Precious metals held steady amid low volume on the first trading day of 2012. Gold rose 0.2% to $1,567 per ounce and silver advanced 0.4% to $27.81 per ounce in electronic trading on Monday afternoon.
While markets in the U.S. and London remained closed for the New Year’s holiday, most European markets posted gains after a better than expected report on German manufacturing activity. The Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing purchasing-managers index rose from 47.9 in November to 48.4 in December, above the prior estimate of 48.1. Germany’s benchmark DAX Index rallied 3.0% to 6,075.52 following the report, while France’s CAC 40 Index climbed 2.0% to 3,222.30.
In currencies, sovereign debt concerns continued to weight on the euro, which dipped 0.1% to 1.2929 against the U.S. dollar and fell to a ten-year low of 99.49 against the Japanese yen on Tuesday.
Platinum Group Metals Moves Forward Toward Production
In August, Platinum Group Metals entered into a mandate letter with a consortium of financial institutions – including Barclays Capital and the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited – for a $260 million project finance loan to enhance the development of the Western Bushveld Joint Venture (WBJV) Project 1 Platinum Mine. Full Platinum Group Metals News Release.
- Preparation of detailed banking documents for the senior loan facility with the mandated syndicate of banks is ongoing
- The completion of this documentation, due diligence, hedging establishment and off take negotiations are expected to be completed during Q1 and Q2 of calendar 2012
- Project 1 is advancing towards a 275,000 ounce per year platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold planned production profile
- Full commercial construction is budgeted at $443 million and initial commercial production is scheduled for late 2013
