Twitter

Chromium/Platinum Group Metals

Locals up in arms over big new [Canadian platinum] mine – by Schalk Mouton (Sunday Times – September 25, 2013)

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

Community members in several villages accuse Canadian mining group Ivanhoe Mines of attempting to shove them aside to make way for its Platreef mine.

Ivanplats, an Ivanhoe subsidiary, is prospecting around the villages of Kgobudi, Magongoa, Mzombana and Tshamahansi, where it has discovered a massive reef with inclusions of platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium, nickel and copper.

The company, which plans to establish a highly mechanised underground mine, has applied for a mining licence. The mine is the second that mining companies intend to open to exploit the 30km-long reef. The first is Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena.

But the community is angry. “They will fight,” said Sylvester Masenya, a Mzombana resident. “They are angry but they can’t do anything.” Eliphas Molwatsi, chairman of the Mokopane Interested and Affected Community organisation, claimed community members had been assaulted, bribed and intimidated into signing documents stating that they agreed to the establishment of the mine.

Read more

Hardship a fact of life in platinum belt – by Jana Marais (Business Day – September 22, 1023)

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

DRIVING around Rustenburg’s central business district, one sees them everywhere — men in old mining overalls and women sheltering from the North West sun behind pieces of cardboard reading “Work wanted”.

Surrounded by some of the richest known mineral deposits in the world, Rustenburg — now better known for last year’s violent strikes and the police shootings of miners at Marikana than its platinum wealth — has seen an influx in residents in recent years.

People have been flocking to the area hoping for jobs on its mines. But for most, getting a job will remain a dream.

Those who are lucky enough to have employment are under increasing pressure as companies resort to cutting jobs, while rising prices of basic foodstuffs and paraffin make it more difficult to support their families.

While mineworkers earn relatively high wages in the South African context, they support on average eight to 10 people, often extended family living in other parts of the country.

Read more

South Africa’s raw chrome exports soar as ferrochrome edge is lost – by Martin Creamer (MiningWeekly.com – September 20, 2013)

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

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa’s long-standing position as the top global ferrochrome producer is being lost and the export of raw, unbeneficiated chromite ore is on the rise from this country.

Heinz Pariser Alloy Metals and Steel Market Research director Dr Gerhard Pariser, who addressed the MetalBulletin Event’s chromite conference in Johannesburg this week, says that South Africa’s export of ore is rising sharply and its export of ferrochrome is declining.

This is completely counter to South African government policy, which promotes the beneficiation that ferrochrome embodies. “To put it in a very simple way, Africa is supplying and China’s buying,” says Pariser.

The local production of ferrochrome creates five times more value in the South African economy that chrome ore extraction and three times more jobs. For every ton of ferrochrome exported, R9 000 is put into South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) compared with only R1 600 for every ton of ore exported.

Read more

Inquiry unearths police cover-up in South African Marikana mine massacre – Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – September 19, 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 — An inquiry has found shocking evidence that South African police have lied and falsified documents to cover up the truth about their killing of 34 protestors at the Marikana platinum mine last year.

The explosive revelation of a police cover-up in the “Marikana massacre” has forced a halt to the official inquiry. The commission announced on Thursday that it is shutting down its public hearings temporarily while it investigates the cover-up.

The inquiry has already heard disturbing evidence that the police hunted down and killed fleeing protestors even after a first clash had ended. It also heard testimony that the police planted guns next to the bodies of dead miners in an attempt to justify the shooting.

The cover-up began to unravel last week in testimony by Duncan Scott, a lieutenant-colonel in the South African Police Services (SAPS). He agreed to give the inquiry a computer hard drive with videos and photos from the scene of the Marikana killings. The inquiry also obtained thousands of pages of police documents that it had not seen before.

Read more

New business venture aims to transform global ferrochrome business – by Brendan Ryan (Business Day – September 18, 2013)

http://www.bdlive.co.za/ (South Africa)

DUBAI-based Russian businessman Alibek Issaev has teamed up with South African businessman Abbas Moti to develop a low- and medium-carbon ferrochrome smelter near Rustenburg that they claim will transform the ferrochrome business.

