When you think of investing in precious metals, you probably think about gold and silver. It makes sense. These metals have been widely accepted as currency and stores of value for centuries. But newer types of metals have recently broke into the mainstream precious metals industry, providing investors with more ways to diversify their portfolios.
Platinum and palladium are growing in popularity as investment metals, largely due to their scarcity and industrial uses. Though gold and silver remain the most popular investment metals, you can now find a small assortment of platinum and palladium coins and bars on the market. Let’s take a closer look at what makes these metals an attractive investment option.
Limited Supply
Platinum was discovered in the 1700s when traces of the metal were found lining gold mines in South America. Spanish conquistadors considered the metal to be a nuisance that blocked what they truly sought. However, it is now known that platinum is far more rare than gold and extremely valuable. In fact, platinum is so rare that the entire amount of mined platinum is believed to fit into an average living room.
Nearly 100 years later, palladium was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston while he was working on a process to purify platinum. Today, palladium is still often found as a byproduct of platinum extractions. And palladium is believed to be even more rare than platinum—possibly up to 15 times as rare. Palladium is largely sourced in South Africa, as well as the US, Canada, and Russia.
Growing Industrial Demand
Though you may see jewelry and designer watches made of platinum, the metal’s main use is in the making of catalytic converters for cars. In fact, nearly half of the platinum supply is used in the auto industry. Additionally, platinum is used in dentistry and in the making of medical machinery electrodes.
Palladium, a metal very similar to platinum, has several of the same industrial applications. It too is used in the automotive and medical industries, as well as being alloyed with gold to make white gold jewelry pieces.
Raw Platinum
Since these metals are crucial in the manufacture of vehicles, we can expect demand to rise in countries that produce cars. In recent years, China has surpassed the US as the world’s largest automobile producer. It’s likely that we’ll see an increasing demand for platinum and palladium in China because of the automobile industry, as well as emerging technological markets that may also make use of the metals.
Though it’s believed that palladium is more rare than platinum, palladium is actually a cheaper metal. Why? Platinum and palladium are very similar metals. The main difference is that platinum is much denser than palladium. That means that platinum can be manipulated more without breakingl. This makes it the more valuable of the two in terms of industrial uses. However, the similarities between the metals means that many businesses are turning to palladium when possible because of the lower price.
Investing in Platinum and Palladium
Stackers have taken a greater interest in platinum and palladium in recent years. The growing uses for the metals make them attractive as a potential investment option. Platinum and palladium have yet to reach the popularity of gold and silver, largely due to a constricted supply. On top of supply, the prices of platinum and palladium tend to be more volatile than the prices of gold and silver.
With these factors in mind, platinum and palladium tend to attract serious investors more than casual investors. And the investors who are drawn to platinum and palladium may find that options are far fewer than those for gold and silver. You can find platinum and palladium coins and bars from reputable sovereign and private mints, but there are fewer designs and smaller mintages available. After all, the platinum and palladium bullion industries are much newer than the gold and silver bullion industries.
However, serious investors might want to take note of the metals’ recent success. Demand and spot price for both platinum and palladium have been steadily climbing for some time now. These metals might provide a good option for you if you’re looking to expand your investment portfolio.
Palladium prices surged to a record on Tuesday, bolstered by worries about shrinking supply of the auto-catalyst metal, while gold rose on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will maintain a dovish tone at its policy meeting this week.
Spot palladium was up 0.3 percent at $1,588.53 an ounce, as of 0339 GMT, after marking an all-time high of $1,591 earlier in the session.
“The demand has been an ongoing narrative for a while. So, the fundamentals are strong and there is an ongoing supply deficit problem,” said Ilya Spivak, a senior currency strategist at DailyFX.
Expectations for more economic stimulus by China, the world’s biggest auto market, could also be a short-term catalyst for the market, Spivak said.
Prices have nearly doubled since the mid-August lows and have already surged about 26 percent for the year.
