26th Oct 2005 07:00
Lonmin PLC26 October 2005 Lonmin Plc Fourth Quarter Production Report Lonmin today announces its production report for the fourth quarter to 30September 2005. Brad Mills, Chief Executive Officer said: "We had a very strong fourth quarter with overall Platinum production of 309,239ounces giving annual production ahead of forecast at 916,420 ounces of Platinumand 1,704,249 ounces of PGMs. We were pleased with the contribution from Limpopowhich produced 10,144 ounces of Platinum on target with our integration plan.The strong performance of our Smelter has continued with month by monthincreases in throughput rising to a new record of 21,114 tonnes of concentratesmelted in September. Last November's Smelter incident had a major impact on ourcost base. The recovery process has been managed successfully and the estimatedincrease in our cost base for the full year has been limited to around thecurrent level of South African inflation of 4.8% at our Marikana operations." Mining Quarter to Quarter to Year to Year to 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 Tonnes milled* Marikana Underground (000) 3,035 2,773 11,102 11,121 Opencast (000) 512 818 2,444 3,283 Total (000) 3,547 3,591 13,546 14,404 Limpopo Underground (000) 198 - 214 - Opencast (000) - - - - Total (000) 198 - 214 - Lonmin Platinum Underground (000) 3,233 2,773 11,316 11,121 Opencast (000) 512 818 2,444 3,283 Total (000) 3,745 3,591 13,760 14,404Tonnes mined Marikana Underground (000) 3,006 2,769 11,047 11,070 Opencast (000) 775 737 2,653 2,730 Total (000) 3,781 3,506 13,700 13,800 Limpopo Underground (000) 195 - 212 - Opencast (000) - - - - Total (000) 195 - 212 - Lonmin Platinum Underground (000) 3,201 2,769 11,259 11,070 Opencast (000) 775 737 2,653 2,730 Total (000) 3,976 3,506 13,912 13,800*excluding slag Metallurgy Quarter to Quarter to Year to Year to 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 Production** Marikana refined Platinum oz 257,471 248,010 830,911 833,822 Palladium oz 116,691 115,265 360,753 358,705 Rhodium oz 37,736 33,115 93,445 90,012 Total PGMs oz 478,912 495,481 1,510,553 1,491,760 Marikana concentrate* Platinum oz 41,624 15,975 73,985 82,935 Palladium oz 21,310 8,941 38,345 38,341 Rhodium oz 14,971 7,593 24,491 23,082 Total PGMs oz 92,039 39,915 167,955 184,808 Limpopo concentrate* Platinum oz 10,144 - 11,524 - Palladium oz 8,125 - 9,043 - Rhodium oz 1,277 - 1,320 - Total PGMs oz 22,558 - 25,741 - Lonmin Platinum Platinum oz 309,239 263,985 916,420 916,757 Palladium oz 146,126 124,206 408,141 397,046 Rhodium oz 53,984 40,708 119,256 113,094 Total PGMs oz 593,509 535,396 1,704,249 1,676,568 *Produced for sale as concentrate or toll refined. **Excluding slag Lonmin Group Metal Sales Quarter to Quarter to Year to Year to 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 Sales* Lonmin Platinum Platinum oz 324,701 308,034 912,844 941,146 Palladium oz 150,680 133,245 402,425 405,329 Rhodium oz 52,536 36,512 117,944 126,723 Total PGMs oz 608,310 561,132 1,692,517 1,761,171 *Excluding slag Prices Quarter to Quarter to Year to Year to 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 Average price received per ounce Platinum R 5,630 5,340 5,366 5,356 $ 873 821 856 816 Palladium R 1,166 1,370 1,184 1,485 $ 181 211 189 227 Rhodium R 12,882 6,871 10,494 4,876 $ 1,998 1,057 1,661 745Basket price of PGMs and base metals $/kg 21,100 17,928 19,979 17,072 Exchange Rates Quarter to Quarter to Year to Year to 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 30 Sept 05 30 Sept 04 Average exchange rate Sterling £/$ 0.56 0.55 0.54 0.56 SA Rand R/$ 6.51 6.49 6.28 6.60Closing exchange rates Sterling £/$ 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.55 SA Rand R/$ 6.36 6.48 6.36 6.48 Outlook On 21 June 2005, we signed the New Era Labour Agreement with the three unionsrepresenting our employees at our Marikana operations. This agreement is from 1October 2005 and runs for a five year period. The terms of the agreementinitially limited increases in basic wages to CPIX, the South Africa inflationmeasure for each of the five years. We have since agreed to revise the terms ofthis agreement to allow for basic wage increases in the first two years only ofCPIX plus 2%. As we indicated at the time of the 3rd Quarter Production Report,in year one there is also an equalisation element under the New Era LabourAgreement to eliminate all the historical discrepancies in pay and conditionswhich existed between our three mines which equates to a first year only cost of2.9% above the basic wage increase. Our Limpopo operation has also agreed a five year wage agreement. Under theterms of this agreement basic wage increases will be linked to CPIX. Reflectingthe different cost positions between Limpopo and Marikana, Limpopo employeeswill be entitled to benefit through a gain share scheme as they improve the unitcosts of the operation. Lonmin's Final Results will be announced on 16 November 2005. Enquiries:Alex Shorland-Ball +44 (0) 20 7201 6060Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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