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gearing up for a more substantial phase two, which is expected to produce about five tonnes of helium and 700 tonnes of LNG per day.

Steady

Impala Platinum says it expects its core profit to be steady in its half year to end-December, with a weaker rand and strong demand from customers helping to offset a fall in volumes.

Group refined production of 1.48 million ounces of the basket of six metals it produces, including saleable production from Impala Canada, declined by nine per cent year on year in the six months to end-December, it said in an update last Friday.

Smelting capacity in the period was constrained by the increased occurrence and severity of load curtailment and exacerbated by the commencement of the scheduled rebuild of a furnace in

Rustenburg.

The group said the estimated impact of Eskom load curtailment on refined production was about 38 000 ounces, while it finished the period with about 140 000 ounces of excess inventory.

Sales volumes declined by two per cent to 1.52 million ounces from the comparative period, but the miner benefitted from some destocking of refined inventory to offset the impact of furnace maintenance. The nine per cent decrease in the achieved US dollar basket price was offset by the 16 per cent weakening of the rand exchange rate, resulting in a five per cent improvement in group sales revenue per ounce sold.

Period

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the period is expected to be broadly unchanged from its prior half year’s R24.5 billion.