Lonmin Plc - Update on Smelter Incident

Lonmin Plc - Update on Smelter Incident                                         
Lonmin Plc                                                                      
("Lonmin")                                                                      
(Incorporated in England)                                                       
(Registered in the Republic of South Africa under registration number           
1969/000015/10)                                                                 
ISIN code: GB0031192486                                                         
Share code: LON                                                                 
Issuer code: LOLMI                                                              
25 November 2004                                                                
Update on Smelter Incident                                                      
Further to the announcement made on 19th November 2004, Lonmin is now able to   
give some further details on the incident at its No. 1 smelter at its operations
in South Africa.                                                                
On Thursday 18th November 2004, at approximately 17:45 (SA time), an ingress of 
water occurred through the roof of the No. 1 furnace following the dislodgement 
of a water cooling pipe.  The latter forms part of the cooling system for the   
electric power contact pads on the furnace electrodes.  The water entered the   
furnace via the gap between one electrode and the furnace roof for several      
minutes before shutoff could be effected.  The subsequent steam explosion       
resulted in the destruction of the furnace roof and damage to the electrodes and
other peripherals.  The incident is unrelated to the matte tap hole explosion   
experienced two years ago and is minor in comparison.                           
We now estimate that we should be able to recover to normal operations by the   
end of January 2005 at a repair cost of between $4-6 million provided further   
inspection reveals no damage to those other parts of the furnace which we have  
not yet been able to examine.  The cost of these repairs would not be covered by
insurance. Contingency planning in place means that all long lead time materials
required for the re-building of the roof are already in stock and orders have   
already been placed for the other items required to effect the necessary        
repairs.                                                                        
At this point in time it is thought likely that the production target for the   
financial year to 30th September 2005 will still be met by a combination of the 
utilisation of our own standby smelting resources and third party tolling.      
There will clearly be a short-term effect in terms of the interim results on    
working capital requirements and profitability and further announcements will be
made to the market when more accurate assessments are available.                
End                                                                             
Press enquiries: John Robinson, Lonmin Plc +44 (0)20 7201 6034                  
Anthony Cardew/ Olivia Gallimore, Cardew Group                 

                 +44 (0)20 7930 0777                                            
                 This press release is available on www.lonmin.com              
Date: 25/11/2004 09:01:31 AM Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
Produced by the JSE SENS Department