Lonmin's third-quarter production of platinum tumbled 47 percent to 91 952 ounces because of a leak at its biggest furnace.
The platinum producer said yesterday that costs might be $17.5 million (R132m) higher than planned as it paid competitors to take over some smelting in order to meet its goal of selling 700 000 ounces of refined platinum in the financial year to September.
It plans a third reconstruction of its No 1 furnace in as many years in November and December in an effort to halt leaks.
The latest leak occurred on March 30 and took more than two months to repair.
The company said in May it would build a smaller smelter at a cost of $40m to provide back-up and expand capacity by 30 percent by late 2012.
Refined platinum output in its first nine months to June slid 22 percent from a year earlier to 383 873 ounces. - Bloomberg
