adminof platinum per month.
Amplats said refined platinum output dropped to 14 000 ounces in the quarter compared to 18 000 ounces produced in the same period last year.
“Unki Mine’s equivalent refined platinum production decreased by 22 percent year on year due to lower head grade and decline in tonnes milled as a result of a depletion of pre-production stockpiles,” said Amplats in a statement.
It said at least 362 000 tonnes of platinum ore were milled during the period under review compared to 379 000 tonnes milled in the same period last year. Unki Mine is in the process of being indigenised after Amplats, the world’s largest platinum producer, agreed to transfer a 51 percent stake to locals.
Worldwide demand for platinum has dipped over the years as effects of the global recession took hold. Platinum and palladium, which is also produced at Unki Mine, are mostly used as anti-pollutants in motor vehicles, and in the jewellery industry. Zimbabwe has the world’s second largest known deposits of platinum after South Africa. Currently, there are three platinum mines in Zimbabwe, namely Zimplats, Mimosa and Unki. — New Ziana.
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