Aquarius Platinum has reported a 15 per cent increase in platinum group metal (pgm) production for the 2011 financial year.

Group attributable production increased to 487,404 oz for the full year, with notably strong performances at the firm's Mimosa and Everest operations.

Mimosa is now operating at peak capacity while at Everest production is ramping up and the retreatment operations have offset the decline in output from the Marikana mine.

Aquarius reports that Mimosa achieved record production in FY2011, as a result of improved volumes mined, higher head grade and better rates of recovery. The mine produced 104,008 attributable pgm ounces for the year, representing 21.3 per cent of group production.

Meanwhile, as the ramp-up at Everest progressed, attributable production for the year amounted to 100,252 oz, significantly up on last year. This was equivalent to 21 per cent of total group production.

Attributable production at Kroondal, the miner's biggest operation, rose by 1.6 per cent to 207,473 ounces, which was equivalent to 42 per cent of total attributable group production.

Aquarius said improved operating efficiencies and stable industrial relations compared to the previous year enabled the mine to increase production in the first half of FY2011, though these gains were offset during the second half of the year.

Attributable production at Marikana fell by 22 per cent to 52,962 oz in the reporting period. This was equivalent represented 11 per cent of group production.

The decreased production of ore from the Marikana operations resulted from two weeks of lost underground production as a result of a Section 54 suspension notice, Aquarius said.

Operations at Blue Ridge ceased during FY2011 as a result, the firm said, of "an insufficiently high prevailing rand basket price to justify further capital expenditure".

The volume of material processed at the Chromite Tailings Retreatment Plant located adjacent to the Kroondal mine declined by 58 per cent to 122,000t in FY2011.

"A significant increase in recoveries was insufficient to offset this and production declined by 24 per cent to 2,438 attributable pgm ounces, equivalent to 0.5 per cent of group production," Aquarius said.

Platinum Mile, a tailings retreatment facility located adjacent to the Kroondal mine on Anglo Platinum's Rustenburg Platinum Mine, saw production rise by 16 per cent to 11,417 oz, despite a 37 per cent decline in volumes processed.

This was a result of significant improvements in both the grade of the material supplied and recovery rates.

Aquarius said: "The latter was a consequence of the plant optimisation project undertaken the previous year."

Production from Platinum Mile represented 2.34 per cent of group production in FY2011.

"From an operational perspective, the first six months of the year were largely free of significant challenges, with Kroondal, Everest and Mimosa all performing well and only Marikana experiencing difficulties as a result of the accident in July 2010 and subsequent shaft closure," said Aquarius chief executive officer Stuart Murrary.

"However, even in the best of years, mining for pgms is a complex and difficult pursuit."

Source:

2011 Annual Report (31/10/11)

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