LEI No: 213800FGJZ2WAC6Y2L94

REGULATORY RELEASE

17 July 2017

Third Quarter 2017 Production Report and Business Update

Lonmin Plc ('Lonmin' or 'the Company'), one of the world's largest primary platinum producers, today announces its production results for the quarter ended 30 June 2017 (unaudited) and a business update.

Third Quarter Highlights

· It is with great regret that we have to report 2 fatalities in a period when the 12 month rolling Safety Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate ('LTIFR') had in fact improved by 2.0% quarter on quarter.

· The mining performance improvement since March 2017 has been sustained into Q3 2017. Total tonnes mined increased by 3.8% to 2.7 million tonnes compared with Q3 2016, up 13.2% on Q2 2017.

· Tonnes mined from our Generation 2 shafts, which generate 84% of our production, increased by 9.0% to 2.2 million tonnes compared with the prior year period and increased by 18.6% against Q2 2017.

· Concentrator recoveries continue to be excellent at 86.8%.

· Sales of 180,348 Platinum ounces increased by 10.8% on prior year period. We are maintaining our full-year sales guidance of 650,000 ounces to 680,000 ounces.

· Average Rand full basket price down 3.0% on the prior year period, at R11,506 per PGM ounce.

· As a result of the much improved mining performance, unit costs reduced by 4.7% quarter-on-quarter to R11,278 per PGM ounce (6E basis), and increased 6.4% year-on-year, slightly above inflation.

· We were at the lower end of the revised unit cost guidance of between R11,300 and R11,800 per PGM ounce.

· Gross cash improved to $236 million at 30 June 2017 from $225 million as at the end of the second quarter.

· Net Cash improved to $86 million (gross cash of $236 million less the drawn term loan of $150 million) at 30 June, up from $75 million (gross cash of $225 million less the drawn term loan of $150 million) at the end of the second quarter.

Ben Magara, Chief Executive Officer, said: 'We had a pleasing operational performance all round and continue with our decisive work and aim to be at least cash neutral even at current low PGM prices and a strong Rand. I am pleased that with the right team in place, our mining turnaround has been sustained. I am grateful to our employees who have worked hard to produce the results we are seeing. We continue to find levers to pull, in this 'lower prices for longer' environment and to make the improvement of our performance a priority. I am particularly pleased that our net cash has improved. Despite the difficult global macro-economics and the complex and challenging socio political operating environment, we are still able to find common ground for Lonmin to deliver this sustained improved performance.'

3 months

3 month

%

April

May

June

to 30 June

to 30 June

Increase/

2017

2017

2017

2017

2016

(decrease)

Tonnes

Generation 2

K3 Shaft

kt

237

290

279

806

661

22.0%

Mined

Rowland Shaft

kt

150

182

196

528

437

20.8%

Saffy Shaft

kt

161

212

206

580

518

12.0%

4B Shaft

kt

96

101

117

314

427

(26.5)%

Total Generation 2

kt

645

785

799

2 228

2 043

9.0%

Generation 1

kt

127

133

172

431

526

(18.1)%

Total underground

kt

771

917

971

2 659

2 569

3.5%

Opencast

kt

7

0

7

Lonmin (100%)

Total Tonnes Mined

kt

771

924

971

2 666

2 569

3.8%

Lonmin attributable

Total Tonnes Mined

kt

2 606

2 508

1.9%

Ounces

Lonmin (incl

Platinum

oz

169 820

166 581

1.9%

mined

Pandora)

