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Chromium/Platinum Group Metals

Canadian mining tycoon follows Hollywood dream – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – October 30, 2013)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

JOHANNESBURG — Canadian mining tycoon Robert Friedland, who made billions from discoveries in Labrador and Mongolia, is embarking on a new career: Hollywood film mogul.

The flamboyant entrepreneur, famed as a master showman and pitchman at mining investor conferences, is now venturing into a different kind of show business. This time he’ll be fielding pitches from movie producers as he helms a new Hollywood-based company, Ivanhoe Pictures, to indulge what he calls his “long-held love of film and storytelling.”

His company has already acquired its first hot property, a film called Crazy Rich Asians, based on the bestselling comedic novel by Kevin Kwan, described as one of the most eagerly pursued titles in the industry. His partner on the project is the company that produced the blockbuster Hunger Games series.

But he’s also planning a film that’s much closer to his mining obsessions. “We’re teaming up with a major Hollywood studio and we’re making a movie called Copper,” Mr. Friedland announced at a mining conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

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Friedland wows City of Gold with his knockout platinum story – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – October 29, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining entrepreneur extraordinaire Robert Friedland came to the City of Gold on Tuesday and wowed his audience with a stirring story of the richness of South African platinum endowment.

The geological marketing wizard, whose name is associated with the Voisey’s Bay nickel deposit in Canada and Oyu Tolgoi copper deposit in the Mongolia’s Gobi desert, delivered an hour-long key note presentation in which he rolled out plans to build a promising platinum mine in the rich Platreef close to the Mogalakwena mine, South Africa’s richest platinum operation owned by Anglo American Platinum.

The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Ivanhoe Mines, which submitted an application for a mining licence to the Department of Mineral Resources five months ago, has well advanced plans for a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Friedland gave his presentation on day-one of the Joburg 2013 Investing in Resources and Mining in Africa conference attended by the who’s who of the South African mining industry. “Africa is potentially one of the most rewarding places to be operating on the planet,” said Friedland, whose Ivanhoe is also developing the Kamoa copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

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Chromite Game changer? – by Jodi Lundmark (tbnewswatch.com – October 28, 2013)

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

KWG Resources has applied for a patent on a new refining process that would make processing chromite from the Ring of Fire more viable in Ontario.

“Instead of using electricity to break down the chromite into its (ferrochrome), we’re using natural gas,” said Moe Lavigne, vice-president of KWG.

“We engaged a lab to do this research for us over the past number of months. We’ve now come to the conclusion this is going to be a much more economical way of reducing chromite to ferrochrome,” he added.

Lavigne said this could be a game-changer for the mining industry, allowing companies to process chromite in the province instead of going to Manitoba or Quebec where energy is less expensive. The process of refining the chromite wouldn’t change much from using natural gas over electric furnaces; the only difference would be in the cost.

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Friedland in show-stopper ahead of SA listing – by David McKay (Miningmx.com – October 29, 2013)

http://www.miningmx.com/

“People are saying the super-cycle is dead; they are completely idiotic…” Robert Friedland

[miningmx.com] – DEMONSTRATING all the brio that allowed him to raise $504m for mining in two of the world’s riskiest mining domains – the Congo and South Africa – entrepreneur Robert Friedland urged his audience at the Joburg Indaba to ignore the ‘idiots’ who thought the commodity super-cycle was dead.

“People are saying the super-cycle is dead; they are completely idiotic,” said Friedland who added that South Africa as an investment destination was also safe. “The review of mining legislation [in South Africa] has raised some concerns, but nationalisation has ben kicked into touched. Shouldn’t that give us comfort?”, he said.

“You can’t argue that the state should protect its own interests. The referee must be independent, the playing field level. Once investors have confidence in policy stability, the rest must follow,” he said.

Friedland was hitting all the high notes once again promoting this time Ivanhoe Mines, the Toronto-listed exploration and development company that is planning to build South Africa’s largest platinum mine, the so-called Flatreef project, as well as a copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known as Kamoa.

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NEWS RELEASE: KWG Resources Inc.: Patent Sought for New Gas Chromite Reduction Method

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Oct. 25, 2013) – KWG Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KWG) (“KWG”) has filed a patent application in advance of discussions to commercialize a new method of refining into ferro chrome the chromite ore of its Black Horse deposit by means of natural gas. A partial disclosure of the process, summarized from such application, follows:

Background

The production of stainless and low alloy steels containing chromium has rapidly expanded, particularly in Asia. The source of the chromium in the stainless steel is partly from the recycling of scrap but this is limited by the availability of such materials, particularly in developing countries. Chromium in stainless steels is not open to substitution by other metals. It is essential for the corrosion and heat resistance of the material. The shortfall in the chromium additions required during the steelmaking process is met by the addition of alloys of chromium and iron, collectively known as “ferro chrome”.

These alloys are produced by the smelting of chromite ores, using solid carbonaceous reductants in a Submerged Electric Arc Furnace (SAF). This process is extremely energy and carbon intensive. Existing plants using “best world practices” consume between 3 and 4 megawatt hours (MWH) of electricity and 200 to 300 kilograms of carbon per tonne of ferro chrome alloy produced. Comprehensive gas cleaning systems are required to meet clean air standards. Large quantities of slag are produced and placed in long term storage in above ground dumps.

