I think this one is oversold, and is must BUY @ at level!

Sell AQP as 5 fatalities yesterday at Marikana Mine may cause another major drop in sp. Recent 2 deaths at Blue Ridge Mine has caused a drop from 400p.

Actually it was because the miners all went down but perhaps that escaped your notice!

thanks hlyeo...got hold on even longer now, wish i could sell.,.

Also Blue Ridge mine closed for two weeks after death of two miners. Looks like production targets will be hit & maybe worse if the Health & Safety Board close them down for an even longer period.

StockMarketWire.com
South African mining group, Aquarius Platinum says that a preliminary assessment of yesterday's accident which resulted in five fatalities indicates that the fall of ground that occurred in 4 Shaft was the result of a block of rock weighing approximately 500 tonnes falling instantly from the hanging wall.

Operations at 4 Shaft remain suspended and management expects to be able to present the results of an investigation to the Department of Mineral Resources within two weeks.

CEO Stuart Murray comments: "This tragic accident is the worst such incident in AQPSA's history, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the men who died.

"Prior to this incident, Marikana operations had completed over 800,000 fatality-free shifts, which is the equivalent of 18 months without a fatal accident. This is among the best safety records in the industry, and the safety of our personnel remains of paramount importance to us. "

The fatalities at the Marikana 4 shaft on Tuesday could result in Aquarius Platinum coming under closer scrutiny from the Department of Mineral Resources in South Africa and may lead to more suspensions of operations, Panmure Gordon speculates.

Whilst the direct impact on production is likely to be limited we expect an indirect impact from more frequent safety-related stoppages and are reducing our FY2011E [fiscal 2011 estimated] production forecast by 1% and EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] by 2%, the broker said.

The Mariakana tragedy follows two fatalities at Blue Ridge in the past month. As well as increased scrutiny from the authorities, Aquarius may also find itself dealing with anxious workers if the situation is not carefully managed, Panmure analyst Alison Turner argues.

The broker rates the stock a sell and has a target price of 300p.

Instruction from the Principal Inspector of Mines

"Aquarius Platinum Limited advises that its subsidiary Aquarius Platinum South Africa Limited has received an instruction from the Principal Inspector of Mines in the North West region of South Africa to the effect that all mechanised bord-and-pillar mines in the North West region are to revise their mine Codes of Practice, and reduce all bord widths in their shafts from 10 metres to 6 metres. This will apply to AQP SA's Kroondal and Marikana operations.

The relevant extract of the instruction reads as follows:

"...all mining companies in North West region employing the bord and pillar
mining method are instructed in terms of Section 9(7) read with Regulation
7.4.4 still in force in terms of Schedule 4 of the Mine Health and Safety Act
(Act 29 of 1996) as amended, to immediately review the Code of Practice for the
prevention of rockfalls and rockbursts in metalliferous mines, related mine
standards and procedures to cater for more effective safety measures including
but not limited to:

* Maximum mining bord width of not more than 6 metres;

* Extraction ratios should not exceed 75 percent;

* Supporting of prominent geological features by pillars;

* Boxing of roadways must be towards one direction;

* Orientation of leads and lags between headings must almost be aligned for
the purposes of effective ventilation

Until such time that the aforesaid review is conducted, no headings/faces of
more than six (6) metres bord widths should be advanced for the purposes of
production. All mines employing the bord and pillar mining method where bord
widths exceed six (6) metres must notify the office of the Principal Inspector
of Mines on their action plans to convert to more safer and conservative mining
parameters."

Aquarius is assessing the impact of these instructions, which may take some
time. AQP SA is also urgently consulting with government and the other mining
companies affected by these instructions. We will inform shareholders once this
assessment has been made."

Big slide as inspectors coming in to assess safety...

This has to be a good short now as safety is really in question as to the death of miners.

thats not what i want to hear thank you.,.

Cut losses before it gets much worse.

I don't agree to 'Sell now' if holding a loss. Platinum will always be in demand & will increase as car production bounces back. I am happy to hold & add when this particular episode is over. It's not the first (Sadly) & the stock has always recovered well.

Platinum price will rise obviously but AQP mines may be shut for inspection for considerable duration of time for safety inspection and this will greatly affect AQP's production and profits.

have lost half of input so will stay put.,.

First Blue Ridge, then Marikana, fatalities after fatalities, this was very obvious a sell from 6/7/2010 when sp was 330p.

Profit warning very likely for AQP now... SELL.



Aquarius Platinum slumped 15 per cent to 256p on word that South African government officials had called its chief executive away from an analysts site visit on Thursday in the wake of a fatal accident at Aquariuss Marikana mine.

The group confirmed after the close of trade that the South African mines inspector had laid out a new safety code and it was assessing the impact.

Liberum Capital called the move a potentially seismic shift for South African platinum producers. The higher costs and lower production involved in complying could cut Aquariuss 2011 earnings by between 24 and 28 per cent, it said.

Canaccord Genuity cut Aquarius stock from buy to sell. If this change in legislation persists, mechanised mining will become less profitable, and as such Aquarius business model is at risk, it said.

This is so expected... 225p now.
Cut losses is the strategy here as downtrend will continue.

buy buy buy.,.

when it's 100p.

Appeal against mining directives very likely to be rejected and will see it fall drastically soon.