Platinum is used but never consumed and comes back into contention as recycled metal, which makes it imperative for strong ongoing marketing to create demand for newly mined metal. That point was driven home repeatedly at last week’s unveiling of the platinum fuel cell that is providing baseload power to the Chamber of Mines building in Johannesburg. Both the platinum mining fraternity and the fuel-cell-technology-providing fraternity emphasised the need for the demand for platinum to be constantly increased to create that essential ongoing demand for mined product. Impala Platinum (Implats) CEO Terence Goodlace put words into action when he outlined that steps were being taken to provide fuel cell power for the Implats refinery, in Springs, where an initial 1.8 MW of stationary fuel power capacity would later be boosted by up to 22 MW to allow the refinery to operate independently of the national electricity grid. Also read on page 9 of this edition of Mining Weekly of Mitochondria chairperson Mashudu Ramano calling on South Africa to commit to 1 000 MW of fuel cell electrical capacity to alleviate South Africa’s power insecurity, stimulate demand for platinum and set the country on the road to the local manufacture of fuel cells. Simultaneously, Mitochondria CEO Anthea Bath told those attending the chamber unveiling that 1 000 MW of fuel cell power would create demand for 5% more platinum metal and that a 1% use of fuel cells to drive the world’s cars would translate into a 20% increase in demand for platinum.

The Competition Commission has approved the acquisition by Chinese venture capital firm Heaven-Sent of Johannesburg- listed gold-mining company Village Main Reef, which is to delist from the JSE. Heaven-Sent in February offered the embattled Village shareholders R12.25 a share, which represents a 45.68% premium to the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price. Village operates the Tau Lekoa gold mine, in South Africa’s North West province. The Heaven-Sent transaction excludes Village’s troubled antimony and gold Consolidated Murchison mine, in Limpopo province, which is being liquidated after failing to clinch a deal with Australian suitor Stibium Mining.

Notwithstanding the tough environment caused by the volatile commodity cycle, JSE-listed Master Drilling’s headline earnings per share increased to $0.12 a share in the 12 months to December 31, compared with $0.10 a share in 2013. Interestingly, the company, which brands itself as a global raiseboring and raisedrilling leader, has a commodity mix strategy which limits exposure to any one commodity to 30%. It operates 139 drilling rigs across Southern Africa, Latin America and West Africa and has a $216-million two-year order book in response to the global mining industry’s focus on greater levels of mechanisation. Its revenue rose to $132-million in the year under review, compared with $119-million in 2013, and net cash generated from operating activities increased by 52.9% to $23.8-million.