Lonmin affirms Farlam report
Platinum miner Lonmin has given the Farlam Commission of Enquiry’s report into the August 2012 events at Marikana, in the North West, its detailed consideration and has taken full account of the recommendations applicable to the company, Lonmin says.
President Jacob Zuma in June released the report, investigating the killing of 46 Lonmin employees by State police during a strike near Lonmin’s Marikana mine on August 19, 2012.
In a statement, Lonmin maintains that much work has been undertaken over the past three years to build a more open, transparent and mutually trusting environment within the company and to make Lonmin a safer and better place to work.
Particular emphasis has been placed on living conditions and employee indebtedness. This is in addition to the assistance rendered to the widows and children of the employees who died, the company notes.
“Lonmin hopes that all stakeholders take lessons from the tragic events to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again in South Africa,” the company says in a statement.
Meanwhile, on July 22, Lonmin announced that its board had taken a decision to reduce high-cost production in an oversupplied market by carrying out the orderly closure of the Hossy and Newman shafts at Marikana to safeguard the long-term interests of Lonmin’s shareholders, employees and all key stakeholders.
The Lonmin board announced this as part of its decision to further reduce the company’s cost base in the current pricing environment so that it would be able to sustain a viable operation even if the current metal pricing environment continued for some time.
Since the release of Lonmin’s interim results in May, the platinum price has fallen by 14.4% from $1 126/oz as at March 31 to $964/oz as of July 22.
Lonmin is highly geared to platinum-group metals prices. At current metal price levels, the company has negative earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. Lonmin’s cost minimisation plans are designed to improve this position as much as possible, states the company.
Lonmin’s objective is to preserve value for its shareholders, including employees and communities, as well as to put the company in a position where it can prosper when the metal prices improve from the current depressed levels.
Lonmin’s management has worked to contain cost increases and it remains confident that it will produce at a unit cost within Lonmin’s cost guidance for the full year, which already includes expected savings.
Lonmin states that it is reviewing the appropriate capital structure for the company in the new pricing environment as it considers the need to refinance Lonmin’s debt facilities.
“The board is considering the full range of options available to secure long-term capital and expects to provide an update by the time of Lonmin’s full year results in November 2015,” the company concludes.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation