South African miner Northam Platinum announced yesterday that it expects its earnings for the six months to December to be more than 30 per cent lower than in the same period past year.

The reduction in profit is thanks to the strong performance of the rand against the dollar, which is limiting earnings from dollar-priced commodities.

Northam is the latest South African mining interest to highlight the difficulties associated with the rand's continued appreciation; Last week world platinum number one Anglo American Platinum announced a reduction in its expansion plans and Impala Platinum issued a profits warning.

'Despite a satisfactory operational performance…the company's financial results have been adversely affected by materially lower receipts as a consequence of the continued strength of the rand against the US dollar,' Northam's statement added.