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Johannesburg - Mining company Bauba said on Thursday that it had re-opened its wholly-owned chrome mine Moeijelijk after placing it under care and maintenance.
It placed it into care and maintenance after the chrome- ore price dropped from $175 (R2380) a ton to $120 a ton in January last year, which made the company financially unviable.
Bauba’s chief executive, Nick van der Hoven, said that the rebounding chrome-ore price had prompted Bauba to resume its Moeijelijk mine.
He said chrome-ore price had bounced back from a low of $80 a ton to $380 a ton. Van der Hoven said Moeijelijk was expected to produce 20 000 tons of chrome ore within three months, and expected chrome grade to be between 39 percent and 41 percent.
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“From a difficult position in 2016, Bauba has - having preserved its chrome-ore reserves for more favourable prices - come into a stronger a position and is well positioned to capitalise on these improved prices,” said Van der Hoven.
The company reported a loss of R6.4 million from R78.7 million in sales for the financial year ending in June.