News

November 18, 2008

Braemore Resources Turns A Profit On Platinum Smelting In South Africa, But Nickel In Australia Is A Tougher Proposition

By Alastair Ford

There’s not much point picking up precisely where we left off with Braemore Resources: plenty’s changed since Hamish Bohannen presented at Minesite towards the end of last winter. Plenty’s stayed the same too. What’s changed is that Hamish is now long gone. In his place has come a new and more formidable team comprising ex-Anglo man Leon Coetzer as chief executive, and ex ANC exile and former governor of Mpumalanga Dr Mathews Phosa as chairman. What’s also changed is that metals prices are not as benign as they were a year ago, and it’s getting harder and harder for Braemore to get the numbers at its Leinster nickel project in Australia to stack up.

What’s stayed the same is that in South Africa Braemore Resources still aims to become the first black empowered independent smelter of platinum and associated group metals (PGMs). And in that department there’s been a whole lot of progress over the past 12 months, even if the platinum prices has been dropping like the proverbial stone and taking sentiment towards Braemore with it. In the meantime, Braemore’s also suffered over the year from a perception that there’s been an element of drift...