Published: April 6, 2016 |

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Aberdeen International has provided an update on mining activities at African Thunder Platinum.

African Thunder Platinum (ATP) has decided to temporarily suspend mining operations at the Smokey Hills platinum-palladium mine effective immediately. ATP was engaged in a process to review mine activities for 2016 including consultation with its workforce. ATP concluded that the best way to optimize the long-term value of the Smokey Hills mine and 2,000 ton-per-day plant facility was to suspend operations and focus on the planning and permitting required to optimize production and costs in the future.

Since ATP hired new management led by COO Rodney O’Reilly in December, production rates and efficiency increased, equipment availability improved, costs decreased, and the safety record improved. However the continued weak platinum and palladium prices have continued to drag on cash flow. With several more months of underground development required to achieve full production, ATP decided it made the most sense to defer this expenditure until metal prices improve, and other optimization plans can be implemented.

Among the expected future optimizations, ATP has commenced the permitting process for open cast production at the mine to add to low cost tonnage that can be mined upon restart. The open cast is a critical development to the overall plan, as it should provide additional tonnage and improve operating flexibility. Permitting of the open pit is expected to take the remainder of 2016.

In addition to the operational improvements currently being addressed, the major shareholders of ATP, Aberdeen and Pala Investments are reviewing options to restructure the financial position of ATP to provide greater financial flexibility and less risk upon the future restart of operations.

“We know the decision to suspend the mine is never an easy one, however we commend ATP for taking a disciplined approach to preserving long-term value with the Smokey Hills operation. Despite achieving many operational successes over the past few months, producing metal in this environment of low prices appears to be wasteful and unnecessary. By combining the mine optimization plan with an improved financial structure, we expect that ATP will be able to return to operations once we see positive movements in the platinum and palladium pricing,” said David Stein, president and CEO of Aberdeen.

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