Share fall to eclipse Lonmin’s ceremony

Lonmin will unveil new health and road projects in SA on Monday in a ceremony that will be overshadowed by its latest share price collapse.

Lonmin, not for the first time, is facing an uncertain future after its shares lost 30% on Friday when it delayed annual financial results due in November pending the conclusion of a business review.

Its share price over the past five years is down 97%.

It said it had adequate liquidity to fund it through a review that could include the sale of assets, job cuts and the renegotiation of loan agreements.

There has also been speculation about a deal to combine with Sibanye-Stillwater.

Lonmin, one of the world’s top platinum producers, has been in the doldrums for years.

Monday’s ceremony will at least offer CE Ben Magara a platform to deliver his first public comments since Friday’s meltdown.

The latest crisis comes after Lonmin said in September that the Department of Mineral Resources had informed it of a failure to meet some of its social and labour obligations, but it did not think its operating licence was in jeopardy.

On Monday, the company plans to show how it is now meeting its social and labour obligations, an added cost in a tough environment for all platinum producers.