BCL trims fat in battle to stay afloat
Ivy Matlho | Tuesday March 1, 2016 18:00
Speaking at a council meeting here recently, Mahupela said the company is reviewing operation of its four shafts as part of the new cost cutting strategies which include the closure of the Johannesburg office as well as Phoenix mine at Tati.
He said out of the four operationing shafts, the mine has only one shaft that is generating income. “In terms of shafts, the only shaft making money is Selebi North while other shafts are not doing well,” he said.
Mahupela also said as a way of cutting costs, they have to review their cost of mining to avoid operating above costs. He said the mine will also close the Phoenix open pit at Tati mine because it is not making profit. “We are going to close the Phoenix open pit because it is not making money. We need to look at reducing costs further in order to be able to continue to be in business,” he said.
He also said in terms of concentrate treatment, BCL mine have decided to treat Nkomati ore from South Africa because it has a higher percentage ore grade.
“Nkomati helps us financially; it is standing at 24 percent which is a better percentage compared to Tati which stand at 13 percent,” he said.
He also said BCL mine had to invest in other mines in order to keep the smelter live. “We cannot operate the business the way we used to because we are not doing well on annual basis hence the need to work smatter,” he said. He also said as a way of keeping the mine surviving, BCL will have to increase toll volume of Nkomati concentrates.
He said at some point underground mines will be closed hence BCL mine needed to invest in other mines so as to keep the smelter operating. He said BCL had managed to survive for many years because it had operated above costs.
He also said BCL is also considering closing their office based in Johannesburg. He said the office is audited every year and the record is clean. “Our intention is to close the office because it is no longer that important, but I can assure you that we audit the office every year,” he said.