Aquarius Platinum has announced that it has lost 12,000 oz of platinum group metals (pgms) during its second quarter.

The company has blamed the slowdown on a combination of planned shutdowns, mill repairs and illegal strike action at its operations during the three months to December 31st.

However, looking ahead Chief Executive Stuart Murray suggested there were a number of positives to look forward to in the coming months.

"At Marikana, the return to work of labour continues following the illegal industrial action, at Kroondal the ramp-up of the new K5 shaft is making good progress and the K2 concentrator is back to full capacity after being stopped for substantial unplanned maintenance work arising from the annual inspection," Mr Murray said.

Aquarius Platinum will release its full second quarter production results on January 24th, but the company has stated that the slowdown in production is unlikely to have a significant impact on profits as the reduced output was offset by increased pgm prices during the period.

Sources:

Aquarius Platinum Regulatory Announcement, 7/01/08
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1673961&source=RNS

Aquarius Platinum says lost 12,000 PGM oz via shutdowns, mill repairs, strikes, 7/01/08
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/01/07/afx4499725.html

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