Anglo Platinum Corporation Limited - Polokwane Sme
Anglo Platinum Corporation Limited - Polokwane Smelter Shutdown Update
Anglo Platinum Corporation Limited
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
Registration No.: 1946/022452/06
JSE Ordinary Share Code: AMS
ISIN: ZAE000013181
JSE Preference Share Code: AMSP
ISIN: ZAE000054474
(`Anglo Platinum`)
POLOKWANE SMELTER SHUTDOWN UPDATE
Anglo Platinum announces that the detailed technical examination referred to in
its announcement on 8 September 2005 has been completed. The findings show that
the failure of a single waffle cooler led to water ingress into the furnace.
The examination also revealed a concerning general level of corrosion across all
the waffle coolers and it is considered necessary to replace the complete waffle
cooler installation. In addition, following the corrosion disruption in
September 2004, it was decided to modify the waffle cooler design by introducing
a split cooler system. The modification will allow easier corrosion
identification and cooler replacement in future. The modification was originally
scheduled to be installed in early 2006 and has been brought forward as part of
this repair. It is expected that the work will be complete by the end of
November and normal smelting operations will resume in mid-December 2005.
Anglo Platinum is implementing contingency arrangements to minimise the effect
of the smelter shutdown on metal flow and annual production and will utilise
excess industry smelting capacity where possible.
Anglo Platinum`s forecast production volume for 2005 is likely to be affected
and unit costs will be higher due to transport and possible toll treatment
costs. The impact on production, on the assumption that excess industry
capacity cannot be economically accessed, would be to reduce planned refined
platinum production from 2,6 million to approximately 2,45 million ounces for
2005. Metal in concentrate not smelted and refined would be released in the
first half of 2006. The impact of contingency arrangements on production and
unit costs will be announced once finalised.
For further information, please contact
Trevor Raymond
(011) 373-6462
082 654 8467
Date: 20/09/2005 02:20:08 PM
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