Higher metal prices open options for Implats in restructuring plans
Price and improved operations give Impala Platinum choices about how best to implement its restructuring plans
An improved price for the metals Impala Platinum produces has given it flexibility in how it pursues its restructuring, a process to which the board has an unswerving commitment, says CEO Nico Muller. While the platinum price has remained depressed, the strong surges in sister metals palladium and rhodium have given the SA industry some respite. There is some hope that in the next year or two the platinum price will stage a recover as the metal is reintroduced into autocatalysts in petrol-powered engines, substituting the more expensive palladium, Muller said. The global palladium market is in a structural deficit and has been for many years as demand outstrips supply from Russia and SA, the two largest sources of the metal.
With the palladium price more than $500/oz more expensive than platinum, which is trading at about $812/oz and no signs of palladium supply matching demand any time soon, autocatalyst makers are moving closer to substituting palladium with platinum, Muller...
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