Mining News
Vandalism and theft of copper cables impacted Sylvania Platinum operations
(Kitco News) - South African platinum group metals (PGM) producer Sylvania Platinum today reported that its Sylvania dump operations (SDO) achieved 36,335 ounces for the first half of the 2021 financial year (six months period ended December 31, 2020), which was 9% lower than the corresponding period in 2020.
The company said that there has been a significant increase in vandalism and theft of copper cables at various substations of the national power utility during Q2 that affected power supply and production – particularly at the Western operations, which has resulted in approximately 2% downtime in the reporting period.
Nevertheless, the company said it has recorded revenue of $85.2 million for the six months to 31 December 2020, a 44% increase half-year on half-year, as a result of the higher basket price. The average platinum price increased 8% from $915/oz to $985/oz, palladium increased 27% from $1,847/oz to $2,345/oz and rhodium increased 167% from $5,702/oz to $15,213/oz from 31 December 2019 to 31 December 2020.
The company remains confident that the SDO should achieve the previously announced target for the year of 70,000 ounces.
