JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and JSE-listed platinum company Anooraq Resources will be cash positive after project capital by December, says CEO Philip Kotze.

Anooraq, which took over the Bokoni platinum mine - formerly Lebowa - from Anglo Platinum, has been operationally cash-flow positive since December last year, but not after project capital.

"Over the next three quarters, we certainly believe that we will able to be able to demonstrate cash positivity after project capital, so by December of this year," Kotze reiterates.

Kotze adds that completed labour restructuring at the Bokoni platnum complex has laid the foundation production growth is currently being built.

Absolute operating costs continue to decrease, and cash operating margin increased by 33%.

"Now that the labour restructuring is behind us we can start to focus on production volume growth, while at the same time maintaining our track record on absolute cost reductions, thereby improving margins moving forward," Kotze says.

Some 840 people, representing a quarter of Anooraq's own employee workforce, were affected by the restructuring process, which was the main cause of the lost time injury frequency rate rising from 1,04 to 1,2 per 200 000 hours worked.

Some 374 people moved from services into production; 153 were retrenched; 103 who allegedly engaged in unprotected industrial action were dismissed; and the labour unrest resulted in six production shifts being lost.

It is anticipated that stoping teams will have increased at year-end by 40%, from 70 teams currently to 98 teams in total.

Tons milled decreased 8% during the quarter to 229 344, while metal output decreased 13% to 26 677 oz of four element platinum group metals (PGM4E). Although the delivered grade remained constant at 4,39g/t PGM 4E, the head grade dropped to 4,05 g/t PGM 4E, mainly as a result of unplanned concentrator plant stoppages, the causes of which Kotze says have now been rectified.

Anooraq has R202-million in cash as well as access to R527-million in medium-term debt to finance its share of a high growth plan at Bokoni that spans the next three years.