He adds that the control of costs in a rising price environment is also a challenge facing the global industry. As the market recovers from the global financial downturn, demand and prices for metals could increase, but the cost of raw materials for capital investment and development could also rise.

Kendall says that safety and environmental standards are a priority for mining companies and that, while these are signifi- cant and essential business aspects, management teams in mining companies must not be diverted from maintaining good standards for basic business practices. He says that basics such as grade control and reserve development are significant for the industry going forward.

Kendall will be presenting on the outlook for platinum-group metals (PGMs) at the 2010 Mining Indaba, in Cape Town. His address will examine some of the key short-term and long-term trends in platinum and palladium demand and will relate these to the outlook for the South African PGMs mining industry.

PGMs were one of the most severely affected mining sectors in the global financial downturn, but experienced some recovery towards the end of 2009.
Platinum researcher Johnson Matthey indicated in the latter part of 2009 that the platinum market was poised to see slight increases going forward. The company indicated that the overall net 2009 demand for platinum was set to decrease by 4,4%.

Mining Weekly reported that the fall in the platinum price had, however, resulted in positive jewellery demand, which was expected to rise 80% in 2009, with physical investment demand also up by 15%.

Kendall says that the Indaba is a beneficial platform for networking with people in the mining industry. “The Mining Indaba is an excellent opportunity to meet with a wide spectrum of businesses and people connected with the natural resources sector, particularly those with an African focus,” he says.

Events such as the Indaba are beneficial for the development of new ideas in the mining industry and for the establishment of new business relationships, says Kendall.

He is responsible for market analysis, supply and demand modelling and price forecasting for gold, silver and PGMs in the precious metals division of Mitsubishi Corporation.

He started his career as a minor metals market analyst with metals and minerals consultancy Roskill Consulting, in London. He has also been a business journalist with steel and metals market publishing group Metal Bulletin, covering the worldwide nonmetallic minerals and mining industries. He then joined the precious metals marketing division of Johnson Matthey, where he was in charge of researching and writing the company’s twice-yearly platinum market reports. He also took on responsibility for managing Johnson Matthey’s worldwide market research team, undertaking detailed fundamental analyses of the PGMs markets before joining Mitsubishi Corporation.

Mitsubishi Corporation’s interests in commodities include upstream investment in metals and energy, financing of projects, trading, logistics, risk management, marketing and distribution.

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