SOUTH African platinum producers operating in Zimbabwe said they were watchful of political developments following reports that armed forces had seized power in the southern African country.
“While there are reports of military presence in the country’s capital, to date, there has been no sign of unrest or military presence at any of our operations,” said Johan Theron, a spokesman for Impala Platinum (Implats). “Our operations are all located some distance from the capital, and have continued to operate normally this morning.
“We will continue to assess the situation, and have appeal for calm and the continued safety and wellbeing of the people of Zimbabwe, and our colleagues at the mining operations,” he said.
These comments were echoed by James Wellsted, a spokesman for Sibanye-Stillwater. Implats is in joint venture with Sibanye-Stillwater in the Mimosa Platinum Mine – one of the best performing platinum assets for the two. Implats also has an 87% stake in Zimplats which is a core holding for the group.
Implats CEO, Nico Muller, said in September that he hoped to drive a dividend out of Zimplats as it had completed project work on the $264m Mupani underground expansion which will replace production from its Ngwarati and Rukodzi sections.
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