Platinum miner Lonmin to reassess guidance due to strike

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Miner Lonmin posted an increase in quarterly refined platinum production on Thursday but said it will have to reassess its guidance for the year due to a mining strike in South Africa which is disrupting production.

The strike, which started on Jan. 23, is currently costing the company 3,100 ounces of platinum production per day.

"Before the start of the strike we would have maintained our guidance for the full year," the company said in a statement. "However, due to the ongoing strike, we will reassess our guidance and update the market in due course."

In the first quarter which ended on December 31, refined production increased by 45 percent to 196,249 saleable platinum ounces compared to the same period one year before.

Sales were 134,804 ounces, an increase of 24 percent, helped by an improvement in recovery rates.

However, mining production in the quarter fell by 10 percent to 2.6 million tonnes as operational momentum built up in 2013 was disrupted by a fatality and safety stoppages, the company said.

Lonmin (LSE: LMI.L - news) was at the centre of a wave of South African mine strikes in 2012 which left dozens dead.