Palladium has continued to firm despite weak car sales as news that Russia is mulling a ban on scrap and tailing exports threatens to further tighten an already tight market, TD Securities wrote in a weekly note.
Russia is a major producer of the metal, which is used mainly in catalytic converters.
Meanwhile, spot gold rose 0.3 percent at $1,306.76 per ounce, as the dollar languished near two-week lows hit in the previous session on growing expectations the Fed would shift to a more accommodative policy stance.
U.S. gold futures rose about 0.4 percent to $1,306.80.
“Gold has been edging up and the main driver is a softening dollar,” Margaret Yang, a market analyst with CMC Markets, Singapore said adding the Fed’s decision and Brexit vote could be gold boosters in the short term.
The U.S. central bank will start its two-day meeting on interest rates later in the day.
“If the Fed is more dovish than expected, dollar is likely to move lower, and there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Brexit with hedging demand for safety.”
Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plans were thrown into further turmoil on Monday when the speaker of parliament ruled that she could not put her divorce deal to a new vote unless it was re-submitted in a fundamentally different form.
Gold is used as a safe investment during times of political and financial uncertainties.
Indicative of investor sentiment toward gold, holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose about 1.1 percent on Monday, its biggest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 18.
In other precious metals, silver slipped 0.4 percent to $15.38 per ounce, while platinum gained 0.8 percent to $836.92 per ounce._Reuters
GOVERNMENT has said mining activities at Peace Mine in Silobela are illegal because the mine has been closed for safety reasons.
Midlands provincial mining director, Mr Nelson Munyanduri said as far as his department was concerned, the mine was closed pending inspection by responsible authorities.
“Any mining activities taking place at the mine are illegal and not sanctioned by us. As far as we are concerned, all mining activities at the mine were suspended for security reasons and we have to inspect the mine first beforemining could resume,” said Mr Munyanduri.
His sentiments follow violent clashes by two groups of miners who are fighting for the rights to carry out mining activities at the mine.
Peace Mine, which was supposed to be a model Community Ownership Scheme mine and received state of the art equipment from Government, was closed in 2016 following massive vandalism of the equipment and violent clashes by groups claiming ownership of the mine.
Following the death of then chairperson of the trust, Arthur Nkiwane in 2017, his widow, Mrs Sibusisiwe Moyo, took over the reins at the mine, a move that did not go down well with another group led by Chief Sigodo who also claims ownership of the mine.
Mrs Moyo has been carrying out mining activities at the mine and stands accused of personalising the mine instead of running it as a trust.
Mr Malanga Nkiwane, son to the late chairperson, who claims to be the operations manager at the Mine says Chief Sigodo has been disturbing operations at the mine claiming he recently sent bouncers to attack them.
“He is bent on disturbing operations at the mine claiming he owns the mine. The mine benefits more than 1 000 families and it is running smoothly as a community ownership scheme where everyone is taking turns to mine. But Chief Sigodo recently sent bouncers to attack us and order us off the mine,” said Mr Nkiwane.
Chief Sigodo, born Apollo Mlilo, said the mine belonged to him after a court ruling overturned the community ownership set up.
“For starters, I did not send any bouncers to them, they actually attacked police officers who had gone to the mine to serve them with the court papers,” said the Chief.
He said operations were stopped by Government after the community ownership trust collapsed after the Nkiwane family turned the mine into a family project.
“Mines officials closed the mine pending further assessments but they continue to mine thereby putting people’s lives at risk. I am urging Government to intervene before another disaster similar to the Battlefields one is witnessed,” he said.
Mines and Mining Development Minister, Winston Chitando, recently told Parliament that the ownership wrangle was delaying the mine’s restructuring programme and its reopening. He was responding to Silobela legislator, Mthokozisi Manoki-Mpofu’s question as to what was delaying the reopening of the mine.
