From North County Times, Escondido, CA
The soaring price of platinum is set to have serious consequences for the automotive business and other industries using the precious metal in environmental technologies.
The platinum price has soared to all-time highs past $1600 an ounce on a cocktail of problems in South Africa, not least the energy crisis that has also sparked record gold prices. The mining industry there ground to a halt after state electricity generating company Eskom admitted it cannot maintain supplies.
While that sent the gold market into turmoil — more than a tenth of the world’s gold comes from South Africa — the problem is even more acute for the platinum market. About 78 percent of the world’s platinum is mined in South Africa, in areas already affected by heavy rains.
"Electricity is the lifeblood of the South African mining industry, and a whole range of problems that has beset the platinum miners has already meant a supply deficit to their clients," said Ross Norman, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.
"High platinum prices are not good for the automotives using platinum in catalytic converters or indeed in a whole range of other industries in which the ‘green’ applications of platinum are used."
Copyright (c) 2008, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.
