Merafe Resources said that first half production fell 4% to 150,000 tonnes due to furnace refurbishments.

The miner said in a statement that "The refurbishment activities largely focused on the more efficient Premus furnaces, resulting in lower efficiencies and increased production costs."

Merafe, which operates a joint venture with London listed Xstrata, said that it had achieved an 8% increase in the benchmark ferrochrome price to USD 1.35 per pound in the second quarter.

The company said last week it expects to report headline earnings per share of between 3 to 4 cents for the six months to the end of June as compared with 7 cents in the comparison period.

Merafe said it would operate at around 50% of its capacity during the June to August winter months, due to market conditions and routine maintenance. The company will report its interim results on August 2nd 2011

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)