Every Friday, SAfm’s radio host speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly. Reported here is this Friday’s At the Coalface transcript:

Host: New global research and development is targeting the use of platinum group metals in drones.

Creamer: Platinum group metals in South Africa are synonymous. We have got more platinum group metals than anywhere else in the world and the more use you can have the better for our economy. So, research is being done regularly into how you can use more platinum group metals. We know platinum group metals are big in hydrogen, they’re big in stopping air pollution in the big cities. But now, this further development that is being done indicates that they are probably going to be very suitable for drones and we know that drones are being used more and more and more, because of the ability to provide mobility without having a human pilot.

The two companies that are funding the research and development into using platinum and palladium as catalysts in drone technology are both platinum group metals companies. The one has a project and has still to mine and the other is an accomplished miner and refiner. The research targeting the use of platinum and palladium in drsones will hopefully have a very good outcome, because these metals can accelerate chemical reaction. They’ve got catalytic value. It can stimulate things and that is now being recognised, particularly in China, which is the biggest consumer. They have just put a new platinum and palladium exchange into China that is going to trade not only domestically in China in platinum group metals, but also internationally.

Host: A lot of South African manganese ore is now being exported through Namibia.

Creamer: It is a very interesting one, because South Africa is having a bit of struggle with manganese logistics. So, it was interesting to see that just one company alone, a manganese ore mining company, has reported nearly a million tonnes for itself going through the Port of Lüderitz in Namibia, because of the constraints that they are having with South Africa’s manganese logistics. Manganese mining companies choosing not to use South Africa’s rail and port logistics deserves a lot of attention, because the manganese ore we is abundant and also of high quality, but our mines are distant from the ports.

Being 1 000 kilometres from the ports means that rail and the port logistics must be very efficient, otherwise costs rise. People in manganese have been complaining that the cost of transport has gone up to about a third of total cost, which is too high. So, some of them are now saying, let’s go through the Port of Lüderitz in Namibia and it is a better bet for us, closer to Europe and that should be a signal to South Africa to improve the logistics for manganese ore.

Host: South Africa’s second stock exchange – the A2X – has attracted another big mining company to its ranks.

Creamer: We know the Johannesburg stock Exchange, the JSE, which has been around for 138 years old and is still going strong. We don't know as much about the A2X, which is a newer exchange, a smaller exchange, but also in Sandton, and it is good that we have got these two exchanges, because what happens now is that the primary listing goes onto the big JSE, but then you have got a secondary listing going onto the A2X. That provides additional liquidity and he more liquidity, the better.

That is why you find a lot of companies want to list around in the world as well to benefit from liquidity. But, the more liquidity they can have here, the better. We see the latest company to go onto the ASX as the mining company, Sibanye-Stillwater, the primary listing of which is on the JSE.

Host: Thanks very much. Martin Creamer is publishing, editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.