20th Sep 2005 13:40
Anglo Platinum Limited20 September 2005 News Release20 September 2005 POLOKWANE SMELTER SHUTDOWN UPDATE Anglo Platinum announces that the detailed technical examination referred to inits announcement on 8 September 2005 has been completed. The findings show thatthe failure of a single waffle cooler led to water ingress into the furnace. The examination also revealed a concerning general level of corrosion across allthe waffle coolers and it is considered necessary to replace the complete wafflecooler installation. In addition, following the corrosion disruption inSeptember 2004, it was decided to modify the waffle cooler design by introducinga split cooler system. The modification will allow easier corrosionidentification and cooler replacement in future. The modification was originallyscheduled to be installed in early 2006 and has been brought forward as part ofthis repair. It is expected that the work will be complete by the end ofNovember and normal smelting operations will resume in mid-December 2005. Anglo Platinum is implementing contingency arrangements to minimise the effectof the smelter shutdown on metal flow and annual production and will utiliseexcess industry smelting capacity where possible. Anglo Platinum's forecast production volume for 2005 is likely to be affectedand unit costs will be higher due to transport and possible toll treatmentcosts. The impact on production, on the assumption that excess industry capacitycannot be economically accessed, would be to reduce planned refined platinumproduction from 2,6 million to approximately 2,45 million ounces for 2005. Metalin concentrate not smelted and refined would be released in the first half of2006. The impact of contingency arrangements on production and unit costs willbe announced once finalised. For further information, please contact Trevor Raymond(011) 373-6462082 654 8467 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Anglo American