South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country is poised to take advantage of the growing demand for platinum group metals, as Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have forced mining investors to look to Africa.<\/P>
Ramaphosa\u2019s comments came this week at the Investing in African Mining Conference in Cape Town.<\/P>
Mining analyst Peter Major said while it\u2019s unfortunate to say, the war in Ukraine is helping South Africa\u2019s economy.<\/P>
\u201cWe produce half of the world\u2019s palladium and we produce 75% of the world\u2019s platinum and we produce about 90% of the world\u2019s rhodium,\u201d Major said. \u201cBecause the world is restricting the platinum and palladium they get from Russia, it\u2019s squeezing the price up so we\u2019re in a great position.\u201d<\/P>
South Africa is also a major coal producer, and Major notes coal prices are on the rise.<\/P>
\u201cWe were lucky to get $100 a ton for our coal, now we\u2019re getting $300 a ton,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re only exporting coal as much as we did in 1994 because our infrastructure is so bad. But at least we\u2019re getting three times the price than we would\u2019ve been getting.\u201d<\/P>
Henk Langenhoven, chief economist for the Minerals Council that represents South African mines, said the sharp rise in oil prices will likely move some countries toward green energy more quickly. This, he said, will further drive up demand for platinum and palladium used in the manufacture of zero-carbon emitting power plants.<\/P>
He also downplayed South Africa\u2019s poor ranking in the 2021 Fraser Institute\u2019s Index, where the country was ranked as one of the 10 worst mining investment nations in the world.<\/P>
\u201cIt doesn’t reflect what we see financially,\u201d he said. \u201cFinancially the companies are doing very well because of the commodities windfall.”<\/P>
Langehoven added that to properly take advantage of the mining opportunities, southern African countries need better transportation networks. But, he said, there has been progress particularly between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Congo.<\/P>
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work and investment going on to be able to come south or to come through the west coast through Namibia or Dar es Salam,\u201d Langehoven said. \u201cSo, a lot of that infrastructure is starting to be put in place and having an impact. You see quite dramatic shifts in volumes of tonnage going, for example, to Windhoek.\u201d<\/P>
He said Ramaphosa’s speech at the mining conference demonstrated the South African government\u2019s commitment to fixing similar problems.<\/P>
\u201cOne is electricity of course, that we\u2019re not going to solve it immediately. We\u2019re trying to augment as fast as we can,\u201d Langehoven said. \u201cThe other one is transport; the rail and harbor systems. The third issue is trying to streamline and simplify the policy issues to get implementation faster.\u201d<\/P>
The presidents of Botswana and Zambia and the prime minister of Democratic Republic of Congo are among those attending the conference, which runs until Thursday. Also attending is Jose Fernandez, the U.S. undersecretary for economic growth, energy and the environment. Fernandez is the highest-ranking U.S. official ever to attend the conference.<\/P>
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Source: Voice of America<\/P>
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