Mr Issaev is taking a 50% stake in private South African company FerroChrome Furnaces (FCF), which is controlled by the Moti family for an undisclosed amount.

The plant is at the commissioning stage and the aim is to boost production of low- and medium-carbon ferrochrome to 420,000 tonnes a year over the next 24 months, targeting a business that is dominated by ferrochrome producers located in Kazakhstan and Russia, in particular Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation.

Also involved in the deal is former Sentula Coal chairman Sir Sam Jonah. According to FCF spokesman Ashruf Kaka, Sir Sam is the nonexecutive chairman of FCF but has no business stake in the transaction and is only involved because of his long-standing friendship with the Moti family.

Read more

Billionaire miner Robert Friedland sounds off – by Tommy Humphreys (Mining.com – September 15, 2013)

http://www.mining.com/

I was able to catch up with billionaire Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) Executive Chairman Robert Friedland in Toronto yesterday. The Singapore-based mining legend was in Toronto this week to announce the launch of Ivanhoe Pictures, a new film and TV finance and production company, and to host the first investor presentations for his Ivanhoe Mines after a summer spent relaxing and reflecting on the Italian coast, where Mr. Friedland acquired a hotel property earlier this year.

Friedland says that the Chinese are determined to fight air pollution. “I have a home in Beijing but I’ve been avoiding it in recent years because the air pollution has become absolutely diabolical,” Friedland commented. This alone would be enough to drive the conventional Platinum market crazy, he added, noting that catalytic converters which reduce toxic emissions in automobiles use substantial amounts of platinum and palladium.

There is a revolution coming to the automobile industry via the Japanese, according to Friedland. Senior officials in Japan tell him that the Toyota Motor Company will announce hydrogen fuel cell automobiles later this year with a commercial roll out coming in 2015. “These cars will use ounces, not tenths of ounces of platinum,” Friedland said. This is why the Japanese government bought 10% of Ivanhoe’s Platreef project for $300 million, Friedland believes.

Read more

Prophecy Platinum looks to cut costs on Sudbury-area mine – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – September 11, 2013)

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

A Vancouver-based junior miner will make a production decision next year on whether to restart a mothballed open pit base metals mine near Sudbury.

Management at Prophecy Platinum are in the midst of re-examining an old feasibility study and the operating and milling costs for the Shakespeare Mine to determine if the economics make it worthwhile to proceed with the project. The nickel-copper-platinum group metals project is located 70 km west of Sudbury near the town of Webbwood.

“It’s a good asset for us; it’s just sitting in the ground parked in neutral,” said John Sagman, Phophecy’s senior vice-president and chief operating officer. The company intends to wrap up feasibility later this year and and make a decision by the second quarter of 2014.

“From our perspective it’s not a metal price issue, it’s an operating cost issue,” said Sagman. Phophecy, which acquired the mine following a merger with Ursa Major Minerals last year, is looking to carve between 20 and 25 per cent in mining, transportation and milling costs.

Read more

Ring of Fire: Chromite Crumbs or Stainless Steel for Ontario? [Part Two of Two] – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – August 31, 2013)

Outokumpu Stainless Steel Plant Tornio, Finland. Outokumpu Group is the largest stainless steel producer in the world.

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper. 

This was originally published in the Sudbury Star on August 31, 2013 under the title “From ore to steel“.

Canada is the only G-8 country in the world that does not have a “major” stainless steel sector. There is one speciality steel producer, ASW Steel Inc. in Welland, Ontario, that dedicates 30 per cent of its production capacity to stainless steel. Employing  about 95 people, the company manufactures roughly 30,000 tons of stainless steel ingots and billets. By comparison, Outokumpu, the biggest international producer, produces almost 3.6 million tonnes of stainless steels worldwide, slightly over ten per cent of the 35.4 million tonnes of global production last year, according to International Stainless Steel Forum preliminary figures.

