Stillwater Mining says it is confident it can deliver production and profit gains after being handed a negative rating.

The pgm miner, which was downgraded by agency Standard & Poors last week, insists it can overturn its problems in the coming years.

Stillwater spokesman John Pearson told Platts there were "a number of strategic initiatives" available to the firm, which would strive to deliver improvements.

Declaring that the firm "intends to focus on improving its production profile and reducing costs", Mr Pearson said Stillwater would look to extract more from its operations.

"Stillwater Mining has identified a series of operating changes designed to increase efficiency, reduce unit costs of production, and increase total pgm ounces produced, in essence a total reworking of mine operations, all in an effort to address the company's economic viability after 2010," he added.

Last month Stillwater Mining said its profits had dipped as a result of lower production and precious metal prices.

The North American pgm firm said it had seen production of palladium and platinum fall by seven per cent, down 10,000 ounces to 143,000 ounces year-on-year, suffering a net loss of $13.9 million.


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