For its fiscal year ending in June, Northam posted a 6.3% increase in concentrate production from its Zondereinde mine, with 321,475 ounces of PGMs (approximately 190,000 ounces of platinum, 95,000 ounces of palladium and 35,000 ounces of rhodium), up from 302,474 ounces of PGMs last year. In the second half, PGM production slipped to 147,379 ounces from 174,096 ounces of PGMs in its first half year to December. A small decline in underground tonnage (-3.2%) was offset by a 2% rise in head grade, resulting from better yields from the Merensky reef and improved mining controls on a marginally higher grade portion of the UG2 reef. In addition, the company reported the sale of another 67,709 ounces of concentrates purchased from a third party and processed in its own smelter. Northam will likely continue to buy concentrates from other miners to better utilize its growing refining capacity. Management cautioned, however, that due to the anticipated re-occurrence of potholes on the Merensky reef, production volumes from the Zondereinde mine could be lower in fiscal 2011.   

It was also announced that Northam’s board has approved the commencement of preliminary development of its Booysendal property on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex with first production targeted for 2011 and planned outturn of 162,000 ounces of PGMs annually at steady state by 2014 from its North Shaft complex. The South Shaft complex was scheduled to begin in 2013 with first outturn in 2016, and expected steady state production of 115,000 ounces of PGMs by 2018.