Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne said on Friday that the southern section of the eastern platinum belt around Lydenburg was rocked by 140 incidents of social unrest during its past financial year, the 12 months to the end of June.
“Where we have rural populations who are struggling to have economic opportunity there’s great unhappiness, there is deprivation. That’s compounded by a failure of local government,” Dunne said during a media briefing. “Procurement mafias” feed off this despair and often gin up protests in such communities where poverty and unemployment are rife. Inventive tactics include jackknifing hijacked tipper trucks on access roads leading to the mines and throwing away the keys.Dunne said such disruptions cost the company 20,000 to 30,000 in lost PGM ounces in the previous financial year, between 3% to 4% of group production.
“The group’s equivalent refined metal from its own operations increased to 716,488 ounces ,” Northam said. “Notwithstanding the array of challenges faced during the year under review, our operations collectively achieved a steady increase in production and our growth projects remain on track.”