Platinum Group Metals

http://www.miningmx.com/

SOUTH African platinum producers operating in Zimbabwe said they were watchful of political developments following reports that armed forces had seized power in the southern African country.

“While there are reports of military presence in the country’s capital, to date, there has been no sign of unrest or military presence at any of our operations,” said Johan Theron, a spokesman for Impala Platinum (Implats). “Our operations are all located some distance from the capital, and have continued to operate normally this morning.

“We will continue to assess the situation, and have appeal for calm and the continued safety and wellbeing of the people of Zimbabwe, and our colleagues at the mining operations,” he said.

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https://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 5 (Reuters) – Embattled London and Johannesburg-listed platinum producer Lonmin will unveil new health and road projects in South Africa on Monday in a ceremony that will be overshadowed by its latest share price collapse.

Lonmin, not for the first time, is facing an uncertain future after its shares lost 30 percent on Friday when it delayed annual financial results due this month pending the conclusion of a business review.

The company said it had adequate liquidity to fund it through a review that could include the sale of assets, job cuts and the renegotiation of loan agreements. There has also been speculation about a deal to combine with fellow South African miner Sibanye-Stillwater

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https://www.reuters.com/

MOGALAKWENA, South Africa (Reuters) – A new power struggle is unfolding in South Africa’s old homelands between global mining giants, traditional leaders and an impoverished rural populace.

Parts of an industry long used to labor unrest are now contending with community protests that have cut production of the country’s largest mineral export earner, platinum, and may shut some operations down altogether.

At the heart of the conflict are tribal leaders who have royal titles and feudal-style control over the homelands, poor rural areas designated to South Africa’s black majority by its former white minority rulers during apartheid. Tribal leaders are also key allies of President Jacob Zuma, whose political base has become increasingly rural, and his African National Congress party has drafted a law that would cement their control.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/

Half a century ago, the commodities industry was in a flap about whether new, less-polluting automotive technologies would cause the world to run out of rare metals.

It wasn’t about electric batteries, but catalytic converters. Introduced in the mid-1970s in the U.S. to remove carbon monoxide and toxic hydrocarbons from car exhausts, their most important ingredients were some of the rarest elements on earth: platinum and palladium.

The so-called platinum group metals occur in large quantities in only four places. Then and now, about 90 percent of output comes from what were then apartheid South Africa and the Soviet Union. With technology moving toward widespread adoption of catalytic converters in the late 1960s, metallurgists began to worry supply would simply be insufficient.

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https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. may cut at least 2,500 jobs at its Rustenburg mining complex in South Africa as the world’s second-largest producer of the metal seeks to stem losses and adjust to lower prices.

Impala has notified unions and the government to begin a mandated consultation process ahead of proposed cuts and restructuring at its largest operation, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement Monday. Additional action may be needed in the future, the miner said.

The Rustenburg operations, which employ about 31,000 people, are experiencing “severe financial pressure” after costs rose and as rand-denominated platinum prices remain low, Impala said. Labor productivity and platinum output have also declined in the past few years, it said.

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http://www.miningweekly.com/

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South African platinum industry has been investing in platinum jewellery for more than 45 years through the Platinum Guild International (PGI), which has turned platinum jewellery into an amazing South African asset.

Of all the platinum demand levers, platinum in jewellery is the one that can be activated the quickest and the most directly, which is important in light of the need of the struggling platinum industry to continue to create demand for platinum, so that upward pressure is applied on the currently low metal prices being achieved by PGI’s funders – Anglo American Platinum, Impala, Lonmin, Northam, Sibanye and Royal Bafokeng Platinum.

Jewellery, the second biggest platinum demand source, is expected to generate 1 700 000 oz of net platinum demand in 2017. Even in difficult markets, platinum demand continues to grow where marketing is focused on bridal, gemset and branded collections.

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https://www.iol.co.za/

CAPE TOWN – As South Africa commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Marikana shooting, Lonmin – which saw police gun down 34 mineworkers at a koppie outside the platinum producer’s Marikana Mine – today is a shadow of its former self and the platinum sector decimated. Around 80% of platinum mines in South Africa are under water and earnings negative at current spot prices.

In the past five years 70000 jobs have been lost in the industry as companies grappled to stay afloat, and another 20000 mine workers face the prospects of losing their jobs as AngloGold Ashanti, Bokoni Platinum Mine and Sibanye Gold flagged that they would mothball shafts.

Since 2012 Lonmin once valued in billions, has lost most of its market capitalisation and is now South Africa’s worst performing platinum stock on the JSE. On August 14, 2012, its market cap was £18.32bn (R317.38bn) and yesterday it was only at £307.85 million.

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https://af.reuters.com/

Aug 7 (Reuters) – Platinum miner Lonmin Plc said on Monday it would cut costs and sell some assets, including processing capacity of up to 500,000 ounces per year, as it battles to overcome a weak market and to preserve jobs.

Shares in the South African miner rose 1.7 percent by 1020 GMT in response to Monday’s announcement, although some analysts said it would be important to see what terms Lonmin is able to agree with potential buyers. So far this year, its shares have fallen more than 35 percent.

Platinum miners in South Africa face an array of obstacles, including very deep, narrow seams, political instability and a stubbornly low platinum price of around $950 an ounce.

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