“With respect to Peace Mine, the mine has initially been under wrangle in terms of ownership of the mining claims. The long and short of it is that there is a tribute agreement, which expired in October 2017 and the registered owner of the claims has indicated that he is not renewing the tribute. So the issue at the moment is between the owner of the claim and those who wish to mine to enter into a valid tribute agreement,” said Minister Chitando._The Chronicle
THERE are plenty opportunities available in Zimbabwe’s mining sector that could be exploited by both local and foreign investors.
By Keith Sungiso
Zimbabwe has about 60 mineral occurrences, the major ones being diamond, platinum, gold, nickel, lithium, chrome ore, iron ore, tantalite, asbestos, coal, granite, zinc and silver among others.
Research also shows that Zimbabwe has six out of 10 of the world’s most valuable minerals.
This massive resource base creates lucrative opportunities for investors in exploration, mining, and beneficiation, among others.
Here are 10 Mining opportunities currently available in Zimbabwe right now and many years to come
Mining exploration
While addressing delegates at the 2018 Mining, Engineering and Transport expo held in Bulawayo in October, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando admitted that the country has no record of its untapped mineral resources because there has not been any exploration work for the past decades.
This means Zimbabwe has been boasting of its vast mineral wealth without knowing exactly what is underground.
So, exploration is a very big opportunity which arises in the mining industry, which those with financial muscle can take advantage of.
But this type of investment would require high amount of capital. In other words, it is not ideal for small scale miners.
2. Mining
Investors would also want to invest in mining activities in the country. As said earlier, Zimbabwe boasts of a huge and highly diversified mineral resource base dominated by prominent geological features, namely, an expansive craton, widespread greenstone belts (also known as gold belts), the famous Great Dyke, Precambrian and Karoo basins and metamorphic belts, according to government records.
Investment opportunities exist in the mining of gold, diamond, platinum, nickel, lithium, chrome ore, iron ore, tantalite, asbestos, coal, granite, zinc and silver, among others.
This could be done through joint ventures with Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, small-scale miners and other miners facing financial constraints. For instance, according to the Zimbabwe Mining Potential Booklet, there are over 4,000 recorded gold deposits, nearly all of them located on ancient workings. The same document identifies the country as having chrome reserves on the Great Dyke of approximate 10 billion tonnes. Deposits hosted outside the Great Dyke occur in some ultramafic rocks of the Shurugwi, Mashava and Belingwe greenstone belts, and ultramafic bodies in the Limpopo Mobile Belt.
3. Mining beneficiation
As alluded above, Zimbabwe is richly endowed with bountiful mineral resources but the southern African nation has not been deriving meaningful benefit from its mineral reserves as the country has always been exporting its mineral wealth in raw form.
For years, the country has been exporting the majority of its minerals unprocessed.
There is a need for the country to derive meaningful benefit from its mineral resources by adding value into its minerals.
Given that the government is still grappling with the economic woes that have dogged the resource-rich nation over the past few decades, those with capital could chip in.
To date, about five pilot value chains have since been identified as energy, stainless steel, pigment production, auto catalyst and diesel particulate filters, diamond processing and jewellery making.
Other vast investment potential is in the areas of platinum refinery, chrome smelting, diamond cutting and polishing, platinum refinery among others.
The Mines and Minerals Bill draft requires a proportion of mineral output to be reserved for use in local value-adding activities and sold locally at a developmental price.
Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) President, Henrietta Rushwaya told Mining Zimbabwe that they were looking forward to more investment coming into the country especially with regards to chrome sector.
“We are looking at more investment coming in, especially in the chrome sector,r which is a bit short-changed for now because of the high financial requirements that go with the machinery. If you are a chrome miner, you would need an excavator, a dump truck, but as long as you don’t have that within your reach, it is difficult for you to mine chrome at a large scale,” she said.
4. Long-term capital
Mining is capital intensive. According to Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ) the mining sector needs fresh capital investment to ensure that positive growth and viability is maintained.
