Zimbabwe lithium miners want royalties to be linked to prices
The battery metal has slumped from a peak in late 2022 amid oversupply and weak demand from the electric vehicle sector.
South Africa’s Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd reported a 58.1% fall in half-year profit on Tuesday, hurt by lower metal prices and higher mining costs.
RBPlat’s headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, fell to 7.67 rand ($0.4638), in the six months to June 30, from 18.32 rand.
The company’s cash operating costs rose 20.4% year-on-year to 4.325 billion rand ($261.44 million), driven by higher production volumes and “external inflationary pressures”.
Platinum group metals have come off their highs seen during the early part of 2021, when the global economy started to emerge from the covid-19 shutdowns.
RBPlat declared an interim dividend of 2.45 rand per share, compared to 5.35 rand last year.
($1 = 16.5431 rand)
(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Shounak Dasgupta)
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