Business Reporter
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, says it remains on track to deliver its 2023 production target of 250 000 ounces, with a strong focus on operational resilience.
The group’s metal-in-concentrate (M&C) platinum group metals (PGM) guidance for 2023 is 3,6–4,0 million PGM ounces, and refined PGM production guidance is 3,6–4,0 million PGM ounces.
In Zimbabwe, the South African miner owns the Unki Platinum Mine and a smelter. In its production update for the quarter to September 2023, the group said production at Unki is on target to meet 250 000 ounces by year-end.
Platinum is Zimbabwe’s second largest export earner after gold. Together, the two minerals account for more than 50 percent of exports generated by the entire mining sector and over 75 percent of total earnings for the country.
“We remain on track to deliver our 2023 guidance, with a strong focus on operational resilience in the last quarter through safe and sustainable operations,” said Mr Craig Miller, the Amplats chief executive.
He added that the group is also on track to meet unit cost guidance per PGM ounce produced, which is anticipated to be at the upper end of the range considering foreign exchange rate volatility, load curtailment, and continued inflationary pressure.
In its second-quarter production update, Amplats projected PGM production at Unki to reach 250 000 PGM ounces in 2023, up from 232,100 ounces in 2022, largely driven by the completed debottlenecking project.
The debottleneck project, which was completed in 2021, was done at a cost of US$48 million, with the expansion targeted to increase throughput capacity.
Unki, 100 percent owned by Anglo Platinum America, has its operations on the Great Dyke in Zimbabwe, 60km southeast of Gweru.
The mine is among the country’s PGM-producing companies, which include Zimplats and Mimosa. The companies are currently engaged in different stages of expansion, with investments worth over US$4 billion.
The mining sector is considered the country’s top foreign currency earner, and the government is targeting a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023.
However, PGM production at Unki for the quarter under review marginally increased 1 percent to 182 000 ounces’ (oz) year on year to September 2023, compared to 179 500 ounces in 2022.
For the quarter under review, PGM production reached 60300 oz, a 1 percent increase compared to the third quarter’s 59900 ounces in 2022.
Total quarterly platinum production at the mine increased by 2 percent to 27300 oz, compared to 26.8 percent in the comparable period in 2022.
Tonnes milled at Unki during the quarter under review were 3 percent lower at 615 000 tones compared to 650 000 tones during the same quarter in 2022.
Meanwhile, overall Amplats refined platinum group metal output declined 9 percent during the third quarter due to disrupted water supplies to its processing facilities and lower concentrate production.
Amplats, the world’s biggest platinum miner by value, produced 909,700 ounces of refined PGMs in the three months to Sept. 30, compared to 994,800 ounces during the same period last year. In the quarterly update, Amplats said an unplanned water stoppage at Amplats’ processing operations in Rustenburg disrupted operations for five working days, and this impacted the production of 54,000 ounces of refined PGMs and 26,000 ounces of metal concentrate.
Mine PGM output declined 2 percent compared to the same period last year, mainly due to lower grades at Mogalakwena and poor ground conditions at Amandelbult, Amplats’ two largest mines.
The miner said power cuts in South Africa, which hit production during the first half of the year, had minimal impact during the third quarter.
The post Amplats bullish about Unki production target appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.