We do have world-class carbon steel plants mainly concentrated in Ontario at Hamilton, Nanticoke and Sault Ste. Marie.

Stainless steels are more valuable than carbon steels due to their corrosion and rust resistance due to the addition of chromite. Nickel is added to some varieties of stainless steels to increase the hardness and strength, further corrosion resistance as well as enabling the material to withstand extreme cold and hot temperatures without becoming brittle or deforming.

Read more

Amplats to cut 7,000 South African jobs, union ‘shocked’ – by Sherilee Lakmidas and Ed Stoddard (Reuters U.S. – August 19, 2013)

http://www.reuters.com/ 

JOHANNESBURG – (Reuters) – Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said it planned almost 7,000 job cuts at its South African operations including thousands of compulsory lay-offs, drawing an angry response from a labor union and raising the risk of renewed unrest at its mines.

Amplats (AMSJ.J), the world’s top platinum producer and a unit of Anglo American (AAL.L), had aimed for 14,000 job cuts after posting its first loss last year, but lowered the target after a backlash from the government and the unions, which organized a series of strikes.

After months of consultations with government officials and worker representatives, the company said 6,000 mining jobs would go and that “approximately 900 corporate and overhead employees will also be affected”.

The addition of white-collar job cuts might alleviate some criticism of the lay-off plan, since not only blue-collar workers would be affected. But at least one union saw the decision by Amplats as a betrayal, saying the company had committed only last week to avoiding forced lay-offs.

“We are shocked. Our agreement with Amplats was to cut 3,000 jobs and those jobs would not be forced retrenchments but voluntary severance packages.

Read more

Analysis – On ‘massacre’ anniversary, South Africa mines still volatile – by Peroshni Govender (Reuters U.K. – August 15, 2013)

http://uk.reuters.com/

MARIKANA, South Africa – (Reuters) – A year after South Africa’s bloodiest post-apartheid labour incident awoke the world to the potential for unrest in the country’s mines, the industry still suffers from worker poverty, pay disputes, shrinking profits and a violent union feud.

At Lonmin’s Marikana mine where 34 striking platinum workers were shot dead by police on August 16, 2012 in killings that shocked South Africa and the world, memorial services are planned for Friday by politicians, unions and civic leaders.

President Jacob Zuma, still facing criticism for his African National Congress (ANC) government’s handling of what has come to be known as the “Marikana massacre”, has led a solemn chorus of assurances that such bloodshed must never happen again.

“We must all resolve to do everything possible to prevent a repeat of similar incidents,” Zuma said in a statement listing government steps to keep the peace and improve conditions in the country’s mines, where recurring illegal strikes have badly dented Africa’s biggest economy over the last year.

Read more

A year after Marikana: The pendulum is swinging, but in which direction? – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – August 16, 2013)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Many things have changed in the 12 months since the massacre by police of striking workers in South Africa’s platinum belt, but is it enough?

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – Shorthand for the worst possible outcome, the name Marikana has been mentioned many times in the last 12 months.

It has been used as both a rallying cry and a cautionary tale. But, asked what has changed over the course of the last 12 months either in terms of improving the lot of those who work in the mines or to ensure that such a tragedy can never recur, the answer is almost always: “not enough”.

For the most part, that is where the similarities end. Yes, some progress has been made. The wave of wildcat strike action that plagued the country in the last quarter of 2012 that spilled over into other sectors from the mines has been calmed but, on the mines, continued tension among the unions have led to further shootings.

Government has stepped up to the plate, committing to deliverables by signing the peace and stability framework. But a year later the Farlam Commission is yet to present its findings and the violence on the mines still remains too high.

Read more

UPDATE 2-Platinum miner Lonmin recognises AMCU union, averts strike threat – by Sherilee Lakmidas (Reuters U.S. – August 14, 2013)

http://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Platinum producer Lonmin and South Africa’s hardline AMCU said they signed a recognition accord on Wednesday in a move that averts threatened strike action by the union.