The mining body says mining companies need over US$7 billion to recapitalise their operations over the next five years, from 2018 to 2022.
But the challenge is that local financial institutions have not been offering long-term capital, making it difficult for mining companies to borrow for recapitalisation or to sustain output growth or undertake new projects.
Most of them need to replace antiquated equipment that has become inefficient and costly.
So there is an opportunity for mining investors to chip in and explore these massive opportunities available in the sector.
5. Machinery funding
Small-scale miners told Mining Zimbabwe that they needed machinery to carry out their activities.
“We need small machinery that carries the order of the day in the gold mining industry. For instance, with the rain season looming, you find that our miners lack small machinery like compressors, dewatering pumps, generators, explosives,” Rushwaya said.
“These are some of the small items where we are saying if people come up with organised-based mining within the communities where they operate, it’s easier for the government, for instance, to assist in their form of scheme. Our miners are not keen to receive funding in the form of cash. They are keen to receive funding in the form of the machinery. Let’s empower them with requisite machinery, and that way we won’t go wrong,” she said.
6. Employment opportunities: Women
For every direct mining job approximately three jobs are created in other sectors. Jobs are created in the industries that either supply goods and services to the mining sector, or use mining products for downstream value addition and so on. The mining sector is estimated to employ 45 000 people formally and about 200 000 people informally. Women can find employment at different stages of the mining value chain. The industry also offers employment to both skilled and non-skilled women.
For skilled women, the sector absorbs women trained in technical fields such as geologists, metallurgists, technicians and also those with soft skills, such as accountants, lawyers, and human resources practitioners.
As such, women and youth must take advantage of the employment opportunities that arise in other sectors through increased local content and enhanced linkages in the mining industry.
7. Training opportunities
Mining is a technical sector. Possession and utilisation of requisite skills are one of the key determinants of the viability of mining projects. Apart from free technical advice from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, small scale miners, including women should pursue other training options, particularly with the Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM).
ZSM offers short training courses and diplomas at affordable rates. So, ZSM and other institutions should take advantage of this and offer tailor-made courses for small-scale miners.
8. Goods and services
Mining sector in Zimbabwe has created more than 45,000 formal jobs and more than 500,000 artisanal miners. With such huge numbers, women and youth can supply goods and services such as catering, personal protective, financial services, drilling, metallurgical, geo-mechanics, to name just a few, throughout the mining value chain.
9. Gold buying agents
The government, through its gold buying unit, Fidelity Gold and Refinery, has issued about 21 gold buying licences for small-scale miners in a bid to stop illicit gold outflows.
Rushwaya said the move by the government has made their members gold buying agents.
“So our small-scale miners are now going to be gold buying agents in various gold mining districts where they operate. So if you are a member, for instance, Umzingwane Association, one of your association members would be a buyer. This has been necessitated by the fact that there are certain quantities Fidelity Gold does not buy,” she said.
“If you are producing less than 5 grams, Fidelity does not buy. So, all those who are producing less than the various stipulated quantities have been disadvantaged in the sense that they are now selling their gold in the black market. Now that Fidelity has accorded us the opportunity to acquire those buying licences.
She said they started with a number which they thought could be used for experimental purposes, “which is 105 agents.”
10. Electricity supply
One of the challenges faced by the mining sector is the cost of electricity, which has remained high, hampering the viability of mineral producers.
Current commercial tariffs from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company on average range from $0,13/kWh for on-peak usage, $0,07/kWh for standard usage, to $0,04/kWh for off-peak usage.
This is the highest in the region.
Such challenges present a good opportunity for players in the energy sector to establish power generation plants in the country to cater for these miners.
Polyroads, A South African company is leading the technology race in heavy haul road stabilization, with their third generation polymer, namely SoilTech MK. III.
1998 the first commercial application of SoilTech Mk. I was in 1998. Initially the product was developed as binder for rural roads. Over the next couple of years, Polyroads modified SoilTech with new cross-linking polymers to improve compressive strengths – SoilTech Mk. I.
