Platino: il prezzo sale di 60 dollari in un giorno dopo la mattanza Sudafrica
Schizza il prezzo del platino dopo che lo sciopero dei minatori in Sudafrica è sfociato in una strage. A Londra le quotazioni del metallo sono salite a 1.455 dollari all’oncia, sui massimi da oltre un mese. L’aumento è stato di quasi 60 dollari, circa il 4% rispetto a ieri. Secondo quanto riferito dai media internazionali, 34 minatori sono stati uccisi negli scontri con la polizia nella zona della miniera di Marikana, una delle più grandi al mondo, durante le proteste per l’aumento dei salari iniziata settimana scorsa. Lonmin, la società inglese che opera nella zona africana, ha fatto sapere che lo sciopero ha causato una perdita di produzione di 15.000 once di platino. Oggi l’azione cede oltre il 2% sul listino di Londra
Fonte: Finanza.com
Platinum up after killings
Michael Allan McCrae | August 17, 2012
Investors sent platinum group metals higher after the massacre in South Africa.
Fearing possible supply disruptions, platinum gained about $70 since news of the killings broke and is trading at US$1,475/oz. Palladium is also up $20 and trading at US$608.
http://www.mining.com/platinum-jumps-after-massacre-18019/
China in South Africa
South Africa’s major exports to China have traditionally been mining products, especially iron and steel, heavy chemicals and nonferrous metals. In contrast SA imports Chinese clothing, machinery, televisions, communication equipment, furniture and footwear.
China is South Africa’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade amounting to $16 billion in 2009. South Africa did, however, run a $2,7-billion trade deficit with China in 2009.
The China-Africa Development (CAD) Fund was set up in March 2007 with an initial capital of $1 billion, provided by the China Development Bank Corp, to support Chinese companies investing in Africa. The fund has already invested about $800 million in more than 30 projects in Africa that would lead to $3 billion investment from Chinese companies.
Chinese and South African officials signed a series of memorandums of understanding about investments in 2010 with respect to clean energy, power transmission and railways, as well as a $303,6-million loan agreement between South Africa’s third-largest cellphone operator, Cell C, and the China Development Bank.
Cement producer Jidong Development Group (60%) and the China-Africa Development (CAD) Fund have agreed to set up a more than $200 million cement plant in the Limpopo province. This is China’s largest investment in the African country for two years.
The plant, which is spread over a total area of over 667 hectares including mines, will have the capacity to manufacture 1 million tons of cement annually. The CAD Fund and Jidong, WIPH and Continental Cement are jointly developing the project.
The Standard Bank Group has announced that China is set to become the 7th largest consumer of wine by 2012, and has encouraged South African wine producers to look at increasing exports to China.
According to South African Wine Industry Information & Systems statistics, South Africa is the world’s seventh-largest wine producer. South Africa exported about 390 million litres of wine in 2009, of which 4 million went to China.
South Africa, Africa’s largest economy, exports in the region of $5.5 billion a year in minerals to China. A Chinese delegation met in South Africa in November 2010 to sign a bilateral memorandum of understanding for co-operation in geology and mining, and a letter of intent related to South Africa’s energy sector.
A State-owned Chinese company has bid to operate the Grootvlei and Orkney gold mines.
Chinese mobile technology company Huawei has invested in South Africa, establishing one of its few research and development facilities in South Africa.
As Africa’s largest economy, trade between China and South Africa in 2010 is estimated to total US$ 35 billion as opposed to US$ 13 billion in 2006
http://www.mbendi.com/land/as/cj/p0065.htm
Platinum Mining in South Africa
The history of platinum mining can be traced as far back as Ancient Egypt,
where platinum – probably without knowledge of its eventual value – was used for
writing inlays on little statuettes. Platinum mining would only be introduced to
western civilisation in the 17th century – when Spanish conquerors considered it
a waste product of gold mining in Columbia.
These conquerors named the mysterious grey-white metal “platina,” meaning little silver.
Today, the automotive industry requires the powerful catalytic properties of platinum for use in exhaust systems as catalytic converters – which pacify harmful gasses (such as carbon monoxide) into less harmful carbon dioxide and water vapour. These various and increasingly important uses for platinum have made the modern demand for platinum mining in South Africa to outstrip the supply.
Platinum can take up to six months to be refined. On average, seven to 12 tonnes ore yields one ounce of high grade platinum. The beneficiation process begins with the underground extraction of platinum-rich ore, which is then ground into workable chunk sizes. The froth flotation method is used to extract the metal by mixing these particles with reagents, and having air pumped through the material. Platinum-containing particles float to the top.
The skimmed-off material is smelted at temperatures exceeding 1 500° C, which enables the separation of the platinum metal from waste products.