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Platinum Shortages Extending as Car Sales Quicken: Commodities – by Nicholas Larkin (Bloomberg News – October 24, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Platinum and palladium will be the best performing precious metals next year as record global car sales will keep them in short supply for a third year, according to the most-accurate forecasters.

The metals, used in catalytic converters, will be in a shortage for the longest stretch since 2005 for platinum and 2000 for palladium, Barclays Plc and Johnson Matthey Plc data show. Platinum will gain 13 percent to average $1,635 an ounce by the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the mean of eight estimates by the most-accurate analysts tracked by Bloomberg in the past two years. Palladium will gain 10 percent to average $823 an ounce, the most for a quarter since 2001.

While gold and silver have slumped 20 percent or more because of diminishing faith in them as a store of value, investors are bullish on platinum and palladium. Growth in car sales is projected to accelerate to 4.8 percent in 2014 from 2.7 percent this year, according to LMC Automotive Ltd., at a time when metal stockpiles are contracting as mining companies fail to keep pace with demand.

“Platinum and palladium markets show the tightest supply and demand among precious metals and probably will throughout next year as well,” said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt and the most-accurate palladium forecaster tracked by Bloomberg over the past two years. “Industrial demand should stay high.”

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Platinum Group suffers funding setback at South Africa mine – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – October 23, 2013)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

JOHANNESBURG — In a mining sector struggling with a toxic combination of rising costs, falling prices and labour unrest, Vancouver-based Platinum Group Metals Ltd. believed it could buck the trend.

That dream has now taken a serious hit, with one of its partners abruptly pulling out of its $506-million platinum mining project in South Africa. It’s just the latest blow to the slumping platinum industry, beset by labour violence and soaring costs, although the Vancouver company is optimistic that it can keep its plans alive.

About half of the platinum companies in South Africa – the world’s biggest platinum producer – are estimated to be losing money, industry officials say.

Platinum Group president Michael Jones says his company will try to find new financing to push ahead with its mine in the western limb of the Bushveld complex in South Africa, despite the loss of $21.8-million in planned funding from its partner, Wesizwe Platinum, which holds 26 per cent of the project.

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NEWS RELEASE: North American Palladium Commences Shaft Hoisting at Lac des Iles

 Defers Phase II Expansion at Depth to Pursue Lower Cost Lateral Growth Opportunities

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Oct. 21, 2013) – North American Palladium Ltd. (“NAP” or the “Company”) (TSX:PDL)(NYSE MKT:PAL) is pleased to announce that it has begun hoisting material through the new shaft at its Lac des Iles (“LDI”) palladium mine in northern Ontario. The production, service and auxiliary hoists are now fully operational and the skipping system has been successfully tested with full loads of material.

The complete commissioning of the shaft ore handling system, including the crusher and loading pocket, is on target for completion later in October, following which production is expected to be predominately transitioned from ramp to shaft haulage. This will effectively mark the completion of the mine’s Phase I expansion, enabling NAP to benefit from increased production at a reduced cash cost per ounce.

The Company maintains its target of increasing its underground mining production rate to over 3,000 tonnes per day from the underground Offset Zone during the fourth quarter, with plans to further increase the daily mining rate in 2014.

“The first skip of our new production shaft marks a very significant milestone for North American Palladium, positioning the Company for improved operating margins and a return to profitability in 2014,” said Phil du Toit, NAP’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

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5 Endangered Elements That America Needs – by Michael Silver (Huffington Post – November 29, 2012)

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

Michael Silver is the CEO of American Elements

2012 marks the second year American Elements has published its annual Endangered Elements List (EEL12): a list of elements which by their scarcity and technological importance threaten America’s long-term prospects. America is about to face a crisis that will determine whether it will hold its place as the largest economy and most powerful nation in the world.

Today it is a constant refrain that the way out of our present fiscal difficulties is for America to get back in the business of making things. Manufacturing generates the needed jobs and resulting prosperity that have pulled us out of each recession for the last 150 years.

American innovation, particularly in the area of green technology, it is said will foster whole new industries, jobs and economic growth at the beginning of the 21st century similar to the impact made at the beginning of the 20th century by the inventions of Alexander Graham Bell (telephones), Thomas Edison (electricity) and Henry Ford (cars).

While much of this is true, innovation is in fact only the starting point. To manufacture the products flowing from great ideas, a nation must also have access to the critical materials on which the discoveries are based.

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Friedland’s Ivanhoe pulls 90m good grade platinum metals intersection – by Lawrence Williams (Mineweb.com – October 16, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

The latest drilling results from Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project in South Africa include a huge 90 m intersection of medium grade platinum group metals.

LONDON (MINEWEB) – Readers of Mineweb may recall a recent article in which we highlighted some of the thick medium grade platinum group metals deposits currently being drilled to the north of the Bushveld Complex geological formation in South Africa, which currently is the source of over 70% of the world’s newly mined platinum output.

