More mine shafts might be forced to shut because of union militancy, soaring costs and low platinum prices due to the sluggishness of the global vehicle industry.
The path blazed by gold, which has made the South African industry lean, mean and profitable, will not be an easy one for platinum to follow in this highly charged new era of social discontent, union rivalry and global economic woes. But platinum is essential in the manufacture of motor emissions-cleaning catalytic converters, and about 80% of the world's known platinum reserves are in South Africa.
But high costs and low prices are squeezing the industry. Power and labour costs have been soaring and are far higher than a decade ago when the gold sector was slashing jobs on its way back to healthy profits, Mineweb says. "I think the platinum guys are just starting to work out what the gold industry has been through. So they have some hard decisions to make," said Mark Cutifani, CEO of AngloGold Ashanti.
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