South Africa-based mining company African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) has announced the suspension of operations at its Bokoni platinum mine amid plans to revise the mine’s operational plan.
The suspension comes in the wake of a reported decline in basic annual earnings, with ARM citing a significant impairment charge related to the mine.
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ARM reported a R2.2bn impairment ($125m) at Bokoni, attributing it to a delay in ramping up mining operations and a shift in mining methodology.
This resulted in a decrease in ARM’s basic earnings to R330m for the financial year ending 30 June, down from R3.1bn the previous year.
The company’s headline earnings also fell to R2.69bn from R5.08bn, influenced by lower commodity prices for iron ore and coal.
In 2022, ARM acquired Bokoni from Anglo American and Atlatsa Resources for R3.5bn. The mine had been under care and maintenance since 2017 after a series of financial losses, according to a Reuters report.
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By GlobalDataInitially, ARM operated Bokoni using an existing 60,000 tonnes per month (tpm) concentrator as part of an “early ounces” plan to expand operations.
However, the downturn in platinum group metal prices in 2023 led to the postponement of a larger 240,000tpm mine development project.
Consequently, the current mining and milling capacities were not sufficient to cover fixed costs and maintain profitability, resulting in the suspension of operations at the end of June.
ARM said: “Without this larger scale, the lower production volumes obtained from the early ounces project could not achieve the required economies of scale.
“As a result, ore mining and milling operations were suspended at the end of F2025, enabling Bokoni to refocus capital and strategic efforts on ore reserve development to support sustainable future production.”
Despite a 62% increase in platinum group metal concentrate production at Bokoni to 45,579oz over the year, the mine’s cash costs escalated by 48% to $2,051/oz.
ARM is conducting a feasibility study to assess a phased development strategy, beginning with a new 120,000tpm concentrator plant and potentially expanding to 240,000tpm.
The focus is on optimising grade, capital efficiency and sustainable long-term returns from Bokoni’s high-quality resources.
