YIKES... Zimbabwe Herald talking up gold and platinum LOL
Gold, platinum prices pick up after dramatic fall
Business Reporter
PRICES of two of the top metals, platinum and gold, have begun to rise after a dramatic fall towards the end of last year.
Platinum, which lost about 45 percent of its value and sank as low as US$850,50 an ounce, has since picked up and is now hovering around US$1 000 an ounce.
Gold, on the other hand, is yet to find its feet after flip-flopping around US$850 an ounce.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce World Markets has increased its 2009 gold price prediction from $900/oz to $950/oz and introduced a 2010 gold price of $1 050/oz.
In a recent report, CIBC metals analysts Barry Cooper, Brian Quast and Cosmos Chin said: "We further expect pure gold plays will outperform gold/base metal mixed plays in the current environment, especially since the latter has not suffered full adjustments to the lower pricing regime for copper and zinc."
While the recovery in platinum and gold prices will be welcomed by most mining companies, the impact on the local industry involved in the production of the two commodities would be mixed. Mining analysts believe that the rebound in prices would be more beneficial to the platinum industry than the gold mining industry.
"Platinum is not regulated as the gold industry and, as such, it has more free rein, hence the companies involved in platinum mining are better placed to reap the rewards of these increases.
"Gold mining companies, on the other hand, have been failing to access foreign currency from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and, as such, they have shelved operations, a factor that has seen output tumbling from 28 tonnes to three tonnes per annum.
"Until this situation is rectified, the industry will continue losing out on these gains in gold prices," said the analyst.
Other analysts said both industries would also require the enactment of micro and macro-economic policies that create an enabling environment for them to operate more efficiently. "At the moment the operating environment is very restricting due to the hyper-inflationary environment in the country and unless this is attended to, our mining companies will continue to struggle and fail to optimise on the gains," said another analyst.
Chamber of Mines chief executive Mr Joseph Malaba acknowledged the difficulties, calling for urgent solutions to avoid further drawbacks.
herald.co.zw |
