Every Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly. Reported here is this Friday’s At the Coalface transcript:

Kamwendo: A public-private working group has been established to support South Africa’s ferrochrome industry.

Creamer: This is a very important move. We used to be dominant globally in ferrochrome, because we have the most chrome in the world. Automatically, we wanted to add value and produce ferrochrome, which is essential for stainless steel, but because of the heart-breaking way in which Eskom was mismanaged in the past, the price of electricity got so high that we became uncompetitive. The people who manufactured stainless steel had to do their own ferrochrome and they had to import the chrome from South Africa, which is not a good idea, because the ferrochrome is so many times more valuable than chrome. Now, Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau has announced that a working group, it is a public-private working group, has been established to give ferrochrome a new long horizon. This is very important for jobs because ferrochrome used to produce massive amounts that contributed very well to our GDP and to employment. To get it back is going to be very good.

Kamwendo: New South African diamond jewellery entrepreneurs have been introduced to the local market.

Creamer: I think De Beers needs a pat on the back, particularly at this time when the diamond price is so low, when it’s not easy to be in that business. De Beers has now created another four diamond entrepreneurs. It adds to the ten that they have produced before. It means that you have got locally empowered people who become rough diamond purchasers. They cut the diamonds, they polish the diamonds, they create diamond jewellery. They market the diamonds, they distribute the diamonds and they even repair the diamond jewellery. They have been groomed to do this by a company that was put in position by De Beers called Raizcorp. This business incubates entrepreneurs. It really is such an important thing for us to have entrepreneurs. We also now, through this process, have a new empowered diamond sightholder. So, you can have a South African going to places where rough diamonds are bought. They have what they call sightholdings. Then the South African can buy diamonds that are perceived to be suitable in bulk. These can then be used by these entrepreneurs to beneficiate diamonds, which means add value to diamonds, an activity that is very attractive in South Africa.

Kamwendo: Investment in digital platinum is soaring, the World Platinum Investment Council reports.

Creamer:  The platinum price is not responding in the way it should. Even though demand for platinum is high, the price does not reflect that, because there are so many people who have stockpiles of platinum on surface. Every aspect of platinum needs to be boosted to get its price up and eventually it will go up. What they have done now, they have worked with the Royal Mint in the UK, which has been dealing in precious metals 1 100 years plus. One would think they would be old fashioned but they have now gone for DigiPlat, a digital base of platinum where you can buy platinum 24-hours of the day, seven days a week, from anywhere in the world. You don't have to buy a set volume, but you buy at price level. So, you might get a portion of a bar of platinum or you might get a full bar.  You’ve got a situation where you now hold this platinum, you are in control and the mint only stores it for you, as a custodian. You can buy the platinum at any time and you can sell the platinum at any time, and this way of purchasing platinum is soaring, because the price of platinum is low, the price of gold is high, so people going for precious metals now look for a good deal that will grow in value. Investors are confident that the platinum will rise in price. The increase in digital investment in the first quarter of this year was 133%, which shows that investors are realising that platinum presents a good opportunity and this is great news for South Africa, because South Africa hosts the biggest volumes of platinum reserves and we need to get the price up to reinvigorate the platinum group metals mining business.

Kamwendo: Thanks very much. Martin Creamer is publishing, editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly. Martin will be back at the Coal Face at the same time next Friday.