The South African miner said in a statement that it was working with off-take partner Trasteel to confirm the new schedule.

"The SNR board acknowledges and regrets that key delivery targets have been missed due to various factors, including wash plant engineering and commissioning issue,s and the ongoing optimisation and supply chain challenges associated with establishing a mine in the Eastern Cape for the first time in over 100 years," SNR said.

"These challenges, which contributed to our failure to meet our planned shipment in late January early February, continue to be actively addressed by the company and Elitheni's management."

SNR’s new interim CEO Gabriel Ruhan said: "I remain excited about the value proposition that Elitheni offers investors and acknowledge that to restore confidence in that value we must deliver on our promises in the future."

The company announced board changes on February 25, including the replacement of its CEO and chairman.

“In order to focus exclusively on managing the operations at Elitheni and to ensure that the company’s delivery obligations under its off-take agreements are fulfilled, David Nel will be stepping down as CEO of SNR and from the board. David will remain as CEO of Elitheni,” the company reported.

Non-executive director Gabriel Ruhan assumed the role of CEO of SNR until a permanent CEO is appointed.

Richard Latham stepped down as the company’s chairman but remained as a non-executive director. Andy Brennan (a non-executive director) was appointed as the company’s chairman.