However, current production nearly all arises from the very narrow Merensky reef and the slightly wider, but still narrow, UG2 reef which underlies it. These reef horizons run from a few centimetres to around a little over a metre in thickness. Most of this production comes from underground mining in exceedingly difficult conditions where the narrow, shallow dipping, reef structures have proved so far to be unsuitable for significant mechanisation, meaning the operations are labour intensive, with many areas becoming uneconomic to mine at current platinum prices.

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Friedland talks up platinum, the creation of a ‘Platinum Valley’ in Limpopo – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – October 11, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Outpsoken financier and mining guru Robert Friedland is poised to make history in South Africa, as he envisions the creation of a ‘Platinum Valley’ in the platinum-rich Limpopo province that would be synonymous to hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing, as California’s Silicon Valley is to technology.

Addressing the Canada-Southern Africa Chamber of Business on Thursday evening, Friedland said the rise of megacities around the globe would drive metals demand up, not only for growing infrastructure, but also in achieving cleaner air, especially within the automobile industry.

Friedland, who also is the executive chairperson of Africa-focused project developer Ivanhoe Mines, formerly known as Ivanplats, said the rise of the hydrogen fuel cell-powered car is about to change the global platinum landscape forever.

He said he had it on good authority that Japan-based automaker Toyota will launch the world’s first commercially available hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars in November, which, according to him, would be a game changer for South Africa.

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Water shortage threatens mining – by Lucky Biyase (Business Day – October 13, 2013)

http://www.bdlive.co.za/ [South Africa]

TROUBLED mining companies in the Rustenburg platinum belt are facing another crisis — drought.

This may add to problems besetting companies trapped in the middle of rivalry between the National Union of Mineworkers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union.

The water affairs department and North West’s provincial government have both warned of a drought in the mineral-rich province.

South Africa supplies nearly 60% of the world’s platinum and rhodium and 30% of palladium. The department has warned mining companies, among them Glencore, Anglo American and Lonmin, to restrict water use.

Lonmin’s executive vice-president for process and sustainability, Natascha Viljoen, said: “We are working with the Madibeng local municipality to explore opportunities to re-use water. Our current external source of water is Rand Water and the Buffelspoort canal scheme, and the rest is internal.”

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SA situation the biggest risk to platinum prices — Natixis – by Allan Seccombe (Business Day – October 3, 2013)

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

THE direction of the platinum price — and to some extent the palladium price — will be determined by developments in South Africa over the next two years, Natixis has said in a Metals Review.

Natixis, a Paris-based investment banker, said tensions between workers and platinum mining companies were likely to remain high next year. “For the next two years, the situation in South Africa will remain the biggest risk to platinum prices,” Natixis said in its second-half review. South Africa is the world’s single largest source of platinum, making up about 80% of supply.

“Adverse government decisions, a protracted power outage and most importantly a serious escalation in labour unrest could lead to a significant shortage and higher platinum prices,” it said.

“The South African government seems to be unable to solve the root of the problem facing the mining companies. We are still years behind the completion of a reliable national power supply, and the government has been unable to resolve the core economic issues facing the population and the country,” it said.

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NEWS RELEASE: Middle Eastern and South African business alliance set to become World’s largest Ferrochrome Exporter

2nd October, 2013 – Dubai, UAE: A strategic alliance between high-profile Middle Eastern and South African business leaders is set to challenge global monopolies in the supply of beneficiated ferrochrome after the conclusion of a multi-million dollar investment transaction this month.

Yemeni businessman, Mr Shaher Abdulhak has acquired a 10% stake in South Africa-based Ferrochrome Furnaces (FCF) only a week after the first acquisition of the 50% stake in FCF by the Dubai-based entrepreneur Mr Alibek Issaev.

The joint venture with the new stakeholders from the Middle East will increase the production capacity to 420,000 tons per annum in the next 24 months and make FCF one of the largest producers of low and medium carbon ferrochrome alloys in the world.

“The introduction of these two new international players places FCF in the forefront of the competition with other overseas producers for the supply of low-cost ferrochrome. The stronger our shareholding base, the more determined we become in future to be one of the world leaders in low and medium carbon ferrochrome exports”, said FCF chairman, Mr Abbas Moti.

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Beneficiation lip service as hands-on-hips South Africa watches China usurp global ferrochrome edge – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – September 27, 2013)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

South Africa preaches beneficiation but it is certainly not practising it in the chrome mining space. Instead, with its hands on its hips, it is watching the Chinese ascend to the top spot in ferrochrome, which forms the beneficiation baseline of the chrome-mining value chain.

South Africa has a mature chrome value chain, the 2010 socioeconomic benefits of which were 200 000 jobs and a contribution of R42-billion to this country’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, South African ferrochrome’s rapidly declining market share is putting 60 000 to 80 000 of those jobs at risk, along with more than half of that GDP contribution.

Driving this home last week was the MetalBulletin Event’s chromite and ferrochrome conferences in Johannesburg. Instead of at least maintaining the credence it constantly gives to local value addition, it is watching ferrochrome exports decline and raw chrome exports soar.

For decades, South Africans have been urging miners to refrain from exporting raw ore and to add value to it before it leaves the country.

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