Twitter

Platinum Group Metals

UPDATE 2-Anglo American Platinum CEO Griffith to step down, earnings soar – by Tanisha Heiberg (Reuters India – February 17, 2020)

https://in.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Chief Executive Chris Griffith said on Monday he will step down in April from the helm of Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which on Monday reported a doubling in annual earnings, driven by higher metals prices.

Amplats, a unit of global mining giant Anglo American , said Griffith’s successor was expected to be an internal candidate and would be announced soon.

“After more than seven years at the helm, and given all that we as a team have achieved, this is now the natural time for the next generation of leadership to take this business forward and deliver further value,” Griffith said.

Read more

Platinum Mining Giant Says South Africa Running Out of Time – by Felix Njini (Bloomberg News – February 3, 2020)

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa may be running out of time to enact the reforms required to attract significant investments in the country’s mining industry.

That’s the fear expressed by Sibanye Gold Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Neal Froneman, who prefers to look at opportunities in West Africa, the Americas and Australia. The risks of doing business in his home country will increase should weak economic growth and ballooning government debt be compounded by the loss of South Africa’s last investment-grade credit rating, he said.

“There has been a distinct lack of turnaround, if anything we have gone backward,” Froneman said in an interview before executives gather in Cape Town on Monday for Africa’s biggest mining conference. “To be clear and blunt, he also hasn’t made some of the difficult decisions and we are hurtling into a debt trap.”

Read more

For Clues About Palladium, Look to… North Macedonia? – by David Fickling (Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance – January 20, 2020)

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg Opinion) — “The Balkans” — according to remark often attributed to Winston Churchill — “produce more history than they can consume.” Precious-metal traders betting on the record surge in palladium prices might want to draw a similar lesson.

That’s because production and consumption of palladium and its sister-metal platinum in one tiny Balkan state are giving crucial clues to the way producers of automobile catalytic converters use the two elements. This in turn is likely to affect the path of prices for both metals.

As we’ve written, there are strong fundamental underpinnings to the extraordinary rally that’s seen palladium prices increase nearly fivefold in the past four years, at a time when platinum is up a mere 25%. Both metals have extensive industrial uses in the converters that strip carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides from car exhausts.

Read more

The price of palladium is absolutely exploding – here’s why that’s good news for South Africa (Business Insider SA – January 21, 2020)

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/

Since the start of this year, the price of palladium – a silvery-white metal primarily found in South Africa and Russia – has jumped by more than 22%. In a single day, on Friday, the price increased by $150 an ounce. On Monday, it continued its rally – gaining more than 3%.

It’s now 80% more expensive than a year ago and, since 2016, the palladium price has rallied by more than 400% – from $450/oz to more than $2,300.

Why is palladium in such hot demand?

Palladium has special qualities which allows it to help turn toxic gases into water vapour and other less-dangerous gases. Almost 90% of palladium is used in vehicle exhausts to help reduce emissions from cars. Platinum has similar characteristics, but is not as effective as palladium – particularly not in petrol-fuelled vehicles.

As countries around the world tighten their emission rules for vehicles, so the demand for palladium has increased. In China alone, new emissions standards now requires 30% more palladium per vehicle, according to a Reuters report.

Read more

‘There’s no metal’: Record-breaking palladium races higher – by Peter Hobson (Reuters U.K. – Janaury 17, 2020)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – A squeeze in ready availability of automotive metal palladium has driven up already record-high prices by 25% in just two weeks, accelerating a four-year rally and stoking expectations for further gains, analysts said.

A long-term supply deficit has led prices of the metal, used mainly in engine exhausts to curb harmful emissions, to double over the last year.

Consumers’ immediate needs are often met in the lending market, in which holders of metal put their stocks to work for a profit. However, rates charged to lease palladium have spiked in recent weeks, suggesting availability is tight.

Read more

Lac des Iles exploration boss joins base metal junior miner – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 13, 2020)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Grid Metals seeks to advance platinum-palladium project near Sudbury

North American Palladium’s former head of exploration has found a home with a Toronto outfit looking for base metals in northeastern Ontario. Grid Metals Corp. has appointed Dave Peck to be its vice-president of exploration and business development.

Peck is regarded as a world expert in platinum group metals (PGM) and nickel-copper sulfide projects, mining districts and markets. He is credited as one of the senior managers that led the turnaround of North American Palladium (NAP) culminating in its $1-billion acquisition by Impala Platinum of South Africa last October.

From 2012 to 2019, Peck worked the exploration side at NAP’s Lac des Illes palladium mine, north of Thunder Bay, finishing as vice-president of exploration.

Read more

The World’s Most Precious Metal Leaves Everything Else in the Dust – by Elena Mazneva (Bloomberg – January 13, 2020)

https://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — Palladium’s great start to the year pales in comparison to its lesser known, but much more expensive sister metal, rhodium.

Rhodium — mainly used in autocatalysts and five times more costly than gold — surged 32% already this month, touching the highest since 2008. Stricter emissions rules have fueled a multiyear rally and there’s speculation that investors are also jumping in, betting that prices will climb toward a record.

Rhodium rallied 12-fold in the past four years, far outperforming all major commodities, on rising demand from the auto sector. Like palladium, the metal is mined as a byproduct of platinum and nickel, but it is a much smaller market and so is liable to big price moves when supply or demand changes.

Read more

Gold Steadies With Iran Jitters Easing; Palladium Tops $2,100 – by Elena Mazneva and Justina Vasquez (Bloomberg News – January 8, 2020)

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Gold prices stabilized after paring earlier gains amid signs that both sides in the U.S.-Iran hostilities wanted to pull back from the brink of conflict. Palladium rose to a fresh record above $2,100 an ounce.

