Amplats says repair work underway for its converter plants

JOHANNESBURG  – Anglo American Platinum said on Friday it had started the repair process at its damaged converter plant and had been in discussions with third parties and agreed, in principle, revised terms for the duration of a force majeure period necessitated by the shutdown.

Friday’s update came after Amplats on March 6 announced the temporary shutdown of the entire Anglo Converter Plant (ACP), part of the chain of its processing facilities, and the need to declare force majeure, a reference to unforeseeable circumstances that prevent an entity from fulfilling a contract.

The company’s ACP phase A converter plant at Waterval smelter in South Africa’s mining town of Rustenburg was damaged following an explosion in February, with repairs expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2021.

Amplats said the phase B unit was commissioned to take over from the phase A plant but water was detected in the furnace, posing a high risk of explosion and necessitating a temporary shutdown to ensure the safety of workers. Repair work to fix the phase B unit would take approximately 80 days.

On Friday, Amplats said it did not foresee any customer agreements being terminated as a result of this disruption.