It’s man vs machine as Implats faces up to change
Platinum miner has tough calls to make to lift Rustenburg mine
If Nico Muller, Impala Platinum's CEO, succeeds in the job he was called in to do, it could become a test case for conventional platinum miners in South Africa that are competing against lower-cost mechanised mines, such as Anglo American Platinum and Northam Platinum. Faced with high operational costs and low platinum prices over the past five to 10 years, how can any conventional miner invest more capital in its operations if the life of conventional mining in South Africa's platinum mines is already declining? Not even the best CEOs in the industry can change that fact.Some 60% of the companies in the industry are making a loss, with only the mechanised operations and a few modernised conventional mines making money. Industry analysts say if the current platinum group metals environment persists, conventional platinum miners, such as Implats, will struggle to sustain their operations for more than five years. The platinum price has slumped 37% in the past five years. Implats's sh...
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