*

Diversified miner's profit down 47% on lower prices

*

ARM studying viability of a smaller operation

*

Books 2.2 bln rand impairment at Bokoni

(Writes throughout with details on Bokoni mine suspension)

Sept 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's African Rainbow

Minerals has suspended operations at its loss-making

Bokoni platinum mine while it works on a revised mining plan for

the asset, it said on Friday as it reported a sharp fall in

basic annual earnings.

ARM booked a 2.2-billion rand ($125 million) impairment at

Bokoni, citing a delay in ramping up mining operations and a

change in mining method.

This pushed ARM's basic earnings down to 330 million rand in

the year ended June 30, from 3.1 billion rand previously.

Its headline earnings, which strip out one-off items such as

impairments, were 2.695 billion rand for the year, from 5.08

billion rand previously due to lower iron ore and coal prices,

it said.

ARM acquired Bokoni from Anglo American and Atlatsa

Resources Corporation for 3.5 billion rand in 2022. The platinum

mine had been put under care and maintenance in 2017 following a

string of losses.

ARM has been operating Bokoni using an existing 60,000

metric ton per month concentrator under an "early ounces"

initial plan aimed at expanding operations.

However, the collapse of platinum group metal prices in 2023

forced ARM to defer the planned 240,000 metric ton per month

mine development project.

"Without this larger scale, the lower production volumes

obtained from the early ounces project could not achieve the

required economies of scale," ARM said in a results statement.

The current mining and milling capacity was insufficient to

offset fixed costs and sustain profitability, leading to the

suspension of operations at the end of June, the company said.

Bokoni's platinum group metal concentrate production rose

62% to 45,579 ounces in the year, but the mine's cash costs

surged 48% to $2,051 per ounce.

ARM would now focus on ore reserve development at Bokoni

while a feasibility study for a smaller 120,000 metric ton per

month mine is underway, it said. The study is expected to be

completed in early 2026.

($1 = 17.5632 rand)

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Jamie

Freed and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)