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Business Times reports that almost five years since the tragic events at Marikana that saw 34 mineworkers lose their lives in a strike over wages, Lonmin finds its future on the edge once more.
Over the past week, its shares have lost more than a quarter of their value as the company struggles under the weight of a stubbornly low metal price and a stronger rand, which is eroding profitability. The platinum producer, which has had three rights issues over the past decade, is running out of options and may have to return with another rights issue. CEO Ben Magara commented: "It's getting tougher to cut costs because we have done all the low-hanging fruits, we have done all the capex reductions and we have done a big restructuring." Analyst René Carlo Hochreiter observed: "Without a rally in the PGM [platinum group metals] prices, or a weakening of the rand, Lonmin will likely struggle to be cash-flow positive and may have to look to another bail-out." Lonmin employs 24,552 people and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), with a stake just over 29%, is its biggest shareholder. The PIC would probably continue to back Lonmin at this stage, more to secure jobs than as an investment.
- Read this report by Lutho Mtongana in full at Business Times
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