Platinum miner Lonmin has announced that one of its furnaces will be shut for up to 40 days following the discovery of a leak.

The firm revealed that a leak was discovered "adjacent to one of the matte tap holes" at its number one furnace, although there were no injuries as a result of the leak.

As a result of the leak, Lonmin has stated its number one furnace will be shut for between 30 and 40 days while it carries out the necessary maintenance work.

The shutdown will result in a reduction of production for the first half of 2007, Lonmin said in a statement, estimating that the company will see a reduction of between 30,000 and 40,000 platinum ounces.

However, the firm revealed that it would be running its Merensky furnace alongside the number one furnace in the second half of 2007 to make up for the lost production caused by the current outage.

Earlier this year, Lonmin announced it would be recommissioning its Merensky furnace to provide a back-up to its number one furnace.

Ÿ Adfero Ltd