Zimplats is set to almost double its platinum production after completing the first phase of a major expansion project, it was revealed yesterday (16th September).

The company has been working hard to finalise the Ngezi scheme, which has seen the commissioning of a new concentrator and the ramp-up of the Portal One mine.

However, it is now ready to reap the rewards of those efforts, with platinum output expected to rise from 96,000 oz to 180,000 oz, representing a leap of 88 per cent.

Zimplats is eager to exploit the huge platinum reserves in Zimbabwe and is also overseeing development of Portal Four, which should be completed by June 2010.

The precious metal has proved to be a shining light throughout the economic crisis in the country and is now the mining sector's biggest source of foreign currency income.

Meanwhile, Impala Platinum, Zimplats' holding company, has issued a warning about a number of internal challenges it expects to face over the course of the next year.

However, David Brown, CEO of the world's second-largest platinum producer, said the firm will emerge from the period with improved output and a healthier balance sheet.

"The next 12 months will be the toughest we have had at this firm. It will be a very depressed window of time," he commented.

"But post this, we see a very different set of circumstances with higher output and where the revenue equation is more robust."

Impala Platinum's operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe give the company an attributable mineral resource inventory of 237 million ounces of platinum.

Source:

Zimplats completes first phase of expansion project (16/09/09)

Ÿ Adfero Ltd