PGMs

oz

326 540

320 514

1.9%

Tonnes

Total

oz

2 690

2 514

7.0%

milled

Head grade

oz

4.58

4.68

(2.1)%

Recovery rate

oz

86.8%

87.0%

(0.2)%

Metals-in-

Platinum

oz

171 381

164 647

4.1%

concentrate

PGMs

oz

329 336

316 480

4.1%

Sales

Platinum

oz

180 348

162 725

10.8%

Refined metal

PGMs

oz

345 354

315 091

9.6%

Average

$ basket incl. by-product revenue

$/oz

882

796

10.8%

prices

R basket incl. by-product revenue

ZAR/oz

11 506

11 864

(3.0)%

Exchange rate

Average rate for period

ZAR/$

13.19

14.99

(12.0)%

Unit costs

Cost of production per PGM ounce

ZAR/oz

11 278

10 595

(6.4)%

Third Quarter Production Overview

Safety

· Regrettably, two colleagues were fatally injured during the period. As reported at the Interims, Mr Simon Sibitane, a locomotive operator at 4B on 11 May and Mr Mangi Bunga, a Team Leader rail and Haulage Maintenance at 4B on 29 June, died following a tramming incident. The five fatalities experienced during the first nine months are unacceptable. We will be holding a safety workshop with stakeholders this month as we continue to work with all stakeholders to identify and implement sustainable remedies.

· The 12 month rolling LTIFR to 30 June improved by 2.0% to 4.80 per million man hours from 4.88 at 31 March 2017.

· The 12 month rolling Total Injury Frequency Rate improved 3.0% to 11.62 at 30 June 2017, from 12.03 at 31 March 2017.

Mining Operations

The Marikana mining operations (including Pandora) produced 2.7 million tonnes during the third quarter, an increase of 3.8% or 97,000 tonnes on the prior year period, reflecting a strong performance from our core Generation 2 shafts in spite of the planned decrease in production from the Generation 1 shafts in line with our strategy to reduce high cost production in a low price environment.

Generation 2 shafts

Tonnes mined from our core Generation 2 shafts (K3, Rowland, Saffy and 4B) were 2.2 million tonnes, an increase of 9.0% on the prior year period and accounted for 84% of total tonnes mined, emphasizing our continued focus on improving production at these shafts, which are important for Lonmin's future.

· K3 produced 806,000 tonnes, an increase of 22.0% on the prior year period and a quarter on quarter increase of 38.3%. The production of 290,000 tonnes at K3 for the month of May was the highest since July 2013.

· Saffy shaft produced 580,000 tonnes, an increase of 12.0% on the prior year period and a quarter on quarter increase of 16.4%.

· Rowland shaft produced 528,000 tonnes, an increase of 20.8% on the prior year period and a quarter on quarter increase of 16.8%. This was the shaft's best quarterly production since the fourth quarter of the 2011 financial year and the best Q3 output in the last eight years.

· 4B produced 314,000 tonnes, a decrease of 26.5% on the prior year period, impacted by safety stoppages associated with the two fatalities.

Despite the poor start to the financial year, tonnes mined from the Generation 2 shafts for the nine months to 30 June of 5.9 million tonnes are now in line with the prior year. This gratifying result illustrates the extent of the momentum the mining team has established in the last five months, following the weak first four months. Traditionally, the fourth quarter is our strongest in terms of production and we anticipate this momentum to continue absent any unforeseen interruptions to the mining production run.

As previously announced, we're on track with our plan for development crews deployed to stopping areas to revert to their own working areas by the end of the financial year.

Generation 1 shafts

In line with the Group's rationalisation of high cost areas, production from our Generation 1 shafts (Hossy, Newman, W1, E1, E2, E3 and Pandora (100%)) at 431,000 tonnes was 18.1% lower than the prior year period. Some of these shafts are managed as a coherent unit and are run by contractors, providing better flexibility to retain or stop them, depending on their profit contribution to the Company.

The combined E3 unit (E3 plus the Pandora JV) only produced 6,000 tonnes or 4% less in Q3 FY17 when compared to Q3 FY16, despite losing around 35,000 tonnes during May, when community protests disrupted production around the unit, as explained later in this report.

Ore reserves

Operational flexibility was preserved with the immediately available ore reserve position of 3.3 million square metres at the end of Q3 2017, or 20 months average production versus 3.9 million square metres at the end of Q3 2016.

Production Losses

Production lost due to Section 54 safety stoppages in the quarter totalled only 44,000 tonnes. This was 199,000 tonnes better than the prior year period.

Q3 2017

Q3 2016

tonnes

tonnes

Section 54 safety stoppages

44,000

243,000

Management induced safety stoppages Labour/Community disruptions

24,000

59,000

13,000

56,000

Total tonnes lost

127,000

311,000

Process Operations

Milling production in the quarter of 2.7 million tonnes was in line with tonnes mined of 2.7 million tonnes, and 7% higher than the 2.5 million milled in the prior year period, as a result of the improved mining performance. Metal-in-Concentrate produced was up 4.1% compared to Q3 2016 with 171,381 Platinum ounces and 329,336 PGM ounces.

