IMPALA Platinum (Implats) has recorded nine fatalities in the past 15 months after five employees died in the first quarter of its 2027 financial year, including three deaths after a safety stoppage at its Rustenburg operations in July.
The platinum group metals producer reported four fatalities in the year ended June, followed by five in the three months to end-September.
Two employees died in separate rail-bound equipment accidents at Impala Rustenburg in July, prompting the company to suspend mining operations for a safety reset.
A further two fatalities subsequently occurred at Rustenburg and one at Marula during the quarter.
The quarterly report said four fatal incidents occurred at Impala Rustenburg and one at Marula. The fatalities involved rail-bound equipment, sulphur dioxide exposure, winches and rigging and fall-of-ground related risks.
Implats described the quarter as showing a “significant deterioration in fatal-risk performance”, despite improvements in its broader safety statistics.
The group said this highlighted the need to accelerate measures addressing “remnants of an at-risk safety culture” and ensure compliance with controls intended to prevent fatal and life-changing incidents.
Its lost-time injury frequency rate improved 14% year on year to 3.02 per million man hours worked, while the total-injury frequency rate improved 2% to 8.33.
CEO Nico Muller said: “The safety of our people remains our foremost priority and we faced disappointing setbacks in our journey to zero harm in the quarter under review.”
“Despite reduced injury rates across our operations, we are deeply saddened to report the loss of five of our colleagues during the period.”
The safety stoppages also affected production.
Implats' appears to be struggling to recapture a safety culture at its mines. It reported four fatal injuries in its 2026 financial year including one fall of ground, one related to rigging, and the balance in motor vehicle and tramming (underground loco) incidents.
Thirteen miners lost their lives in a hoisting accident at 11 Shaft in the Rustenburg complex in November 2023. A further 73 people were injured in the incident, in which a conveyance cage carrying 86 miners to the surface suffered a mechanical failure. Muller described the accident at the time as “the darkest day” in the company’s then 57-year history of operation.
On the operational front, Implats said some 52,000 6E ounces of production was foregone at Rustenburg during the July safety reset. Tons milled at the operation fell 9% to 3.65 million tons, while 6E production declined 3% to 431,000oz.
Across managed operations, tons milled fell 5% to 6.77 million tons, with output affected by the Rustenburg safety reset and additional stoppages following subsequent fatalities.
Group 6E production declined 3% to 854,000oz during the quarter, while gross 6E refined and saleable production fell 8% to 763,000oz.
Smelting was also disrupted by a fatality at Rustenburg’s Mineral Processing operations in August. Implats said 135,000 6E oz of smelter throughput was deferred during the quarter, contributing to excess inventory increasing by 95,000oz to about 395,000oz.
Despite the disruption, Implats maintained its FY2027 production, cost and capital expenditure forecasts.