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For illustrative purpose. Picture: iStock
The financial results released by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), founded by Patrice Motsepe, show a drop in revenue and that a man died while at the mine.
ARM’s primary focus is on extracting and processing various minerals like iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, platinum group metals (PGMs), nickel, and coal, with a strategic investment in gold through Harmony Gold Mining Company.
The company’s results for the six months ended 31 December 2024 include Arm’s noticeable features, which are financial performance, safety and health, environmental, operational, and growth.
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The results start by outlining the safety and health features before explaining how the mine has performed in detail.
The results read that their operations are committed to safety.
“Regrettably, Mr Tshepo Tebele was fatally struck by a winch rope during a night shift cleaning operation at Modikwa on 29 November 2024.
“We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
“The employee assistance programme provided support and counselling to all affected employees and the deceased’s family.
“The report from the independent investigation is currently under review.”
Regarding the mine’s financial performance, headline earnings for the six months ended 31 December 2024 decreased by 49% to R1 520 million.
“Basic earnings were R1 394 million or R7.11 per share and include attributable impairments of R136 million after tax.”
Arm’s revenue decreased by 3.38% to R6.38 billion, while sales fell by 1.87% to R5.71 billion.
The cost of sales increased by 11.87% to R5.82 billion.
As a result, the company shifted from a gross profit to a loss of R118 million over the six months.
Despite this, the miner’s net profit surged by 299.72%.
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The results include attributable impairments as follows:
“An impairment of property, plant, and equipment at Beeshoek of R96 million after tax.
“An impairment of Assmang’s investment in Sakura Ferroalloys of R36 million with no tax effect.
“An impairment of property, plant, and equipment at Cato Ridge Works of R4 million after tax.
“The increase in basic earnings is mostly attributable to the lower impairments in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous corresponding period.”
The results showed that iron ore production volumes were lower in the first half of 2025 than in the first half of 2024.
They have attributed this decrease to the reduction off-take from ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa).
“Unit costs remained under pressure due to lower production volumes and above-inflation increases in fees at the iron ore and coal operations.
“PGM production volumes rose marginally due to an increase in ounces at Bokoni Platinum Mine (Bokoni). However, mining development costs were higher due to the mine being in the ramp-up phase, leading to higher operational losses.
“The lower average realised export iron ore prices and stronger rand/US dollar exchange rate were partially offset by higher manganese ore and alloy prices.”
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