2006 major technology advances saw the introduction of long-chain polymers into SoilTech and thereby adding a second performance dimension to SoilTech. The high CBRs achieved in materials with SoilTech were complimented with new and highly improved elastic modulus in the stabilized pavements, allowing greater flexural strengths and loading capabilities, not to mention improved longevity in the pavements – first of a kind – SoilTech MK. II.
2010 Polyroads chemical engineers introduced nano-polymerization into SoilTech. The specific nano-polymers being substantially smaller than the normal SoilTech polymer particle, allows for easier sliding velocity on capillary adhesion in the materials. Specifically engineered surfactants, mixed with the nano-polymers, further reduces tensions as SoilTech nano-particles migrate from the stabilized base-layer into the sub-base, resulting in two-layer stabilization. First of a kind – SoilTech Mk. III.
Benefits of SoilTech Mk. III
Binds the road materials and turns the haul roads into all weather roads, ensuring zero production losses in rainy weather
Non-skid in the wet
Reduced rolling resistance – less tyre and engine wear
Environmentally friendly – SA Bureau of Standards certified
Cost-effective
Smart Materials manufactured by Polyroads, includes road stabilization, dust suppression and dam lining products, have been successfully implement at various mining groups including DEBSWANA, ARM, Glencore and Petra Diamond.
30 illegal gold miners are feared dead after a mine collapsed at Chipindo municipality in Angola.
State media confirmed that at least 30 people died after a mine collapsed at Chipindo municipality in Angola’s south-west Huíla Province.
Radio Nacional de Angola (RNA) reported that the tragedy happened at Chiwele locality where the illegal gold miners were at work. RNA stated:
The prospectors were extracting gold in the mine when it collapsed due the ground humidity.”
As the second most populous after Luanda, Huíla Province, about 904km south of Luanda, is endowed with mineral resources that tend to attract people from all parts of the world. Some of the minerals found in Huíla Province include gold, diamonds, manganese, kaolin, iron, black granite, and mica.
Cases of mines collapsing and trapping prospectors are becoming more and more rampant. January this year, at least 14 people were killed when a nearby hill collapsed on a mine in eastern Rwamagana district in Rwanda. The accident came off the back of another mining accident that occurred in 2017 in the same area. That time there were no casualties and the government mandated the British firm that owned the mines to put in place more necessary safety precautions. These cases are not limited to East Africa. Last month, at least 23 illegal miners were trapped and killed in Zimbabwe after shafts and underground tunnels they were working in were flooded by water from a nearby dam wall that collapsed.
The ZMF has applied for a licence to import fuel for its members.
In an interview last week, Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation chairman Mr Makumba Nyenje said the move will ease pressure on service stations which have been battling to supply fuel.
“We have applied for the licence because miners have been facing challenges due to fuel shortages,” he said. “We await Government’s response at the earliest possible time.”
Mr Nyenje said they submitted their application to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development through the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA).
He said they were embracing Government’s move to liberalise the importation of fuel by allowing big companies with free funds to import fuel for their own consumption.
Mr Nyenje said they wanted to have fuel ready for the miners for improved efficiency in the mining sector.
“We would like to have fuel in mining towns and our members will be using their e-cards or coupons to access the fuel,” he said.
Mr Nyenje said last year, ZMF in partnership with Met Bank, launched an electronic multi-purpose membership card for miners, which is linked to the mobile phone and enables a miner to have access to multiple services such as loans and mining equipment offered by the bank, confirm membership, buy goods, pay bills and make transfers, among other things.
He said many small-scale miners are embracing the e-card.
THE country’s sole gold buyer, Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR), a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe responsible for the purchasing, refining and exporting of gold, is under fire for buying “stolen gold” from illegal artisanal miners who have invaded Gaika Mine in Kwekwe.
