Implats to aim for “smaller” Rustenburg operation

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa's Impala Platinum said on Thursday it aimed to modernise its Rustenburg mines, the epicentre of often violent labour unrest in recent years, into "smaller, more concentrated mining" operations.

Such a move could provoke resistance from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which last year led a five-month strike againstImplats and rivals Lonmin Plc and Anglo American Platinum Ltd.

Unveiling the results of a strategic review that the company has said will include a pivot away from labour-intensive mining to mechanisation, the world's No. 2 producer of platinum also said "the business may require additional funding in order to ensure the long-term strategic intent remains intact."

Simultaneously, it stressed the need to conserve cash in the face of depressed prices. Its balance sheet shows its cash and cash equivalents as of Dec. 31 was 2.7 billion rand ($235.5 million), a fall of 25 percent compared with the same period in 2013.

Its interim headline earnings fell 53.5 percent, the middle of the range it previously flagged to the market, because of impairments in Zimbabwe and the lasting impact of last year's strike.

($1 = 11.4575 rand)