Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Bloomberg reports Impala Platinum ‒ the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal ‒ may invest as much as $10 billion in Zimbabwe to expand production if the government backs down on its controversial indigenization policy.
Earlier this month Zimbabwe’s government gave foreign companies including miners and banks a 14-day ultimatum to submit plans on how they propose to transfer majority stakes to local owners or risk losing permits. Impala is already the biggest investor in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
Implats reported last week earnings for the 2011 financial year rose 41%. The Johannesburg-based company accounts for close to 30% of global supply of platinum used in vehicle emission systems to reduce pollution and for the manufacture of jewellery. Prices for platinum climbed throughout the year from just over US$1,500 per ounce to end at about US$1,800 per ounce.
Bloomberg quotes CEO David Brown as saying: “It would run into the billions of dollars, probably between US$5 and US$10 billion. Fifty-one percent equity just does not work.”
While most of its deposits are in South Africa, 11.3Moz, or almost a third of its total platinum reserves, are in Zimbabwe. That’s worth about $21 billion at the current platinum price.
