review, the local platinum asset milled 7 500 tonnes compared to 6 882 tonnes in 2022.
It said due to load curtailment at South African-managed operations, and joint venture operations in FY2023, severe loadshedding was experienced across the Zimbabwean national grid in March while operations at Mimosa were impacted by further intermittent power outages in May and June.
“In total, the group estimates circa 36 000 6E ounces of production were foregone across southern African managed and joint venture operations during the period, of which 28 000 6E and 8 000 6E ounces were attributable to Impala Rustenburg and the Zimbabwean operations, respectively,” said Implats.
On Impala Rustenburg in South Africa, the mining group said production rose by 3 percent to 1,23 million stock-adjusted 6E ounces despite the severity and frequency of load curtailment impacting operational continuity.
Also in South Africa, Implats said operating momentum at Marula was negatively impacted by sporadic community unrest in the second half of the period.
This, it said was compounded by the impact of load curtailment resulted in a 7 percent decline from a record production achieved in FY2022, to deliver 6E concentrate production of 241 000oz.
“Impala Canada delivered a 17 percent gain in 6E concentrate production to 291 000oz, with increased throughput of higher-grade underground ore,” said the mining group.
