South Africa's Implats Q3 production rises by 4%

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Impala Platinum (Implats) said on Friday third quarter group output at managed operations rose by 4% to 5.59 million tonnes, with higher volumes reported at Impala Rustenburg, Impala Canada and Marula.

High prices for metals extracted by Implats such as platinum, palladium and rhodium have thrown the mining company a lifeline despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The platinum miner said group production in the nine months to March 31 rose by 11% to 17.38 million tonnes, benefiting from the inclusion of Impala Canada, which it bought in 2019, for the full reporting period.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Jason Neely)