Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats) could produce more than two million ounces of platinum a year, research firm JP Morgan Securities Ltd has said.

This represents a huge increase, as production is currently running at 100,000 ounces of platinum per annum.

The company also named another major platinum mine - Mimosa - and predicted that it could one day double its production levels to between 150,000 and 200,000 oz a year.

'Currently, Zimplats is producing at a rate of just under 100,000 ounces of platinum per annum, and bearing in mind the 165 million platinum ounce resource and the geometry of the ore body, we believe Zimplats' potential output to be in excess of two million ounces of platinum per annum in the long term', said JP Morgan's report.

The report also concluded, following a JP Morgan team's visit last month, that if the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe improved, it would be logical for Implats (owner of Mimosa) to shift operational focus from the Rustenburg exploration in South Africa to Zimbabwe.

Excavation is much more economical in Zimbabwe because the metal is found at much shallower levels than it is in South Africa.