Is the platinum price being kept on a tight leash, the prolonged mining strike notwithstanding? Is this so because the bullion banks of South Africa’s biggest platinum producer are also its platinum customers, shareholders and advisers? Against the background of bullion banks shorting thousands of paper futures contracts that represent hundreds of thousands of platinum ounces, when will South Africa’s platinum mining companies be able to extricate themselves from price levels that equate to their cost of production? Is South Africa being sold a platinum pup? Despite a mineworkers’ strike that had surpassed its 13th week by the time Mining Weekly went to press, the outlook for the platinum price remained tinged with bearish sentiment.