The world's third-largest platinum miner, Lonmin, has once again raised concern about its future after warning it is in danger of not meeting its debt obligations and will also delay publication of its annual results. Shares in the miner, owner of Marikana in North West, which was the site of the 2012 atrocity in which 34 mineworkers lost their lives in a wage dispute, plummeted more than 28% on Friday, its biggest one-day collapse in two years. Delaying results "sends out bad signals to the market", said Makwe Masilela, a portfolio manager at BP Bernstein Stockbrokers. "Rightly or wrongly, the market will justifiably speculate on the company, which is trying to remain cash-neutral given the rising cost pressures and lower platinum group metal prices," he said. Since the financial crisis a decade ago that triggered a global recession, platinum prices have remained under pressure. Despite an uptick in the global economy, and particularly in Europe, the metal has remained weak and is ...
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