By FIONA ROTHERHAM
Platinum, which has doubled in price in the past two years on the back of high-tech hunger, has become a target for minerals explorers in New Zealand.
The world price for platinum is at record highs of $US550 an ounce, compared with gold at around $US280.
Platinum group metals (PGMs), including platinum and palladium, are at the cutting edge of industrial applications. They are in demand for car exhaust catalytic converters, jewellery and for use in emerging fuel cell technology.
Since 1997 demand has outstripped supply largely because one of the world's biggest producers, Russia, has at times suspended exports.
New Zealand annually imports around 22kg of platinum group metals, mainly platinum for jewellery and electrical use.
The price rise has sparked several so-called junior explorers - the smaller, more high-risk venturers - to seek permits to explore for PGMs in the South Island.
And local company Prophecy Mining is close to making a final decision on a $5 million public float to raise funds for further platinum exploration.
The unlisted company is substantially owned by Heritage Gold chief Peter Atkinson. Float plans have been deferred for some time until world prices improved.
Exploration activity is mainly over the Longwood Ranges of Southland, northern Stewart Island, near Bluff and at Riwaka in northwest Nelson.
At present there are two mining permit applications before Crown Minerals from a couple of local operators wanting to take alluvial platinum from Southland rivers.
Three exploration permits covering 34,655ha have been granted and 8 exploration permit applications over 19,621ha are being considered. As well, there are 9 prospecting permits either granted or under application.
The most important target is thought to be the Longwood Range which, geologically, bears striking similarity to the Stillwater complex in Montana, the biggest platinum mine in the United States. That mine took around 8 years, including years of serious drilling, to get the first decent strike.
Alluvial platinum has been mined along all the rivers and beaches around the Longwoods for more than 100 years. The 1890s gold miners would throw away the uneconomic platinum byproduct when panning for gold.
No one has yet found the lode source.
Interest in New Zealand's potential emerged in the 1980s by Kiwi platinum explorer Sigma Resources NL before it was taken over in the late 1980s by parent Delta Gold.
Crown Minerals senior geologist Colin Douch said alluvial and hard rock platinum prospects had commonly been neglected in favour of gold recovery.
Most active in recent years has been Vancouver-based Anzex Resources, a specialist Australia and New Zealand PGMs explorer. In the past three years it has cast its eye over most of the prospective platinum areas in New Zealand.
After boardroom battles last year, it scaled back its exploration to focus primarily on the Stewart Island Anglem complex. It surrendered its Longwoods exploration permit this year.
Anzex was the first to drill on the Longwoods complex. In 1998 it spent around $1 million to prove for the first time the presence of hard rock platinum and palladium in the area.
This prompted renewed interest in the precious metals, with several other Canadian companies talking with Kiwi explorers holding good platinum targets. No deals have yet been cemented.
Another Canadian company, Blackstone Resources, also recently relinquished its Longwoods permit before exploration because of lack of funds.
Commonwealth Resources, majority owned by Commonwealth Gold of London, was set up four years ago to look for gold and platinum in New Zealand. It is planning a big exploration programme this summer through subsidiary Holistic Energy.
"We appear to have a lot of the same geological strata as the South African and American platinum projects but the reality is no one has ever put enough money into it here," said managing director Ken Copland.
Until now, the company's focus has been on a proposed $150 million silicon metal refinery near Invercargill.
DoC administers the two most likely platinum prospects, Longwoods and Riwaka. This could provide access problems for explorers.
Access is seen to be the single biggest impediment to investment in New Zealand minerals exploration.
Mining consultant and platinum explorer Peter Waterman said New Zealand's perennial lack of venture capital had hamstrung platinum exploration despite its prospectivity.
Tony Naldrett, a leading platinum expert, said before Anzex drilled four holes Longwoods was the only complex of its type in the world with known platinum mineralisation never to have been drilled. Where Anzex drilled is part of the DoC estate, but in an area considered to be of marginal conservation value.
Soaring price puts focus on platinum in them thar hills
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.