Aim-listed Sylvania Platinum has declared a maiden cash dividend of 0.35p apiece for the financial year ended June 30.
The company reported on Tuesday that its Sylvania Dump Operations (SDO) had produced 71 026 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E).
“A 6% year-on-year improvement in platinum group metals (PGM) treatment tons assisted to mitigate the impact of an 11% lower PGM feed grade and a 3% decrease in recovery efficiency,” Sylvania stated.
A delayed water use licence authorisation for the new Millsell tailings facility reduced feed tons and grade during the first half of the reporting period, but feed tons and grade have since stabilised.
Meanwhile, the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 21% year-on-year to $22.2-million.
Phoenix Platinum Mining, which was acquired by Sylvania in the reporting period for $6.3-million and which has subsequently been renamed Lesedi, has been successfully integrated into the SDO.
The first two modules of the company’s Project Echo have been successfully commissioned at the Millsell and Doornbosch operations. However, execution of the project’s Tweefontein secondary milling and flotation (MF2) module has been delayed, owing to power distribution infrastructure constraints.
Consequently, Sylvania has decided to accelerate Mooinooi’s MF2 module commissioning, which is planned for early 2019.
Sylvania also secured a mining right for the Grasvally chrome project in the reporting period.
Sylvania CEO Terry McConnachie commented that despite an increase in operating costs over the past year, Sylvania is still regarded as one of the lowest-cost PGM producers in the world.
The company has set its production guidance for the 2019 financial year at between 76 000 oz and 78 000 oz of 4E.