DURBAN - South African mining company Impala Platinum may look to cut more jobs this year after letting go of 2 500 employees last month.
The company is facing losses due to ageing shafts and decreases in the price of metal.
As or March this year, only three of the ten shafts at Implats mining complex were making money and since then things have only worsened with the platinum decreasing by a further 9%.
The spokesperson for Implats Johan Theron said that the company will reveal the outcome of a strategic review of Rustenburg in September.
Theron added that the problems that the mining industry face means that the company disregard the possibility of more jobs losses.
Impala Platinum has around 31000 employees working at the Rustenburg operations.
According to the Implats website, the company has 52012 employees including contractors.
In March the company said that that the 2017 strategic review would consider ways to refocus or close unprofitable areas and that shafts could be shut down earlier than planned.
Lowered production
This year April, the mining company was forced to lower their 2018 production target due to furnace maintenance and electrical failure inhibiting smelting.
Impala is the world's second-biggest producer of platinum.
Nico Muller, the CEO of Impala cut the target. He said in the March quarter production report that was released in April that furnace problems experienced during the period would restrict all platinum produced in concentrate during the period from being completely refined before the end of the financial year.
The Implats platinum mining company is valued at R16,8 billion.