Rhodium

Neighbour South Africa's influential Business Day reports as Zimbabwe’s shaky unity government inches ahead with extensive electoral reforms ahead of fresh elections now expected next year, the prospect of the country’s army seizing power looms large. In recent weeks, the military’s top brass has taken on a visible role in the country’s political affairs and has been brazenly opposed to security sector reforms. The military seized control of Zimbabwe's rich diamond fields in Chiadzwa in 2006 and most observers believe an international ban on these gems are being widely flouted.

Strikes are looming in South Africa's gold and platinum sectors which could threaten global supplies at a time when commodity prices are red hot. South Africa's powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday wage talks with the country's main gold miners were deadlocked and it was preparing for a strike.

Stillwater Mining, the only platinum and palladium producer in the U.S., announced on Monday that it will acquire Peregrine Metals for US$487.1 million. Peregrine Metals is a publicly-traded exploration and development company with gold and copper projects in Argentina and Peru. The company is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

South Africa’s Pilanesberg Platinum announced on Friday a labour dispute has been settled and mining operations will resume next week after a two-week shutdown after employees of a contractor disrupted operations through intimidation of supervisors and damage to property and equipment. The share traded up almost 2% in afternoon trade but the company worth some $510m has lost more than a tenth of its value on the Toronto bourse since halting operations and is down close to 50% over the last twelve months.

Platinum, palladium to resume uptrend soon Commerzbank looks for Platinum to rise into year-end. These markets “tightened considerably” last year due to a rebound in demand following the recession-related weakness of the previous year. “The

Reuters reports Zimbabwe could take over mines that fall short of laws requiring them to sell majority stakes to locals by September, a government minister said on Wednesday. Mineral-rich Zimbabwe has the world's second largest known platinum reserves after neighbouring South Africa and foreign miners working there include Zimplats Holdings, a unit of Impala Platinum, global mining giant Rio Tinto, and Anglo Platinum.

South Africa's Pilanesberg Platinum mining operations remain halted more than a week after employees of a contractor disrupted operations through intimidation of supervisors, industrial action and damage to property and equipment. The company said in a statement released on Monday its concentrator has operated at full capacity throughout and produced a record amount of metal in June. Platmin has lost a tenth of its value on the Toronto bourse since halting operations and is down more than 40% over the last twelve months. The mid-tier producer has a market capitalization of some $510m.

Exchange traded funds that invest in platinum and palladium were lower in the first half of 2011 on concerns about the global economy, the Japan earthquake and the European debt crisis. Platinum and palladium are precious metals like gold and silver. However, they are also favored for their industrial uses, such as automobile production.

Police have arrested two men in connection with a theft of platinum worth over NT$44 million from a high-tech company in Hsinchu County, officials said yesterday. Police also managed to recover 18 kilograms of platinum from the suspects during the arrests in Taoyuan