Underground milled head grade at 4.58 grammes per tonne (5PGE+Au) decreased by 2.3% when compared to the 4.69 grammes per tonne achieved in the prior year period. The overall milled head grade was 4.58 grammes per tonne, down 2.2% on the prior year period of 4.68 grammes per tonne. The main reason that the overall grade is down is because of the change in the ore type mix. During the quarter, the Merensky proportion of tonnes milled was 3.0% more than the proportion milled during Q3 2016 (29% vs 26%). There was also a slight drop in the UG2 grades during the quarter as a result of increased dilution from leader seams at K3 UG2 for the period.

Concentrator recoveries for the quarter continue to be excellent at 86.8%.

Total refined Platinum production at 180,323 ounces was 3.9% higher than the prior year period. Total PGMs produced were 359,680 ounces, an increase of 3.1% on the prior year period. Refined Platinum production continued to benefit from the smelter clean-up project, which released 8,942 Platinum ounces during the quarter, compared to 8,865 ounces in the prior year period.

Sales & Pricing

Platinum sales for the quarter were 180,348 ounces, an increase of 10.8% compared with Q3 2016, mainly as a result of the improved mining performance. PGM sales were 345,354 ounces, up 9.6% on Q3 2016 sales.

Platinum sales for the nine months to 30 June 2017 were 487,343 ounces and we are maintaining our sales guidance for the year of 650,000 ounces to 680,000 ounces.

The US Dollar basket price (including base metal revenue) at $882 per ounce during the quarter was up 10.8% on Q3 2016 while the corresponding Rand basket price (R11,506 per ounce) was 3.0% lower than the prior year period. The average Rand to US Dollar exchange rate was 12.0% stronger at R13.19 compared to R14.99 in the prior year period.

Unit costs

Unit costs for the quarter were R11,278 per PGM ounce, a decrease of 4.7% on Q2 as a result of the improved mining performance. This is at the lower end of our revised guidance of between R11,300-R11,800. The year-on-year increase of 6.4% is slightly above inflation.

Community relationships

We experienced some community unrest during May. We are working with community leaders and have enlisted assistance from labour and other key stakeholders to assist us to create a stable operating environment. Contractors have also been engaged, where possible, to make opportunities for job creation for community members. Generally the community relations around the operations are improving.

Pandora update

We are making good progress with obtaining the necessary consents for the Pandora acquisitions and have now received approval from the Competition Authorities. As previously reported, we have submitted the requisite application for Section11 consent to the Department of Mineral Resources prior to the release of the Mining Charter III and await approval. The transaction also remains subject to consent from our lending banks. We expect the transaction to complete by the end of the calendar year. On completion of these transactions, Lonmin will own 100% of Pandora. Full ownership of Pandora allows us to extend the mining at Saffy shaft further on strike east and west of the shaft, which will enable the deferment of the deepening of the shaft. The acquisition allows us to defer over R2.6 billion of allocated capital expenditure required for the further deepening of Saffy shaft, of which R1.6 billion will be over the next four years.

Outlook and Guidance

We are maintaining our sales guidance of between 650,000 Platinum ounces to 680,000 Platinum ounces, absent any unexpected interruptions to the smooth running of mining production. We believe this is achievable based on the sustained good operational results we have seen these past five months, combined with the fact that the fourth quarter of our financial year is traditionally our strongest. Safety remains a cause for concern, and we remain focused on addressing the root causes of safety incidents.

We anticipate achieving the revised unit cost guidance for FY17 of between R11,300 and R11,800 per PGM ounce.

We continue with our strategy of minimising capital expenditure but we are ensuring that the Immediately Available Ore Reserve position is maintained at the level necessary to support planned production at the Generation 2 shafts and minimise the near term impact on production. As in previous years, capital expenditure is weighted towards the second half of the financial year. We are maintaining our revised capital expenditure guidance for the current year to between R1.4 billion and R1.5 billion of which R917 million has been spent to date.