The agreement, reached two days before the first anniversary of the massacre of 34 striking workers shot by police at Lonmin’s Marikana mine, opens the way for wage talks between the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union and the company that are expected to start within weeks.

While the deal heads off a potential strike over recognition, the pay talks are expected to be extremely tough, given AMCU is demanding pay hikes as high as 150 percent from Lonmin rival Anglo American Platinum, the world’s top producer of the precious metal.

Members of AMCU, which claims most of Lonmin’s workforce, have twice this year staged brief illegal strikes at its mines and had threatened to down tools again unless the company recognised it as the dominant union.

The agreement formally recognises AMCU as the majority union at Lonmin, the world’s third largest platinum producer.

Read more

Zimbabwe to Seize Mines While Compensating Banks – by Franz Wild (Bloomberg News – August 6, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

President Robert Mugabe’s government plans to seize control of foreign-owned mines without paying for them as part of a program to accumulate $7 billion of assets following his July 31 election victory, a minister said.

The government will compensate bank owners as it takes control of their companies, Saviour Kasukuwere, the minister in charge of the program to compel foreign companies to cede 51 percent of their assets to black investors or the government, said in an interview in Harare, the capital, today. His comments echo a suggestion made by Mugabe earlier this year.

“When it comes to natural resources, Zimbabwe will not pay for her resources,” Kasukuwere said. “If they don’t want to follow the law that’s their problem.” Non-compliant mine owners risk losing their licenses, he said.

Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS), Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (IMP), Barclays Plc (BARC) and Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) are among companies that operate in the country. Other industries may have to yield smaller stakes to black owners, Kasukuwere said. Metals and minerals, including platinum and gold, accounted for 71 percent, or $719.9 million, in exports in the first four months of this year, the state-controlled Herald newspaper said, citing the finance ministry.

Read more

AFRICA INVESTMENT-South African platinum fund tempts mine investors – by Jan Harvey (Reuters India – July 25, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) – South Africa’s platinum sector, already under pressure from rising costs, labour unrest and falling metal prices, is now facing a rival for investment flows — a major new physical platinum fund with unprecedented levels of demand.

The New Gold Platinum exchange-traded fund (NewPlat) has pulled in more than half a million ounces of metal since its launch three months ago, worth 7.6 billion rand ($780 million) at today’s prices. The fund’s holdings currently total more than 543,000 ounces, a level it took the world’s largest platinum-backed ETF, New York-based ETFS Physical Platinum — which holds 611,847 ounces of metal — more than two years to achieve.

A great deal of investment in NewPlat, analysts say, has come from funds in South Africa choosing to seek exposure to platinum prices directly through the physical metal, effectively delivering a vote of no-confidence in South Africa’s beleaguered mining companies.

While shares in South African platinum producers are felt to be unattractive given the industry’s problems, investors have taken account of threats to supply from the mines, and detected tentative first signs of better times ahead for the European motor industry, which uses a lot of platinum in exhaust systems.

Read more

Ferrochrome: An Industry Moving Beyond South Africa – by Stuart Burns (Metal Miner – March 11, 2013)

http://agmetalminer.com/

Part One

When you think of ferrochrome, you traditionally think of South Africa. Indeed, power supply problems in South Africa have been a major source of volatility for FeCr prices over the last few years, as the state power utility Eskom has struggled to provide enough electricity for industrial and residential users.

Ten years ago, over half the world’s FeCr came from South Africa, but since then Kazakhstan, India and China have all risen in prominence, with China moving into top spot last year, as this graph from HSBC shows.

South Africa continues to face power problems; currently Eskom is engaged in a power buy-back agreement with FeCr producers resulting in the probable loss of about 100,000 tons of production, according to an HSBC metals & mining survey, as Xstrata–Merafe closes at least five of its 20 furnaces.

Even if this cutback is reversed in the second half of 2013, South Africa’s expensive winter tariffs will then kick in, further impacting utilizations rates.

Read more