Johannesburg - Impala Platinum Holdings [JSE:IMP], the
world's second largest platinum producer, said on Tuesday it was appointing
Terence Goodlace as chief executive officer to take over from David Brown, who
will step down at the end of June.
The company had the second-worst performing shares among
South Africa's benchmark Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200] index in 2011,
shedding 28% during the year as the platinum price struggled.
It is facing labour unrest at its Rustenburg operations,
which has been costing it an estimated 3 000 ounces a day in lost production
since about two weeks ago.
Like other South African platinum producers, it is also
facing increased safety stoppages from government regulators tasked with
reducing mining deaths.
The company's Zimbabwe operations is in talks with the
government there over disputed royalties and a drive to force foreign miners to
surrender majority stakes to local blacks.
Goodlace was the chief executive of Metrorex, a copper and cobalt producer with operations in Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo, which delisted from Johannesburg's bourse after it was taken over by China's Jinchuan Group Limited.