Zimplats production of 6E fell by 7% in first quarter

Zimbabwe Platinum (Zimplats) says production of 6E, which comprises (platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold) fell by 7 percent in the 1st quarter of 2021 from the December 2020 quarter.

According to a latest report on Zimplats which is a member of Implats, Ore mined dropped 4%, mainly due to the temporary closure of Ngwarati Mine.

This closure, followed the collapse of a portion of the mine’s box cut (entrance) in February.

Meanwhile, in its Integrated Annual Report for 2020, the company said the business environment was also affected by the several measures that governments implemented to mitigate the spread of this virus.

Company CEO Alex Mhembere said the Group spent a total of US$104.2 million on capital projects (stay in business, replacement mines and expansion projects) during the year compared to US$115 million spent in FY2019.

He added that revenue increased by 38% to US$868.9 million from US$631 million in FY2019 mainly due to the increase in the average prices of rhodium, palladium, gold and nickel. 6E ounces sold decreased by 3% from 573 009 ounces in FY2019 to 554 944 ounces in FY2020.

Apparently, Zimplats’s mother company, Impala Platinum (Implats) is a leading producer of platinum group metals (PGMs), with operations in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada.

The Group generated US$258.4 million from operating activities and closed the 2020 financial year with a cash balance of US$135.8 million after investing US$104.2 million in capital projects during the year.

-Zwnews