The development of a ‘Mandela platinum coin’ could become reality as progress is made in bringing the vision to life, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter says.

In an effort to bolster demand for platinum group metals (PGMs), which is currently on the back foot and struggling to revitalise, South Africa has been exploring the concept of launching a platinum coin equivalent of the South African Mint’s gold Krugerrand.

In 1967, a Minerals Council (the then Chamber of Mines) and government collaboration led to the creation of the Krugerrand – a successful initiative that resulted in the sale of 57-million coins over the past 50 years.

“We have been making some good progress [on the potential development of a platinum alternative] and will see some movement over the next few months,” he says.

While a number of different commissions are still required to take place, progress has been made within the joint ventures between various parties, including Rand Refinery, the South African Reserve Bank, National Treasury and South African Mint.

Baxter questions the reason South Africa failed to develop a platinum coin, noting that the UK, Switzerland, Australia and Canada all have successful platinum bullion coins.

However, he remains confident that the country is on track and that movement will be seen in a few months.

According to the council’s National Platinum Strategy, the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) has previously commissioned independent research on the market potential for a South African-produced coin, potentially branded either with the Krugerrand name or the Mandela name.

It was concluded that demand of at least 15 000 oz/y – even potentially reaching over 100 000 oz/y – was realistic if a South African platinum bullion coin were minted and marketed.

The WPIC believes, based on its experience, that a run of only 15 000 oz/y to 20 000 oz/y of platinum would be economically attractive.

The WPIC also successfully engaged with two mints outside South Africa, namely the Austrian Mint and the UK’s Royal Mint, both of which have since launched platinum coins which have sold well.

“The US Mint also restarted production of its platinum eagle bullion coin in 2017, selling 20 000 oz of coins to dealers within one week, suggesting that underlying demand for these coins is strong and that the marketplace does not have sufficient product availability to meet this demand,” the strategy explains.