JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed platinum-group metals (PGMs) producer Impala Platinum (Implats) increased its refined platinum production by 9% to 385 000 oz in the third quarter of the 2009 financial year, compared with the 352 000 oz produced the year before.

Reporting on its production figures for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, Implats, which was led by CEO David Brown, noted that it had achieved a 24% increase in palladium production to 224 000 oz, compared with 180 000 oz of palladium produced the year before, mainly as a result of a lock-up in the third quarter of 2008.

Platinum production at the Impala operation had, meanwhile, declined by 12% to 153 000 oz, compared with the third quarter of 2008, as a result of a build-up in pipeline stocks and a decline in the Merensky milled tons.

The company has since changed the senior management structure at the operation, Implats said in a statement, noting that the new management team would concentrate on on-reef development, particularly at the major Merensky shafts, as well as on grade control and people development in order to deal with the drop in production.

Meanwhile, tons milled at Marula increased by 18% year-on-year in the quarter, in line with the ramp-up in production.

However, there was deterioration in grade as a result of the scale down of production at the higher-grade Driekop shaft, coupled with higher on-reef development at the Clapham conventional project, reported Implats.

ZIMBABEAN OPERATIONS

Platinum in matte production at Zimplats had also declined by 11% year-on-year to 25 000 oz, owing to a concentrate pipeline build-up, which Zimplats would process into matte in the fourth quarter of the year.

However, platinum production in concentrate at the Mimosa operation, also in Zimbabwe, had increased by 41% to 24 000 oz in the third quarter, compared with 17 000 oz the year before, owing to the completion of the plant debottlenecking, stated Implats.

Implats remained optimistic about the Zimbabwean operations, saying that the Phase 1 expansion project at Zimplats was on schedule to be completed later this year, while its operations continued to function smoothly.

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