JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Despite reporting an 8.1% drop in platinum metal-in-concentrate production during the three months to June, London-listed Lonmin on Thursday said it would maintain its yearly production and sales guidance.

The company delivered 186 456 oz of platinum in concentrate during the quarter under review, compared with the 202 851 oz recorded in the corresponding quarter the year before.

More than 81 300 oz of refined platinum was sold during the period – a 45.9% dip from the 150 376 oz sold during the June 2012 quarter.

The decrease was attributed to smelter capacity constraints following an incident at the Number Two furnace and the planned shutdown of the Number One furnace.

The platinum producer mined 2.9-million tonnes during the quarter under review – 3.6% lower than the three-million tonnes mined during the corresponding three months in 2012.

Safety stoppages during the third quarter resulted in the loss of 112 000 t, compared with losses of 40 000 t in the three months to June the year before.

An additional 123 000 t was lost owing to labour stoppages – a jump from the 41 000 t lost in the prior corresponding period.

Lonmin added that, while the operational performance continued to exceed the company’s renewal plan, it remained “alert to the risks” associated with Section 54 safety stoppages and intermittent labour disruptions that had emerged during the second quarter of 2013.

“The quarter to June was expected to be tough, with one fatality, some strike action, smelter outages and higher incidence of Section 54 safety stoppages that are plaguing the South African mining industry currently,” Investec Securities added in a note to clients.

Lonmin said that, while production and sales had declined in the June quarter, the cumulative nine months to June showed that the group was on track to reach its target of producing more than 700 000 oz of platinum and selling 660 000 oz for the full year.

Production and sales for the nine months to June reached 552 515 oz and 407 523 oz respectively, compared with the 571 026 oz and 468 777 oz recorded during the corresponding nine-month period last year.

“The cumulative results for the nine months to June, together with the successful restart of the furnaces, give us confidence to maintain our platinum metal-in-concentrate guidance and platinum sales…,” the group said in a statement.

Investec commented that, should disruptions remain minimal, the guidance could be exceeded.