BL Premium reports that African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) has scaled back on mechanised development at its Bokoni Platinum Mines in Limpopo and will restructure the operation to stop the cash bleed in a low metal price environment.
ARM, chaired by billionaire Patrice Motsepe, on Friday reported a 49% decline in group headline earnings for the six months ended 31 December. Speaking at the results presentation, Motsepe said he was looking to ensure a balance of the company’s capital allocation discipline and investment across its portfolio. He added that Bokoni remained a world-class ore body given its high grade and high quality. But, he went on to indicate: “We have to ensure every cent we spend there is appropriate and makes commercial sense, and is also part of the long-term strategy of realising value when the prices of the commodities increase, which we expect. Also important is all of the assets we operate; there are no holy cows, and this is critical.” CEO Phillip Tobias said Bokoni was the biggest contributor to losses in the platinum division and cost-cutting, including restructuring, would turn the ship around. “We have stopped the mechanised development, we are redeploying those efforts to focus on available stoping and increasing the feed grade into our concentrator. We have issued a section 189 process to right-size the mine,” and the consultation process was underway Tobias advised.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dineo Faku at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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