FERRO ALLOY - News Platinum Group Element

I would appreciate if members could clarify on this news of Platinum Group Element found in Orissa which appeared in one online edition called news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20061114/507876.html. What exactly is this "Platinum Group Element"

New mineral ''Platinum Group element'' found in Orissa
Bhubaneswar | November 14, 2006 6:46:01 PM IST

A new mineral known as ''Platinum Group Element'' has been discovered in Orissa, Steel and Mines Minister Padmanav Behera today said.

In response to a written question of Aswani Kumar Patra, Mr Behera said the new mineral was discovered in the baula mines area under possession of IMFA, FACOR and OMC Limited.

The state government, he said, had accorded permission to the FACOR to include the new minerals in their new chromite mining lease, which was yet to be executed.

The Minister said on completion of the mining lease, the concerned company would be entitled to explore the new mineral as per the Mining Concession Rules, 1960.

Mr Behera further said both IMFA and the OMC Limited had also applied to include the new mineral in their mining lease. He, however, made it clear that the three companies could not explore and transport the new mineral from their respective mines as long as it was not incorporated in the mining lease as per section 27 (1)(b) of the Mining Concession Rules, 1960.

UNI DP SJC VD HT1802

This is an old new pertaining to the above.

FACOR strikes platinum
Dec. 8th, 2005
NAGPUR: The Tumsar (Bhandara) headquartered Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR) has discovered traces of platinum - a rare and hence expensive metal - at its Bhadrak chrome ore mine in Orissa.

This is the first time that platinum has been found anywhere in the country. Sources close to the company said that though traces were found almost a year back, the company is still in the process of finding out if it would be viable to commercially exploit them. It will take some time to ascertain the quantity of platinum present in the mine. Several samples have been sent to laboratories the world over for analysis, sources said. They said, it was too early to say whether mining for platinum would be commercially viable but when such a decision is taken, a joint venture deal may also be stuck with global giants in the field. Platinum is a naturally occurring precious metal that is 35 times more rare than gold. It is generally 95 per cent pure while 18 karat gold is only 75 per cent pure. Some of its other notable qualities are strength, density and pliability. On December 5, platinum reached its highest-ever price of $ 1006 (Rs 46,276) per ounce (troy) in international markets. One ounce is equal to 31.1 grams. The price of gold, on the other hand, was $ 510 (Rs 23,460) per ounce. Both the precious metals are expected to become even costlier in coming months. Platinum, besides being used in jewellry, is used in cars’ catalytic converters, which help control vehicle exhaust and protect the environment. The medical field has also greatly benefited from platinum’s unique properties. Because it is not affected by the oxidizing reaction of blood, platinum has excellent conductivity and is compatible with living tissue. Therefore, it has been widely used for pacemakers. Additionally, it has the ability to prevent the division of certain living cells, a remarkable characteristic which has meant application in cancer-treatments. Platinum’s distinctive qualities have been employed in the treatment of ovarian, head, neck and testicular cancers. Like gold, platinum and its alloys are used for dental restoration. Procedures such as inlays, crowns and bridges all rely on platinum. Platinum is also used in electronics and glassmaking equipment. Indeed, its possible uses seem endless. FACOR mines chrome ore from the Bhadrak mine and converts it into charged chrome which is used in the steel industry. The company belongs to the Saraf family, which belongs to Tumsar, some 80 km from here, but most of whose members now stay in Nagpur. Earlier an unified company, FACOR was trifurcated into three companies by an order of Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) about two years back. FACOR, with its head office at Tumsar, was one of the companies which came into existence after this order. The other two companies are FACOR Steels Limited, which has its plant at MIDC, Hingna and FACOR Alloys Limited, Vijayanagaram, Andhra Pradesh. All the three companies are headed by Umashankar Agrawal, the family patriarch, as its Chairman.

I don't know about that piece of news or realted news.

But according to chemistry and geography - Platinum group means metals like Platinum Iridium Rhodium Palladium which occur (almost always) together.

So if you come up with a mine for Platinum, you can expect all these realted metals to be found there.

Similar case is with Silver Lead Tin and Zinc

PS: all these Platinum group metals are used as catalyst and special (white) jewellry.

And oh they are also used in precise scientific instruments.

I had heard this news about a year back. Main consideration is the commercial potential (viability, to begin with) of the finding.

Another company to look out for is DECCAN GOLD MINES. Any news of confirmed gold reserves and you pounce & grab the stock!!

Regards,
Kalyan.

Yes, Kalyan, it is an old news, I do have some quantity which I purchased when it was 15.00 later some news were there that the due to some trouble with one of the partners the mining operation was stalled and it has started in septmber 2006 and the result should be out by September 2007 or earlier.

Thanks for the other company Deccan, Would appreciate if some more names could be dropped which deals in precious metal minings.

KKSEAL, Thanks for informing about Deccan Gold Mines, I did a little bit of research on this script. It comes under "HIGH RISK HIGH RETURN" and according to various news it seems that even if they strike gold, the might transfer the profit to their parent company which will not lift up the stock even if they strike gold. As you know majority of the companies in India would like to keep goldmines to themselves and not give anything to retail investors. Could you comment on this!

As far as i know DGM is a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of an Australian mining company. They have been granted lease for the mines by the govt of India, is registered in India, will have to pay taxes here So profits from the mining operations in India will have to show up in the books of DGM and not the Australian parent.

Yes, off-course all such stocks are high-risk-high-return and as such you shouldn't put all your money into them; in fact i'd advice not putting in ANY money till there is confirmation of the findings. Just be on the look out, that's all.

In fact i had a research report on DGM but lost it due to a hard disk problem. I'll post the same in this thread if i manage to get hold of it again.

Regards,
Kalyan.