January 19, 2022 – The surge in crime and its impact on all aspects of life is not limited to US cities alone. The niche platinum and palladium mining industry is feeling the effects of this lawlessness in the critical market of South Africa. The impact from this violence, along with increasing general operating costs, is likely a primary factor in today’s big move up in prices for these precious metals. At the time this piece was written, palladium ramped up $110 per ounce and platinum rocketed up $52 per ounce.
Platinum and Palladium are essential industrial metals and both are rarer than gold and silver. The vast majority of platinum and palladium come from mines in South Africa and Russia alone. The mining industry of South Africa has been in decline for years due to the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Now, rampant violent crime is directly targeting miners and thus adding to the woes of this vital industry. The gory details of the situation are provided in The Wall Street Journal article: Violent Crime, Rising Costs Put South Africa’s Mining Industry in Deep Hole.
The flight from financial assets to real assets is pushing the price of all the precious metals higher; gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The unique supply/demand situation for platinum and palladium, in conjunction with the general move to real assets, is compounding the price move up for platinum and palladium, which are outpacing those of gold and silver.
The PMC Index® is the ideal way to track the broader precious metals market since it factors in all four precious metals.