Whether today s price levels for platinum should be viewed as a buying opportunity or not will depend upon one s view of the overall economy. If one expects a v-shaped correction from the febrile pace of last year, then now is the time to buy. If the US and the rest of the world move into recession, demand might not be as strong. Eventually, however, dollar strength will peak, to be followed by decline. When the dollar weakens, all of the precious metals stand to benefit.
Platinum mining is a very expensive, very dangerous business.
Deep mining for platinum ore involves putting men thousands of feet underground, in hot and often unstable geological conditions. Furthermore, miners must be highly trained and knowledgeable about working in such extreme conditions, to ensure safety for all involved and efficiency for the firm. Thus the drive for automation is strong, though difficult to implement in mine conditions. Nevertheless, an article in Mining Weekly describes how innovations in stoping technology look likely to allow Anglo Platinum to realize an 8-fold improvement over existing underground drill and blast techniques. Anglo Platinum s drill operators, who are nearing an average age of 50 years, must drill some 30 million holes a year underground in order to sustain the company s platinum group metals output.