South Africa has uranium deposits, but it was the platinum group metals sector just a few short years ago that was radioactive to many investors. Five years ago, about 70% of the shafts in the sector were lossmaking, waylaid by depressed prices, soaring costs and frequent spasms of violent labour and social unrest.
The sector’s fortunes have since had a dramatic turnaround. Productivity improvements, including mechanisation in some cases, have helped. Rising wage costs have also been contained. More recently, surging prices, notably for palladium, the key catalyst in petrol engines, have flown to the bottom line of PGM producers. And a weaker rand has also helped the cause of commodity exporters.
“The progress made in the strategic repositioning of Implats over the past several years enabled the group to successfully navigate the challenges created by the unprecedented external shock of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said CEO Nico Muller, an unassuming but highly regarded executive who has been spearheading the company’s turnaround.