Board changes

As planned and previously announced in January 2017, Jim Sutcliffe will step down as a Non-executive Director and the Senior Independent Director of the Company on 31 July 2017, having served almost 10 years on the Board.

Jonathan Leslie, who has been an independent Non-executive Director on the Board since 2009, will succeed Mr Sutcliffe as the Senior Independent Director from 1 August 2017.

Brian Beamish, Chairman of Lonmin said 'Jim has made a significant and valuable contribution to the Board. His insights, experience and guidance will be missed. I also want to congratulate Jonathan on his appointment as Senior Independent Director. I have no doubt his wealth of experience and knowledge will be beneficial in this new role.'

The Company also announces the appointment of Gillian Fairfield as an independent Non-executive Director of the Company, with effect from 1 August 2017.

Ms Fairfield is a leading corporate lawyer with over 20 years' experience in corporate law, cross-border M&A and corporate finance. Ms Fairfield was awarded 'Client Partner of the Year' in the British Legal Awards 2016 and was featured in the Legal 500 and cited as a leading practitioner in Chambers on a number of occasions.

Until May 2017, Ms Fairfield was a lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP for 13 years, of which 9 were as a corporate partner. Herbert Smith Freehills is one of the Company's legal advisers and Ms Fairfield has acted as a relationship partner to the Company. Prior to Herbert Smith Freehills, Ms Fairfield was an associate solicitor at Freshfields LLP for 5 years.

In accordance with the Listing Rules, Lonmin confirms that there are no additional matters that would require disclosure under LR 9.6.13 R (1) to (6). Ms Fairfield does not have any direct beneficial interests in Lonmin ordinary shares of $0.0001 each.

Brian Beamish, Chairman of Lonmin, said: 'I am delighted to welcome Gillian to our Board. She brings with her extensive legal, governance and transactional experience and, combined with her knowledge of Lonmin and the mining industry, she will, I am sure, make a vital contribution to the Company and the Board.'

- ENDS -

ENQUIRIES

Investors / Analysts:

Lonmin

Tanya Chikanza (Head of Investor Relations) +27 11 218 8358 /+44 20 3908 1073

Andrew Mari (Investor Relations Manager) +27 11 218 8420

Media:

Cardew Group

Anthony Cardew / Emma Crawshaw

+44 207 930 0777

Wendy Tlou

+27 83 358 0049

Notes to editors

Lonmin, which is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, is one of the world's largest primary producers of PGMs. These metals are essential for many industrial applications, especially catalytic converters for internal combustion engine emissions, as well as their widespread use in jewellery.

Lonmin's operations are situated in the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa, where more than 70% of known global PGM resources are located.

The Company creates value through mining, refining and marketing PGMs and has a vertically integrated operational structure - from mine to market. Underpinning the operations is the Shared Services function which provides high quality levels of support and infrastructure across the operations.

For further information please visit our website: http://www.lonmin.com

3 months

3 months

9 months

9 months

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

2017

2016

2017

2016

Tonnes mined

Marikana

K3 Shaft

kt

806

661

1 979

1 979

Rowland Shaft

kt

528

437

1 404

1 245

Saffy Shaft

kt

580

518

1 571

1 507

4B Shaft

kt

314

427

996

1 190

Generation 2

kt

2 228

2 043

5 949

5 921

1B Shaft

kt

6

Hossy Shaft

kt

163

187

493

521

Newman Shaft

kt

0

45

51

290

W1 Shaft

kt

33

41

105

129

East 1 Shaft

kt

40

39

115

109

East 2 Shaft

kt

59

73

191

227

East 3 Shaft

kt

18

20

57

43

Pandora (100%)

kt

118

123

347

387

Generation 1

kt

431

526

1 358

1 711

Underground

kt

2 659

2 569

7 307

7 632

Opencast

kt

7

45

10

Lonmin (100%)

Total Tonnes Mined (100%)

kt

2 666

2 569

7 352

7 642

% tonnes mined from UG2 reef (100%)

%

72.0%

74.6%

73.4%

75.7%

Lonmin (attributable)