Platinum mining in South Africa is supported by the country possessing over 80% of the world’s platinum group metal reserves. Along with Russia, platinum mining in South Africa produces a total of 90% of the world’s platinum demand – which is about 130 tonnes per year (6% of gold production per annum). The Merensky Reef, stretching from southern Zimbabwe through to the Rustenburg and Pretoria regions, is the centre of platinum mining in South Africa, playing host to companies like Rustenburg Platinum Mines and Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mines.
Platinum mining in South Africa regards AMPLATS the industry leader in the mining, marketing, and distribution of the precious mineral. Operating within platinum mining in South Africa, as well as other platinum group metals, AMPLATS produces 40% of the world’s total platinum group metals. Other key platinum mining in South Africa companies include the likes of BHP Billiton and Impala Platinum.
Platinum mining in South Africa is growing as the establishment of projects such as the R7.1 billion Twickenham Expansion Project, 100km south-east of Polokwane, will see the production of 250 000t/m pure platinum.
These types of expansions are set against the already existing large-scale platinum mining in South Africa: such as the well underway Impala Platinum No. 20 Shaft Project, which is geared at producing 185 000 ounces of platinum per year as of 2013 on the Bushveld Complex – which has been mined since 1897
http://www.projectsiq.co.za/platinum-mining-in-south-africa.htm
South Africa-Diamonds and Platinum Gold
South Africa’s diamond mining industry dates back to 1867, when diamonds were discovered near Kimberley, now in the Northern Cape. The Kimberley diamond fields, and later discoveries in Gauteng, the Free State, and along the Atlantic coast, emerged as major sources of gem-quality diamonds, securing South Africa’s position as the world’s leading producer in the mid-twentieth century. (Rough diamonds were produced in larger quantities in Australia, Zaire, Botswana, and Russia.) Through 1991 most of South Africa’s diamonds were mined at only five locations, but a sixth mine, Venetia–in the Northern Cape–opened in 1992 and was expected to become a major diamond producer later in the decade.
The De Beers Consolidated Mines Company controlled most diamond mining in South Africa and influenced international trade through a diamond-producers’ alliance, or cartel–the Central Selling Organisation. The cartel enabled diamond producers to control the number of gems put on the market and thereby to maintain high prices for gem-quality diamonds. The cartel was able to react to marketing efforts outside its control by temporarily flooding the market, and thereby driving down the price paid for an outsider’s product.
Diamond prices fluctuated in the early 1980s, but the industry continued to expand even in the face of international recession and the discovery of the diamond-like cubic zirconia. Dollar prices for diamonds improved in 1985 but dropped again in 1987, requiring De Beers to support the market by withholding diamonds from dealers. Thus, annual production of more than 10 million carats in 1985 and in 1986 dropped to 9.1 million in the late 1980s. Gem and industrial diamond output in 1994 was 10.8 million carats, or roughly 11 percent of world production.
In 1990 the Soviet Union signed and openly acknowledged a contract to sell its diamonds (estimated at a value of about R13 billion over a five-year period) exclusively through De Beers. The action marked the first time in nearly thirty years that the Soviet Union had openly associated itself in commodity dealings with South Africa. Later that year, De Beers announced a loan of R2.63 million to the Soviet Union, against the security of an equivalent amount in diamonds.
Platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, and osmium), which occur together in ore seams and are mined in one operation, were discovered in South Africa in 1924. Most of the estimated 59,000 tons of reserves are in the Bushveld complex of minerals; some concentrations are also found in the Transvaal and the Witwatersrand complexes. Platinum is used in automobile catalytic converters to reduce fuel emissions, as a catalyst in industrial processes, and in making jewelry.
South Africa is the world’s leading producer of platinum. Its output of about ninety tons in 1993 accounted for almost 49 percent of world production. South Africa’s platinum mines have profited, in particular, from the sale of rhodium, which sold for almost US$6,000 an ounce in the early 1990s, but world market prices fell after that.
Data as of May 1996
Gold, first mined by Europeans in 1886 near Johannesburg, soon became the most important sector in the mining industry. South Africa has almost one-half of the world’s known gold reserves, located primarily in the Rand in what was once a prehistoric lake. Gold is also mined in the Free State. Industry analysts estimated in the early 1990s that South Africa had produced more than 43,000 tons of gold in the past century, and that at least that amount remained in reserves.
Gold occurs in seams embedded in rock strata, sometimes more than a mile below the surface. Deep shafts must be sunk, large amounts of rock must be blasted and brought to the surface, and the rock must be crushed and chemically separated from the gold. Some gold mines then pump processed mine tailings underground to serve as backfill. Mining and processing are costly, especially in deposits where the gold seam is extremely thin compared with the surrounding rock. For example, in the early 1990s industry analysts estimated that only 5.6 grams of gold were extracted from each ton of ore excavated. Nevertheless, the industry has consistently earned high profits and has accounted for one-third to one-half of the world’s gold production in the 1980s and 1990s. The country’s fifty-seven operating gold mines produce between 600 and 620 tons of gold per year, representing almost 30 percent of the world production. Gold production in 1994 and 1995 fell below 600 tons for the first time since the 1960s.
