Northam Platinum says it is on the road to recovery after posting production figures that showed a strong second half of the year.

After enduing a fire at its mine last September, when more than 10,000 troy ounces of precious metals were lost as a result of the fire near Thabazimbi on the northern limb of the Bushveld in the Limpopo province, the firm says it is only now starting to claw back its productivity.

Nine people were killed and the mine was shut for the whole of October, only reopening in November, with pgm output falling by 18.3 per cent in the first half of the current financial year.

However, with the yearly figures showing a loss of approximately 12 per cent of available production shifts and total tonnage only down 3.7 per cent in comparison with last year, the trend is an upward one.

Annual production fell 4.5 per cent overall during the year, while output dipped 325,214 ounces – in figures that indicate a gradual recovery from the impact of the fire.

Citing progress in development on the Merensky reef horizon, with available ore reserves increasing from a period of 15 months to 18 months, Northam was bullish on its future prospects.

The continuing strength of the price of platinum was offset by lower sales volumes, as revenue fell 9.6 per cent, but overall South Africa's fourth largest miner was pleased with the performance.