Northam Platinum CEO Glyn Lewis and his engineers at the world's deepest platinum mine have beat the power cut.

The company will produce at the same level with more than 10% less electricity, shifting of electricity loads to offpeak times.

Output of 150 755 oz for the first half of the company's financial year to December 31, 2007 would be matched in the six months to June 30, 2008, using only 95 MW as a maximum demand, instead of the previous 107 MW allocation.

The company has been working with Eskom on load-shedding initiatives and "I'd like to think we are a bit more adept at doing it, now that we work with ABB and Eskom", he said, adding that Northam's engineers had done "a very good job".

One initiative involved installing larger pumps underground in order to pump over shorter periods and to improve efficiency.

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