IFL.L Regulatory News (IFL)

23 November 2011

International Ferro Metals Limited

("IFL" or the "Company")

Chairman's Address at the 2011 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

The first half of the 2012 financial year is almost over. In it, the difficulties that have long faced the Company and other South African ferrochrome producers continued. Soft demand for ferrochrome with consequent price weakening was unabated and the Rand's strength added to the pressure on margins. The poor market conditions were exacerbated by the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis which eroded confidence among stainless steel producers in the prospects for global economic growth.

However, despite these vicissitudes, the Company has substantial reasons for optimism. The measures we have taken to push costs down the ladder to the lower rungs of South African industry constitute the beginnings of a significant turnaround story.

The recent extensive modifications to its furnaces the Company made with the help of Metix Ltd, the highly experienced South African smelter engineering firm, are making a welcome difference to production volumes and costs. The work, consisting mainly of replacing the roofs with copper and changing the ore feed chutes, was done on schedule and within budget. The ramp up is going well and the furnaces are beginning to produce at design volumes. Some further operational time is necessary before we can gain full confidence that the improvements are sustainable. But the performance to date is impressive.

The recently achieved stability of the furnaces has allowed an increase in the use of anthracite to substitute for the more expensive coke, further reducing costs. Anthracite now represents a material proportion of the reductants used in the furnaces and a further increase is targeted.

Energy consumption was significantly improved as a result of greater furnace efficiency in comparison with previous years; not a trivial matter in view of rampantly rising electricity costs in South Africa. The co-generation plant was in operation, contributing further to power cost containment.

The first blast at the Sky Chrome open pit mine occurred at the beginning of this month. It was met with equanimity by the local community, many of whom were not even aware that it had occurred. It is anticipated that Sky Chrome open pit ore will be significantly cheaper than at Lesedi underground ore.

The UG2 production facility being built by Anglo Platinum, which will supply the Company with UG2 chrome concentrate, is on schedule and is expected to produce chrome concentrates from January next year. This will further reduce the average cost of furnace feed.

On the marketing side, ferrochrome prices were disappointing. However they began to be offset in the last two months by a weakening of the Rand vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar, the currency in which ferrochrome is priced. The Company increased its direct sales of beneficiated ore as result of greater mine production - a useful addition to revenue. 

In August, Chris Jordaan took on the role of CEO. He has extensive experience in the ferrochrome industry and proven management skills. The Board welcomes him to lead the team.

Under Chris, a number of changes to the management team in the mining, operations and marketing areas were made that are expected to strengthen our ability to meet our objectives.

Occupational health and safety are a top priority for the Company, going hand in hand with good management. In this area, IFM had another successful year, performing at an enviable standard.

All in all, despite the industry head winds, the Company has good reason to be optimistic that the measures it has taken during the year will soon bear fruit. While the first six months will be seen to have been arduous, a turnaround is expected to begin in December and gather pace in the subsequent months, resulting in a profit for the second half.

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About International Ferro Metals:

International Ferro Metals produces ferrochrome, the essential ingredient in stainless steel, from its integrated chromite mine and ferrochrome processing operations in South Africa. International Ferro Metals is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol IFL.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains certain forward looking statements which by nature, contain risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and depend on circumstances that occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements.