South African platinum industry needs continuing collaboration, says panel
Impala Platinum mining executive Thabile Makgala discusses current trends in the platinum mining industry. Video and editing: Nicholas Boyd.
Despite cautious optimism among industry stakeholders about the platinum group metals (PGMs) industry’s forward momentum, Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne warned delegates attending the PGMs Industry Day, in Johannesburg, last week, that the industry was “not out of the woods yet”.
Dunne lamented that the next 12 to 18 months could bring about more mine closures and associated job losses.
“The industry has not seen too much project work in a decade and capital build is now somewhat surprising, [especially with] capital intensity playing an important metric, [alongside] a relative cost of production,” he explained.
It was for this reason that mining companies such as Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) were trying to improve margins by addressing costs, CEO Steve Phiri pointed out, adding that RBPlat was “positioned for tough market conditions”.
Further, owing to the tough market conditions, Impala Platinum mining executive Thabile Makgala said the South African platinum industry was seeing a decline in production, especially in deep conventional mining.
To avoid continuing on this path, she highlighted, the industry should consider opening other areas for exploration and move to mechanisation.
“South Africa needs to look at technology and innovation, and [the industry] must not be bled out where technology is concerned,” she said.
It is incumbent on the industry to promote the future possibilities of the South African industry, while also collaborating with tertiary institutions to ensure that curriculums are relevant, she averred.
Further, Phiri believes there is also room for greater collaboration among platinum miners to work together on one project. He said RBPlat was open to collaboration with other miners, but said everything would depend on the feasibility of the project.
Dunne agreed, stating that, if the project “makes sense”, it could be done successfully with two willing partners.
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