JSE-listed Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) has narrowed its net loss attributable to shareholders to $900 000, or $0.01 apiece, in the first quarter of the year.
This compares with an $8.2-million, or $0.09 apiece, loss attributable to shareholders in the first quarter of 2020.
The company attributed the strong quarterly performance to revenue generated by the retreatment project and the reduction of a foreign exchange loss relative to last year’s first quarter when the rand dropped significantly to the dollar.
Eastplats produced 203 901 t of chrome concentrate in the first quarter of the year, and achieved an average grade of 38.47%, from its Barplats Mines tailings facility (the retreatment project) located at the company’s Crocodile River mine (CRM), in North West.
The company is optimising its small-scale platinum group metals (PGMs) Circuit D on site, which started producing PGM concentrates in April.
It plans to complete refurbishment and restart the PGMs main circuit later in the year.
Eatplats also continues to progress work to repair the Zandfontein vertical shaft, as a step towards restarting underground mining at the CRM.