Anglo-American have announced they're had enough & will divesting their Rustenburg 'Union' sites & 2 joint ventures (also some coal & nickle plays) 1st question would be "who would buy them?"... but with all that 'funny money' out there chasing ANY kind of yield... I won't be surprised if they find a cashed up bidder quickly. http://www.timeslive.co.za/businesstimes/2015/02/15/anglo-to-sell-platinum-coal-assets
I would imagine so too. This news comes on the back of Glencore selling it's platinum play in Lonmin too! Somethin's up. I hear talk of the RSA Govt. talking about declaring coal a strategic material FFS. Wouldn't be much of a stretch for them to expand to Platinum.... and then farmland :/ Tip... if RSA's SaSol Ltd company ever decide to offshore (which in this environment is highly likely), lobby your local federal politician to encourage them to base themselves here in Oz. SaSol's people, technology & I.P. those guys are the experts at liquefying coal.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/business-20571-Aquarius+engages+Zim+on+15pc+platinum+tax/business.aspx So that's even more Pt off the table
What the AMPLATS strike has cost so far; http://iolmobile.co.za/#!/article/what-platinum-strike-cost-amplats-1.1825886 In short; 532,000 ounces! But what I can't decipher is, the article's explanation for how the companies were able to predict and control the supply side so well that the price remained stable. :/
Maybe they concentrated on production at expense of development. Also focused on the easy or high grade stuff in anticipation? Usually a miner can economically mine and process low grade ore by blending it with high grade. That and stockpile and inventory. "...as a result of careful management of the production pipeline in advance of the anticipated strike he added."
Platinum Deficit a plus for Platinum Bulls, but demand may fall as diesiel cars (that require heavily plated platnium cat converters) are becoming demonised as dirty and the lower petrol prices are making them less attractive. The mayor of Paris (France, not Texas ) has even called for them to be banned in his fair city. http://www.wsj.com/articles/platinu...market-deficit-heard-on-the-street-1426092039
Platinum usage 2013 inner wheel, 2014 outer wheel http://www.mineweb.com/news/platinu...m-shortfall-continues-for-third-year-running/
Pt prices are being smashed and are now under US$1100. This is several $100 less than production costs and that will not last. I hear from Andy Hoffman that Miles Franklin are finding Pt difficult to source. The PM have not produced a 2015 platypus. I am waiting to hear of further S. African platinum mine closures. To quote a fictitious detective - something is afoot !
Now its Palladium's chance to be smashed? Rhodium also down. the PGM's are being taken down yet supply is non existent. I would be interested to hear from any of the bullion dealers how difficult it is now to obtain PGMs. Coin dealers I speak to say they no longer see PGM's for sale unless they are over priced collectables.
1oz Platinum Platypus coins were selling from between $1800AUD and $2020AUD (Ebay) back in early to mid Feb 2015. Platinum coins on ebay (Sold) are not reflecting the lower spot price for platinum. http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...0&_nkw=platinum+coins&ghostText=&_sacat=58520 I think Pt is a very good medium-term hold if you can get it. Very disappointing that the Perth Mint have decided not to strike the 2015 coin. imo, the Platinum Platypus was / is a great design but perhaps the coin should have been released in fractional sizes. I like the idea of 1/10, 1/4 and 1/2oz Pt coins.
Holdfast I think the PM had no choice as the metal supply is just not there ? Look at the US Mint's new platinum eagle - stopped production in October 2014 ? They have not sold 1oz of Pt in 2015 ? Watch this space
"My Bad" :/ Just noticed Perth Bullion have released the 2015 Platinum Platypus today. http://www.perthbullion.com/shop/detail/platy15pco1/ Perth Blog http://www.perthmintbullion.com/Blog/au/Blog.aspx
Clearly they were able to scrounge some Pt together and punch out a few coins. There's no way mining companies are selling PGMs for less than their production costs, unless the metal is simply a by-product of other mining activity. Perhaps the reason that there's no Pt eagle is simply because the demand isn't there when compared with Au/Ag. Why waste the tooling/machinery/time on making Pt Eagles that don't sell so well when it could be used to produce ASEs/AGEs that will sell like crazy and rake in the cash? I like Pt, but not because I think it's running out. It is a very rare metal, has a number of uses and exceptional qualities, but until it becomes universally desired, it will live in the shadow of its more popular cousins. Time and understanding will help Pt and I think its rarity compared to Au will favour it in the medium to long-term.
I suppose the market isn't privy to when (Price paid) or where the Perth Mint sourced their metal. Perhaps Perth had a swag of blanks left from the 2012, 2013 and 2014 strikes, after-all, the 2013 and and 2014 declared mintages are very low. Anyway, it's good new that Perth have struck the 2015 Platinum Platypus, it's a great coin and very collectable. The "declared" mintage figures for the Platinum Platypus are: 2011 - 30,000 coins 2012 - 26,580 coins 2013 - 2,000 coins 2014 - 1,616 coins http://www.perthmint.com.au//docume..._Platinum_Bullion_Coin_Series_2011_-_2014.pdf
Why's that Captain? Last year on Perth's blog they indicated that the 2013 was to be capped at a limited mintage of 2,000 coins due to decreased investor demand. http://www.perthmintbullion.com/au/blog/blog.aspx?CntTagID=8aac99ca-6dd7-4982-accd-1e296f700636
