eBusiness Weekly
Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE – Local platinum producer, Unki Mine produced a record 165 900 platinum group metals (PGM) ounces, up 2 percent from the 162 000 ounces recorded in FY2016.
Platinum is both an essential and precious metal and is part of the six member family of platinum group metals PGMs which also includes palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium, and ruthenium.
Unki is the local unit of South African-headquartered Anglo American Platinum (Amplats).
Notwithstanding the upturn in PGM output, Unki’s platinum production was relatively flat at 74 600 ounces, while palladium production increased 5 percent to 64 400 ounces from 61 400 ounces last year.
“Production increased due to an increase in tonnes milled, up 2 percent to 1, 75 million due to improved underground productivity, while the 4E built-up head grade increased marginally to 3.47g/t waste tonnes mined,” said the parent company in its 2017 annual results.
Unki increased economic free cash flow to R0, 6 billion from R61 million due to improved performance, the sale of treasury bills of R228 million and export incentives of R63 million.
EBITDA of R0, 8 billion at a 33 percent margin, was a 12 percent improvement from prior year. Return on capital employed increased to 10 percent from negative 3 percent in 2016. Cash operating costs were flat at R1.8 billion.
The group said Unki – being a dollar denominated operation – benefitted from the strengthening operating costs were further impacted by measuring ore stockpiles concentrator built-up during maintenance at the concentrator.
Excluding the ore stock measurement, Unki reported unit costs of R23 942 per platinum ounce, down 1 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile Amplats said the Unki smelter, a project that is currently being developed, “is expected to be completed in H2 2018 at a total cost of R650 million.
The group said R306 million of the project capital incurred in 2017.
Total PGM production from Unki in 2018 is expected to remain at similar levels of 170 000 PGM ounces (around 75 000 platinum ounces).
Unki is an underground mine located in the area of Gweru in the Midlands Province. It represents one of the largest platinum reserves in Zimbabwe having estimated reserves of 34 million oz of platinum.
