As a company focused on platinum, Platinum Group Metals has to be in
South Africa
.
South Africa
produces 78% of the world’s annual platinum and contains most of the world’s platinum reserves.
Platinum Group started work in
South Africa
in 2002, right at the time the new Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 (the "New Act") was proposed. The New Act created opportunities for new business transactions in the heart of the world’s platinum industry.
We focused on the Bushveld Complex which is the main geological feature for most of the world’s platinum production. Although the regular geology of the Bushveld Complex was well known and could be detailed on accurately published geological maps, as a result of the new operating environment and developing exploration culture, there were excellent opportunities available in 2002. Since 2002 as the platinum price has increased and the New Act has been shown to work well, the interest in exploration in
South Africa
has increased. Opportunities in the established trends are becoming harder to come by. Three of the companies that started in the new environment in platinum have been taken over recently.
Platinum Group was at the right place at the right time in becoming involved in
South Africa
. We believe that a new wave of exploration is likely to occur in
South Africa
involving areas outside the existing mines. We have a strong established technical team and infrastructure to continue to capitalize on opportunities focused on the platinum group metals and associated nickel and copper.
The economy of
South Africa
continues to grow and the benefits of the established democracy are reaching more and more people. The clear, stable mineral title and conversion to the New Act environment are having positive effects on the mining industry. There are still detailed issues and some circumstances to work out. The cooperative environment between industry and the Department of Minerals and Energy has been the general theme across the mining industry.
