MIMOSA, a joint venture between two South African platinum producers, projects a slight increase in output in the financial year ending June 2013, attributing it to efficiency at the mine. Mimosa is a 50-50 joint venture between Impala Platinum and Aquarius.
Report by Ndamu Sandu
Managing director Winston Chitando told journalists on a tour of the mine on Friday that Mimosa projected a production figure of 204 000 ounces, a marginal increase from the 200 000 achieved in the 2012 financial year.
Early this year, fire broke out at its underground mine, affecting production for six weeks. The mine was not fully operational. Chitando said the mine was now operating at full capacity.
He said Mimosa had good working relations with all stakeholders to avert possibilities of strikes currently affecting platinum players in South Africa. Asked on the platinum producer’s commitment to beneficiation, Chitando said the three players, Zimplats, Unki and Mimosa, had formed a committee to engage government on the way forward.
The government has been accusing platinum producers in the country of not doing beneficiation and therefore exporting jobs to South Africa where it is carried out. The committee on beneficiation is set to meet Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe tomorrow.