Gold mining companies traditionally kept expenses to a minimum by paying low wages. Gold mines became known for their often exploitative labor policies, including the use of migrant workers on limited contracts, strict worker control in company compounds, and difficult working conditions. Labor costs were especially important in determining profits, because the price of gold was set at US$35 per ounce through the 1960s. After the price of gold was allowed to float in 1968, it gradually rose in response to market demand, and companies could afford to produce less and still earn even greater profits. They then began to expand operations into so-called low-grade-ore mines. The volume of South African gold production fell, and gold prices skyrocketed to an all-time high of US$613 per ounce in 1980.
During the 1980s, the dollar price of gold fluctuated widely, but because of devaluations of the rand, the rand price of gold generally advanced. When gold prices fell in 1989, the industry found that many of the low-grade-ore mines were no longer profitable. As the average value of the rand increased against the dollar, overall industry profits declined, and nearly half of the gold mines in operation were running at a loss. At least 40,000 gold mine workers were laid off in 1990, according to government estimates, and layoffs continued through 1993.
During 1994 all major gold mining houses except Johannesburg Consolidated Investments (JCI) were reporting lower profits as output fell in response to labor unrest and other factors. Randgold closed its Durban gold mine in mid-1994, owing primarily to poor grades of available ore, and other mines were threatening to close within the next few years unless profits improved.
In 1994 JCI began to “unbundle” its corporate structure by dividing into three separate companies. Anglo American, JCI’s largest shareholder (with 48 percent), retained its platinum and some diamond interests in one company, Anglo American Platinum. JCI’s gold mining and other industrial interests were separated into two companies, JCI Limited and Johnnies Industrial Corporation. Shares for these companies are being offered to the public, primarily as a vehicle for black investment and broadening participation in this sector of the economy.
Diamonds and Platinum
South Africa’s diamond mining industry dates back to 1867, when diamonds were discovered near Kimberley, now in the Northern Cape. The Kimberley diamond fields, and later discoveries in Gauteng, the Free State, and along the Atlantic coast, emerged as major sources of gem-quality diamonds, securing South Africa’s position as the world’s leading producer in the mid-twentieth century. (Rough diamonds were produced in larger quantities in Australia, Zaire, Botswana, and Russia.) Through 1991 most of South Africa’s diamonds were mined at only five locations, but a sixth mine, Venetia–in the Northern Cape–opened in 1992 and was expected to become a major diamond producer later in the decade.
The De Beers Consolidated Mines Company controlled most diamond mining in South Africa and influenced international trade through a diamond-producers’ alliance, or cartel–the Central Selling Organisation. The cartel enabled diamond producers to control the number of gems put on the market and thereby to maintain high prices for gem-quality diamonds. The cartel was able to react to marketing efforts outside its control by temporarily flooding the market, and thereby driving down the price paid for an outsider’s product.
Diamond prices fluctuated in the early 1980s, but the industry continued to expand even in the face of international recession and the discovery of the diamond-like cubic zirconia. Dollar prices for diamonds improved in 1985 but dropped again in 1987, requiring De Beers to support the market by withholding diamonds from dealers. Thus, annual production of more than 10 million carats in 1985 and in 1986 dropped to 9.1 million in the late 1980s. Gem and industrial diamond output in 1994 was 10.8 million carats, or roughly 11 percent of world production.
In 1990 the Soviet Union signed and openly acknowledged a contract to sell its diamonds (estimated at a value of about R13 billion over a five-year period) exclusively through De Beers. The action marked the first time in nearly thirty years that the Soviet Union had openly associated itself in commodity dealings with South Africa. Later that year, De Beers announced a loan of R2.63 million to the Soviet Union, against the security of an equivalent amount in diamonds.
Platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, and osmium), which occur together in ore seams and are mined in one operation, were discovered in South Africa in 1924. Most of the estimated 59,000 tons of reserves are in the Bushveld complex of minerals; some concentrations are also found in the Transvaal and the Witwatersrand complexes. Platinum is used in automobile catalytic converters to reduce fuel emissions, as a catalyst in industrial processes, and in making jewelry.
South Africa is the world’s leading producer of platinum. Its output of about ninety tons in 1993 accounted for almost 49 percent of world production. South Africa’s platinum mines have profited, in particular, from the sale of rhodium, which sold for almost US$6,000 an ounce in the early 1990s, but world market prices fell after that.
http://www.mongabay.com/history/south_africa/south_africa-diamonds_and_platinum_gold.html