Underground & Opencast

kt

2 606

2 508

7 178

7 448

Ounces

Mined

Lonmin excluding Pandora

Pt Ounces

oz

161 825

157 984

442 571

461 351

Pandora (100%)

Pt Ounces

oz

7 995

8 597

23 687

26 657

Lonmin

Pt Ounces

oz

169 820

166 581

466 258

488 008

Lonmin excluding Pandora

PGM Ounces

oz

310 503

303 620

848 639

885 706

Pandora (100%)

PGM Ounces

oz

16 037

16 893

47 084

52 318

Lonmin

PGM Ounces

oz

326 540

320 514

895 723

938 024

Tonnes

Marikana

Underground

kt

2 571

2 382

6 881

7 107

milled

Opencast

kt

9

49

60

Total

kt

2 571

2 391

6 930

7 166

Pandora

Underground

kt

118

123

347

387

Lonmin Platinum

Underground

kt

2 690

2 505

7 229

7 494

Milled head grade

g/t

4.58

4.69

4.57

4.61

Recovery rate

%

86.8%

87.0%

86.8%

86.9%

Opencast

kt

0

9

49

60

Milled head grade

g/t

-

3.04

4.42

2.81

Recovery rate

%

0.0%

83.8%

68.3%

83.9%

Total

kt

2 690

2 514

7 278

7 554

Milled head grade

g/t

4.58

4.68

4.56

4.59

Recovery rate

%

86.8%

87.0%

86.7%

86.8%

3 months

3 months

9 months

9 months

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

2017

2016

2017

2016

Metals-in- concentrate

Marikana

Platinum

oz

163 024

155 010

437 695

456 130

Palladium

oz

75 568

72 516

202 436

212 642

Gold

oz

3 998

3 730

10 912

10 953

Rhodium

oz

23 092

22 302

62 025

65 952

Ruthenium

oz

38 832

36 840

104 185

107 831

Iridium

oz

8 157

7 572

21 692

21 556

Total PGMs

oz

312 670

297 970

838 945

875 063

Nickel

MT

859

775

2 264

2 280

Copper

MT

540

477

1 420

1 403

Pandora

Platinum

oz

7 995

8 597

23 687

26 657

Palladium

oz

3 811

4 058

11 206

12 478

Gold

oz

55

27

167

79

Rhodium

oz

1 389

1 416

4 021

4 407

Ruthenium

oz

2 297

2 315

6 617

7 235

Iridium

oz

489

481

1 385

1 462

Total PGMs

oz

16 037

16 893

47 084

52 318

Nickel

MT

15

21

48

79

Copper

MT

7

8

21

26

Concentrate

Platinum

oz

361

1 039

964

3 304

purchases

Palladium

oz

146

272

310

1 083

Gold

oz

3

3

5

12

Rhodium

oz

36

106

95

407

Ruthenium

oz

64

147

162

620

Iridium

oz

18

48

43

169

Total PGMs

oz

629

1 616

1 579

5 596

Nickel

MT

0

0

1

2

Copper

MT

0

0

0

1

Lonmin Platinum

Platinum

oz

171 381

164 647

462 347

486 091

Palladium

oz

79 525

76 846

213 952

226 204

Gold

oz

4 056

3 760

11 084

11 044

Rhodium

oz

24 517

23 825

66 141

70 766

Ruthenium

oz

41 193

39 301

110 964

115 686

Iridium

oz

8 664

8 101

23 120

23 186

Total PGMs

oz

329 336

316 480

887 607

932 977

Nickel

MT

875

796

2 312

2 360

Copper

MT

548

485

1 441

1 430

3 months

3 months

9 months

9 months

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

to 30 Jun

2017

2016

2017

2016

Refined

Lonmin refined
Metal
Production

Platinum

oz

179 158

173302

479 396

520 065

Production

Palladium

oz

88 551

82 590

221 682

237 687

Gold

oz

4 776

4 585

12 454

14 113

Rhodium

oz

29 976

35 085

72 569

88 855

Ruthenium

oz

44 667

42 268

113 392

120 691

Iridium

oz

10 057

10 404

24 740

30 844

Total PGMs

oz

357 185

348 233

924 233

1 012 255

Toll refined
metal
production

Platinum

oz

1 164

210

2 187

2 331

Palladium

oz

439

100

634

599

Gold

oz

21

4

29

24

Rhodium

oz

174

35

251

170

Ruthenium

oz

553

75

789

640

Iridium

oz

144

55

172

91

Total PGMs

oz

2 496

479

4 062

3 856

Total
refined
PGMs

Platinum

oz

180 323

173 512

481 583

522 396

Palladium

oz

