May 30 (Reuters) – Eastern Platinum Ltd suspended
funding for its Mareesburg mine and Kennedy’s Vale concentrator
plant in South Africa due to the operating environment in the
country and the global slowdown, sending its shares down 16
percent.
A recovery in price of platinum group metals (PGM) is
unlikely in the near term due to volatility in the European
markets, which consume about 50 percent of South Africa’s
platinum production, the company said in a statement.
Platinum prices fell to their lowest since mid-January on
Wednesday at $1,395.35 an ounce as the dollar extended gains
against the euro.
Spot platinum was down 2 percent at $1,396.25 an
ounce.
High costs, unfavorable currency exchange rates, weak
chrome prices and labor unrest are also weighing on the South
African PGM industry, the company said.
Eastplats, which produces platinum group metals such as
platinum, palladium and rhodium, said in March PGM ounces sold
fell 39 percent to 19,854 in the fourth quarter.
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company has assets on
the western and eastern limbs of the Bushveld Complex in South
Africa, which holds about 80 percent of the world’s platinum,
according to its website.
Shares of Eastern Platinum, which have lost half of their
value in the last three months, fell as much as 16 percent to
touch a low of 23.5 Canadian cents on Wednesday on the Toronto
Stock Exchange.
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