Anglo Platinum, the world's largest producer of platinum, has halved its sulphur dioxide emissions in fewer than nine months, and is committed to making even further reductions, reports the Johannesburg Moneyweb.

At the beginning of the year, 248 tons of sulphur dioxide were being produced by the company's chimneys, a figure reduced to 130 tons last month and expected to have shrunk to 122 tons by the end of October.

Not content with those impressive results, the company has pledged to take emission levels to below 20 tons per day by January 2005.

This development comes after reports in the media earlier this spring that people living near to the company's sites were suffering severe upper respiratory tract infections as a result of the emissions.

The public consternation that resulted led the Department of Minerals and Mines serving AngloPlat with a Section 54 notice, containing 'an instruction from the DME that it will not allow the offending party to continue polluting the environment at reported levels'.

Failure to respond could have resulted in the closure of recalcitrant operations by the South African government.

The current reduction in emissions represents the achievement of DME targets twice as fast as laid down in the Section 54 notice and in half the time allowed.