Iran apparently intended to avoid U.S. casualties when it launched more than a dozen missiles at U.S.-Iraqi airbases in retaliation for an American airstrike that killed a top Iranian general, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. Earlier, gold jumped above $1,600 for the first time in almost seven years after the attack boosted demand for the metal as a haven asset.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that “All is well!” He is expected to make a statement later Wednesday.

Read more

Marathon palladium deposit could be mineable – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – January 6, 2020)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Generation Mining economic study estimates 14-year production life

A base metal deposit outside the town of Marathon has the potential to be an open-pit mine. Toronto’s Generation Mining is placing a 14-year mine life on its Marathon Palladium and Copper Project after releasing the results of a favourable preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

The company bills the deposit as North America’s largest undeveloped platinum group metal (PGM) mineral resource.

Once known as the Marathon PGM property, the 22,000-hectare parcel of land is 10 kilometres from the community near the north shore of Lake Superior, and has seen a plenty of exploration activity over the years by a succession of companies.

Read more

Palladium Tops $2,000 in Record-Breaking Rally Before Gains Ebb – by Elena Mazneva and Justina Vasquez (Bloomberg News – December 17, 2019)

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Palladium rose above $2,000 an ounce for the first time, extending an annual advance powered by a sustained global deficit, before slipping as profit-taking emerged.

Palladium has gained as much as 59% this year, with market watchers saying the shortfall will be hard to fill. That’s great news for producers of the metal, used mainly in autocatalysts, which have seen their shares surge.

No. 1 miner MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC has climbed 50% in 2019. The effect has been even more dramatic for South African platinum producers, which dig up palladium alongside their primary metal. The FTSE/JSE Africa Platinum Mining Index has tripled this year, the biggest-ever annual gain.

Read more

NEWS RELEASE: North American Palladium and Impala Platinum Announce Completion of Arrangement and Creation of Impala Canada

TORONTO, Dec. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — North American Palladium Ltd. (“NAP” or the “Company”) (TSX:PDL) (OTC PINK:PALDF) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its previously announced plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “Arrangement”) with Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (“Implats”). Pursuant to the Arrangement, Implats has acquired 100% of the outstanding common shares of the Company for a total cash consideration of approximately C$1.0 billion.

Upon completion of the Arrangement, NAP became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Implats. With the acquisition of NAP, Implats has strengthened its competitive position by adding the Lac des Iles Mine to its asset portfolio. The low-cost Lac des Iles Mine immediately boosts Implats’ value and strengthens cash flow to advance its journey toward delivering sustainable shareholder returns. It also diversifies the group’s production base with a palladium-rich operation in an established, low-risk mining jurisdiction. Going forward, NAP will operate in Canada under the name Impala Canada Ltd. (“Impala Canada”).

“Impala Canada will accelerate our progress against a number of key strategic imperatives,” stated Nico Muller, CEO and Executive Director of Implats. “The acquisition is an important development in the evolution of the Implats Group into a sustainable PGM producer.

Read more

Palladium Tops $1,900 as South Africa Power Cuts Fuel Supply Woe – by Elena Mazneva and Justina Vasquez (Bloomberg/Yahoo – December 10, 2019)

https://finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) Palladium surged to a record, topping $1,900 an ounce, after South African mining companies halted operations in response to the country’s power cuts. Platinum also rose.

South Africa, the world’s biggest producer of platinum and No. 2 palladium supplier, faced a sixth day of rolling blackouts Tuesday. State utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is struggling with breakdowns at plants and heavy rains that have soaked coal used as fuel.

“Tight supply that potentially could get even tighter due to production problems in South Africa helps provide the underlying support,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S.

Read more

South Africa’s platinum mining firms, top union end ‘titanic battle’ as they seal wage deal – by Helen Reid (Reuters U.S. – November 15, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s biggest platinum mining union sealed three-year wage hike agreements with Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum, and Sibanye-Stillwater on Friday, ending months of negotiation over pay.

The deal comes as a relief to the sector, where officials were fearful of a repeat of a five-month platinum strike in 2014-2015 which crippled production and hurt the economy.

The mood was celebratory as the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) signed deals which union president Joseph Mathunjwa said increased workers’ monthly wages by at least 1,000 rand ($67.19).

Read more

Precious metal prices drive northwest mining activity – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 12, 2019)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Soaring gold and platinum prices continue to build the economic case for mine development activity in northwestern Ontario and for a global player to make its entry into the region.

With gold hovering between $1,500 and $1,520 per ounce this fall and palladium surging to $1,800 per ounce in early November, John Mason, project manager of mining services for the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) expects to see more interest in precious and base metal properties in the region.

The big news in September was the acquisition of North American Palladium (NAP) by South African base metal heavyweight Impala Platinum Holdings in a $1-billion share and cash deal. Shareholder approval could come by early December.

Read more

Impala’s Zimbabwe Mine Is Said to Be in Talks on Amplats Land – by Godfrey Marawanyika and Brian Latham (Bloomberg News – November 11, 2019)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. is in talks to buy land in Zimbabwe from rival Anglo American Platinum Ltd. as the world’s second-biggest producer of the precious metal seeks to boost output from the southern African country, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

The purchase of the claims by the Mimosa mine, which is jointly owned by Impala and Sibanye Gold Ltd., could be finalized by the end pf the year, according to the people who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public.

Impala and Amplats mine most of their platinum group metals in neighboring South Africa, which has the world’s biggest reserves of platinum. But Zimbabwe’s deposits, second only to South Africa’s, are shallower and therefore cheaper to mine.

Read more