De Beers upbeat on Botswana diamond pact after meeting new president
De Beers' CEO said he expected negotiations on a new diamond sales pact with Botswana's government to be wrapped up within weeks.
Northam Platinum Holdings Ltd. said profit fell almost 30% in the last fiscal year as lower prices countered higher production at the South African miner.
Northam – a smaller rival to Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. – said the average price received for platinum-group metals declined sharply during the period, including a 38% drop for palladium and a 61% slump for rhodium.
Platinum miners in South Africa – the largest producer of the metal – have been cutting costs and shelving expansion projects after the industry flipped from a boom in the early part of the decade to a slump as prices fell. Unlike the three bigger firms, which have scrapped thousands of jobs, Northam marginally increased its workforce last year as it is ramping up annual output of platinum-group metals from its three mines toward 1 million ounces.
Consistent production growth “continues to underpin our defensive position and resilience in the face of the current soft metal price environment,” Northam said. PGM output rose 10% last year to 893,000 ounces.
The PGM industry in South Africa, however, “is not sustainable” at current prices, with production from the country’s “aged and underinvested” mines set to decline in the coming years, Northam chief executive officer Paul Dunne said after the company released its results. Impala CEO Nico Muller made similar remarks a day earlier, saying it’s “highly improbable” there will be investment in new assets.
Johannesburg-based Northam posted earnings of 1.8 billion rand ($101.3 million) in the 12 months through June, down from 2.6 billion rand the previous year, according to a statement released on Friday. The decline would have been sharper, but profit in fiscal 2023 was cut by impairments of 6.8 billion rand on one of the firm’s mines and its investment in Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd., which was part of an abortive takeover bid.
Northam declined over 9% in Johannesburg trading.
Revenue fell 22%, but the contribution of chrome — extracted as a byproduct of platinum mining — increased significantly to a tenth of total sales. Profit before some one-time items – known as headline earnings – fell almost 82% to 1.7 billion rand.
Devices used to curb emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles are a major source of PGM demand. Producers of the metals are focused on finding alternative long-term applications for PGMs as electric vehicles increase their market share.
(By William Clowes)
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