The Best One can do Now !

  The best one can do now is hold onto sections of stocks one knows are going to be needed in future to supply the needs of the world popula...

About Me

Retired but always looking for new challenges.
Showing posts with label minerals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label minerals. Show all posts

Thursday, December 1, 2016

The year that was !

This has been a year  in which there have been more financial  and political shocks worldwide than normal.Growing  populations have become more restive and even rebellious as the recession lingered on. At year end America is well on the way to recovery and the first sprigs of recovery are seen in Europe and Asia. As always Africa is lagging. 
How ever a pleasing change has been seen on the African Continent as populations strive for more accountability and less graft  top of government officials. This is playing itself out especially here in  South Africa as we strive to avoid  downgrades in our borrowing to junk status. As many other major countries have failed this test of morality we have for a second time avoided this fate.
It must be remembered that we produce 80% of the world platinum group metals and also a full range of base metals and minerals.
How ever at the present price of platinum, around $900 per ounce it is being produced at a loss. There is already a shortage of 20% in  ounces, per annum, built up and as fuel cells and other catalytic converters are needed for cleaner air become the vogue. In the last ten years the price has suddenly spurted by a couple of hundred USA dollars per ounce! this exciting event can happen again. Do remember it takes five years to ramp up and open mothballed areas in existing mines and a great deal longer in new developments!
I wish all our readers,Google and our advertisers all the best for 2017.




Tuesday, November 1, 2016

THE NEXT PHASE IN METALS AND MINERALS USE Part 2 MINING MODERISATION

  All systems are go to arrest the present decline in mining activity, and overcome the obstacles out there. The easy mining ore bodies are fast becoming the thing of the past.
 Public and private companies, with workers are beginning to work together to preserve jobs, income and tax revenue.
  Modernising and research into methods of refining especially in South Africa which has always been a world leader in this regard as during the last hundred years we were the world leaders in production of platinum group metals ,gold and diamonds. An added source of income is the production of equipment to further these activities now been developed.
  These activities will lead to sustainability of the mining environment over the next half century.
  Of great importance now is safety of workers at extreme depths in tunnels and difficult mining circumstances.
  Remote control of machines will keep workers out of harms way for the most part in dangerous areas. Narrower machines are already working and more innovative ones are being built.
Backfill of pulverised rock now has many advantages as it stabilises the ground in worked out areas avoids unsightly heaps of  ground and in generally more environmentally friendly.
The greatest advances are continually been made in refining of complicated metals such as precious metals as well as more basic metals in seperation by using enzymes instead of the old methods such as sieves to seperate the various elements from the waste rocks. This also results in greater recoveries and more profits.
IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO ALSO READ PART 1  PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER ALSO THE STRIPPING OF RESOURCE ASSETS mentioned in the posts in the side-bar to get a continuity picture of the whole subject in South Africa.

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Thursday, September 1, 2016

THE NEXT PHASE IN METALS AND MINERALS USE Part 1

   First of all lets take stock of the present position ! The world is in such a deep recession that although newly mined material in many circumstances does not nearly cover  the present use of these minerals and metals and in other instances just about does.
   Where then is the supply coming from ,one may ask? Obviously from stock piles built up in the past years.
  Prices are very low and in some instances continue to fall. Production is falling even faster and in some cases there are delays in being able to have a continuity of supplyIn the past alarm bells would have been ringing and money that is needed to ramp up production would be forthcoming for the obvious boom to follow!
   Not this time as governments have messed up their economies with quantitative easing etc. spending and printing money they have no backing for and it seems keeping the recession/depression going ad-infinitum!
   The good news is that we need these mined products to keep and expand our lifestyle as populations in developing economies keep growing and in first world countries grow older.
    Eventually demand will return and then there will be explosive activity  to try to supply these products in the shortest time.
    To make ends meet mines are sticking to old methods at the moment and  to ramp up sustainable production would take at least five years. Billions of US$ would required to start new workings would take at least a ramp up period of ten years to reach full production in most ventures, but first investors must be sure that there must be a sustainable need for that particular metal or mineral!