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Johannesburg - Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS] the world's largest producer of the precious metal, said on Monday that output would likely be flat in 2012 after it fell short of its target last year due to a spike in safety stops.
The group said as it announced 2011 earnings that it planned to refine and sell between 2.5 million and 2.6 million ounces of platinum in 2012. Amplats, a unit of Anglo American [JSE:AGL] accounts for close to 40% of global platinum supply.
Last year it initially targeted 2.7 million ounces but sold 2.6 million and produced a bit less that that, as a government drive to stem the death toll in the country's mines forced it to halt production 81 times for safety reasons, over double the 2010 figure.
"While we agree with the need for the regulator to stop operations for non-compliance, the key issue is the nature of stoppages and their effectiveness in addressing real risks," the company said in a statement.
The miner said safety stops now involved entire shafts or mines instead of just a single operation, adding its voice to a growing chorus of complaints from the industry that the current push on safety is overzealous.
The death toll in South Africa's mines has dropped dramatically from the levels of the apartheid era, but on average over 10 workers are still losing their lives each month underground.
Headlines earnings per share, the main guage of earnings in South Africa, fell almost 30% as expected to 1,365 cents.
The group had already flagged to the market that it expected to earnings to fall by close to a third because of costs related to a black economic empowerment deal.
The group said as it announced 2011 earnings that it planned to refine and sell between 2.5 million and 2.6 million ounces of platinum in 2012. Amplats, a unit of Anglo American [JSE:AGL] accounts for close to 40% of global platinum supply.
Last year it initially targeted 2.7 million ounces but sold 2.6 million and produced a bit less that that, as a government drive to stem the death toll in the country's mines forced it to halt production 81 times for safety reasons, over double the 2010 figure.
"While we agree with the need for the regulator to stop operations for non-compliance, the key issue is the nature of stoppages and their effectiveness in addressing real risks," the company said in a statement.
The miner said safety stops now involved entire shafts or mines instead of just a single operation, adding its voice to a growing chorus of complaints from the industry that the current push on safety is overzealous.
The death toll in South Africa's mines has dropped dramatically from the levels of the apartheid era, but on average over 10 workers are still losing their lives each month underground.
Headlines earnings per share, the main guage of earnings in South Africa, fell almost 30% as expected to 1,365 cents.
The group had already flagged to the market that it expected to earnings to fall by close to a third because of costs related to a black economic empowerment deal.
