Platinum is rallying on labor unrest in South Africa as contagion threatens to push the precious metal’s price even higher.
Reports of spillover of the labor activism that began at Lonmin’s Marikana mine to surrounding mines, like Anglo American Platinum, is likely to provide further support to the price of platinum group metals.
Platinum surged 9% last week on the potential for further cuts in supply. [Podcast: Platinum ETFs]
Already Lonmin’s operations have been shut down for two weeks, and there are suggestions its not just the platinum industry being affected, with Goldfield’s CEO warning of potential problems for other mining companies after a ‘goslow’
from Goldfields workers. [Platinum ETFs in Focus]
It appears very unlikely that while the power struggle between the main mining unions, the National Union of Mineworkers and the upstart Associated Mineworkers and Construction Union, continues that the threat of production cuts will continue to loom over the industry.
ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (NYSEArca: PPLT)