88 990

82 690

222 316

238 286

Gold

oz

4 797

4 589

12 482

14 137

Rhodium

oz

30 150

35 120

72 820

89 025

Ruthenium

oz

45 220

42 343

114 182

121 331

Iridium

oz

10 201

10 459

24 911

30 935

Total PGMs

oz

359 680

348 712

928 294

1 016 110

Base metals

Nickel

MT

1 040

930

2 516

2 673

Copper

MT

596

519

1 443

1 531

Sales

Refined
Metal
Sales

Platinum

oz

180 348

162 725

487 343

524 607

Palladium

oz

87 208

77 134

219 724

239 879

Gold

oz

4 341

4 200

11 686

14 845

Rhodium

oz

27 433

28 122

78 430

89 283

Ruthenium

oz

37 823

31 511

135 498

113 605

Iridium

oz

8 201

11 400

22 530

32 142

Total PGMs

oz

345 354

315 091

955 212

1 014 360

Nickel

MT

1 011

744

2 739

2 525

Copper

MT

838

563

1 054

1 641

Chrome

MT

387 478

277 489

1 039 133

1 030 468

Average

Platinum

$/oz

941

1 005

953

936

prices

Palladium

$/oz

819

565

763

556

Gold

$/oz

1 258

1 510

1 226

1 404

Rhodium

$/oz

971

673

860

684

$ basket excl. by-product revenue

$/oz

819

760

772

716

$ basket incl. by-product revenue

$/oz

882

796

828

755

R basket excl. by-product revenue

R/oz

10 682

11 321

10 329

10 682

R basket incl. by-product revenue

R/oz

11 506

11 864

11 088

11 242

Nickel

$/MT

7 627

7 215

8 268

7 026

Copper

$/MT

4 902

4 637

5 017

4 524

Unit Costs

Cost of Production per PGM ounce

ZAR/oz

11 278

10 596

11 770

10 642

Exchange
Rates

Average rate for period

R/$

13.19

14.99

13.44

15.00

Closing rate

R/$

13.05

14.72

13.05

14.72

Notes

1

Reporting of shafts are in line with our operating strategy for Generation 1 and Generation 2 shafts.

2

Pandora underground tonnes mined represents 100% of the total tonnes mined on the Pandora joint venture of

which 42.5% for October and November 2014 and 50% thereafter is attributable to Lonmin.

3

Ounces mined have been calculated at achieved concentrator recoveries and with Lonmin standard downstream

processing recoveries to present produced saleable ounces.

4

Tonnes milled excludes slag milling.

5

Lonmin purchases 100% of the ore produced by the Pandora joint venture for onward processing which is included

in downstream operating statistics.

6

Head Grade is the grammes per tonne (5PGE + Au) value contained in the tonnes milled and fed into the concentrator

from the mines (excludes slag milled).

7

Recovery rate in the concentrators is the total content produced divided by the total content milled (excluding slag).

8

Metals-in-concentrate have been calculated at Lonmin standard downstream processing recoveries to present produced

saleable ounces.

9

Corresponds to contained base metals in concentrate.

10

Nickel is produced and sold as nickel sulphate crystals or solution and the volumes shown correspond to contained metal.

Copper is produced as refined product but typically at LME grade C. Chrome is produced in the form of chromite

concentrate and volumes shown are in the form of chromite.

11

Basket price of PGMs is based on the revenue generated in Rand and Dollar from the actual PGMs (5PGE + Au) sold in

the period based on the appropriate Rand / Dollar exchange rate applicable for each sales transaction.

12

As per note 11 but including revenue from base metals.

13

Exchange rates are calculated using the market average daily closing rate over the course of the period.

Lonmin plc published this content on 17 July 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
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