Mimosa production to increase marginally

Mimosa is Zimbabwe’s second biggest platinum miner after Zimplats, with Unki Platinum currently the smallest of the three.

 

Mimosa managing director Mr Winston Chitando told journalists during a tour of the mine on Saturday that the slight increase was due to improved efficiency in production.

“We are expecting to produce 204 000 ounces compared to about 202 000 ounces last year, a slight increase due to efficiency improvements,” he said.

At least 102 000 of the 204 000 ounces will be platinum while the remainder will be made up of other minerals, mainly rhodium, palladium and gold, mined alongside platinum.

Mr Chitando said the increase in production would, however, not translate to a surge in revenue due to the rise in costs driven mainly by equipment and consumables.

“There is pressure on the costs curve worldwide and we expect a slight increase due to the pressure on various items but that cost is within industry norms,” he said.

He said Mimosa had fully recovered after the minor incident recorded in May when over 60 miners were trapped underground due to a fire caused by a faulty conveyor belt system.

Mr Chitando said feasibility studies for expansion of operations were going on at the mine.
“We have a Project 6 team which is looking at the various options to go beyond the current production levels,” he said.

Responding to questions on the disturbances currently rocking the platinum sector in South Africa, Mr Chitando said it was critical that companies maintained healthy relations with their employees.

South African platinum mining companies are plagued by strikes as workers demand salary adjustments. “Engagement between a company and its stakeholders is ongoing and assuming the engagement is very good today, it does not mean you should relax and not continue to work on that relationship. We believe we (Mimosa) have good relations with our stakeholders but that has to be managed all the time,” he said.

Mr Chitando said Mimosa, which has not been affected by power shortages dogging the rest of the mining industry in Zimbabwe, would continue to produce at capacity in spite of fluctuations in international platinum prices to ensure that employees are not affected.

The Zvishavane-based miner has entered into a prepayment arrangement with power utilities Zesa Holdings and HCB of Mozambique for uninterrupted power supply. — New Ziana.