Platinum

The release of financial statements by South Africa's key mining groups for the first half of 2012 is expected to reveal the full extent of difficulties in the platinum sector following heavy declines in share prices over the past year.

Neville Nicolau, the head of Anglo American’s platinum business is leaving the company, after the South African unit warned its earnings per share for the first half could drop as much as 78%.

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Platinum prices are set for a recovery in the second half of this year due to declining mine production, although palladium prices will remain tepid due to thin investment demand, according to the latest forecasts from Thomson Reuters GFMS.

In order to increase production and reduce cost per ounce at its flagship Lac des Iles mine, North American Palladium (TSE:PDL) is raising Can$43 million on a bought deal basis for capital expenditures.

Vancouver-based Eastern Platinum was forced to issue a clarification over contained platinum resources at its South African PGM properties following a review by the British Columbia Securities Commission.

On Wednesday, a day after after all three major global ratings agencies – Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's – placed South Africa's credit rating on negative outlook, home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma became the latest senior figure in the ruling ANC party to join a growing chorus calling for state control of mining.

The world's largest producer of platinum, Anglo American (LON:AAL), says it will be reporting a 20% earnings decline when it reports its next six-month period.