LON
LOLMI
Lonmin - Smelter Update
Lonmin Plc
(Incorporated in England and Wales)
(Registered in the Republic of South Africa under registration number
1969/000015/10)
JSE code: LON
Issuer Code: LOLMI & ISIN: GB0031192486
("Lonmin")
19 April 2006
Lonmin Plc
Smelter Update
Lonmin announces that the necessary repairs to the number one furnace at its
Marikana operations have been completed. The cause of the leak appears to have
been an original installation error, which resulted in the failure to weld the
base plate of the furnace shell in the matte waffle zone. Hearth expansion
following the furnace rebuild in February created differential pressure in the
matte tap block support structure which moved the matte waffles creating a
channel for matte and slag leakage down the sides of the matte waffles. Repairs
entailed the welding of the base plate of the furnace to the girders which
support the vessel, reinforcing the support structure in the areas around the
matte tap holes and replacing the deep matte waffles and refractories at the
site of the leak. The smelter has been restarted and we currently expect to
recommence matte tapping from the furnace on Thursday 20 April.
An assessment of the impact on full year production is being completed and
Lonmin will provide an update on this with its half-year production statement on
25 April 2006.
Enquiries:
Alex Shorland-Ball +44 (0) 20 7201 6060
Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications
ENDS
Date: 19/04/2006 11:00:33 AM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
Profile Group (Pty) Ltd. has taken care in preparing all information on this website, but does not accept any liability for errors or out-of-date information.
