JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - The world's fourth-largest platinum producer Aquarius said on Thursday that it had initiated senior management personnel changes and a safety review at its Blue Ridge mine, following two fatalities during the company's fourth quarter.

Aquarius CEO Stuart Murray said that the fatalities that occurred during two separate incidents during the quarter had prompted the company to review and overhaul the safety procedures at the mine.

He added that the current lower rand price for platinum group metals (PGMs) and a focus on safe operations had initiated action to implement a new fundamental redevelopment programme at the mine over the next ten to 12 months.

The optimisation programme would provide for a third mine access point and reinstates the construction of a second decline that was previously shelved by prior managers.

The company would also provide for underground waste surge capacity infrastructure and aggressive on- and off-reef development.

Murray said that the company was currently evaluating a number of options for the execution of the programme. He said that one of the options would be to terminate production at the mine for up to seven months.

"This will provide a period to be used exclusively for the implementation of fundamental mining infrastructure alterations and key development initiatives on the mine. We think that this option will prove most cash efficient," said Murray.

Aquarius expected that the termination of PGM production from Blue Ridge for the 2011 financial year would be substantially lower than guided, pending the conclusion of the plan.

During the three months ended June 30, 2010, Blue Ridge produced 10 202 PGM ounces, of which 5 101 oz were attributable to Aquarius and the balance to its joint-venture (JV) partner Anglo Platinum.

"Management is committed to the redevelopment of the Blue Ridge mine in the short-term, in order to realise its potential as a safe, sustainable and profitable mine in the medium- and long-term, and to ensure its survival in the current market conditions," said Murray.

The company also saw five more fatalities at its Marikana JV mine just after the quarter ended, after which South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) instructed all mining operations employing the bord-and-pillar mining method in the North West province to reduce bord-widths to 6 m.

"The instruction was clarified after a meeting with the DMR to mean that mines using bords wider than 6 m were required to present action plans to move to more safe and conservative mining methods," said Murray.

Aquarius' action plan was accepted by the department and is now being rolled out at its Kroondal and Marikana mines, while it continues to review its safety practices at Everest mine.

Nevertheless, Murray said that even with the challenges that the company experienced during its final quarter of 2010, it still managed to better production volumes compared with the previous quarter. "Our Kroondal and Mimosa mines performed well during the period, which also saw the early and very promising restart of production from Everest.

PGM production increased by 5% to 108 438 oz at the Kroondal mine and total mine production at Mimosa increased t 49 709 oz with underground production increasing by 16% to 563 976 t.

Total attributable production increased by 7% quarter-on-quarter to 110 474 oz.

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