Court documents seen by this publication show that FPR was ordered by the High Court not to buy any gold being mined by the mainly Zanu PF youths who invaded Gaika Mine from February 2018.
Duration Gold Investments, Gaika mine owners, approached the High Court seeking an interdict to stop FPR from purchasing “stolen gold”.
Court documents issued in March 2018 under case number HC 622/18 ordered FPR, which is cited as the fourth respondent, “not to accept any gold won return from Gaika Mine from any person other than an authorised representative of applicant, that fourth respondent be and is, hereby, ordered to pay to an authorised signatory or credit applicant’s bank.”
However, an investigation this week revealed that FPR agents were buying gold from the illegal miners in defiance of the court order.
“I have a certificate to buy gold and this is legal,” an FPR agent in Kwekwe said.
“FPR has agents in and around Kwekwe who buy gold. We do not smuggle gold, we take it to Fidelity.”
Former Mbizo legislator Vongaishe Mupereri (Zanu PF), who is said to be the ring leader of the invaders, was also ordered by High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi to pay all the costs which were met by Duration Gold Investments.
“That first respondent (Mupereri) be and is, hereby, ordered to pay the costs of suit of this application on the attorney and client scale,” part of the court order read.
The court also ordered FPR not to be involved in any dealings with illegal miners from Gaika, since it would be a violation of the mine owner’s rights.
“That fourth respondent be and is, hereby, ordered not to deal with anyone other than an authorised representative of applicant in respect of any gold won from Gaika mine,” the court order read.
Illegal miners on the ground confirmed to this publication that they sold their gold to FPR agents in Kwekwe.
FPR spokesperson Chelesani Moyo directed all questions to Mehluleli Dube, who is the head of gold operations at FPR.
Dube told NewsDay that: “I am not aware of any court order, but if that is the case, then it will be easier for the complainant to track how much gold they would have lost. My logic is, if it is not bought by Fidelity, then it will be taken to the black market.”
THE workers in the mining industry have been awarded an 80% salary increment following collective bargaining negotiations which will see the lowest paid employee in the sector earning ZWL$468,58 per month.
The workers will receive the new salary structure which back date to January 1, 2019.
Before the adjustment, the least paid employee in the mining sector was earning $260,32 a month, while the highest was taking home $603,78.
With the current adjustment, the highest paid employee will now be getting ZWL$1 086, 80.
Associated Mine Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (Amwuz) president Tinago Ruzive said the salary adjustments were necessitated by an increase in the cost of living.
“Yes, it’s correct that we negotiated and came up with an 80% wage increase across all grades. The increase will be implemented on dollar value,” Ruzive said.
However, a trade unionist Abraham Kavalanjila said the increment was a drop in the ocean, given the economic situation obtaining in the country.
“We can’t say the employer is at fault but the government has to fix the economy. If the increment had gone up by 300%, yes, we could be singing sweet music right now as workers. The mine workers are living like destitutes in a rich country like Zimbabwe,” he said.
Inflation pressures have seen the cost of living go beyond the reach of many in the southern African nation as prices of basic commodities have more than doubled in recent months.
Government does not have the capacity to sustain a salary increase for public sector workers, while most private sector players are failing to pay due salaries regularly.
The mine workers, through their representatives, have been pushing for poverty datum line-linked salaries.
Mining is the country’s largest source of export revenue and together with agriculture and tourism, the sector is expected to anchor economic growth this year
The Apex bank has filed a High Court application denying a debt worth over $92 million allegedly owed to RioZim.
This comes after RioZim sued the central bank for breaching provision of the exchange control directives whereby the mining company is supposed to be given access to utilise the foreign currency it generated externally. RioZim alleges it only received $26 130 967 of the $84 297 364 in hard foreign currency, This constituted 15 percent of the amount due since 2016.
Representing the central bank and Fidelity Printers, lawyers Gerald Mlotshwa and Wellington Magaya respectively, have denied the debt saying all payments were made by bank transfer in USD.
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