smh article

http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/unsung-jewel-in-investors-crown/2007/10/14/1192300601563.html

From SMH article

Returning to South Africa, the locally listed Platinum Australia is definitely an up-and-comer on the Bushveld scene.
It could receive the mining lease for its Smokey Hills project in the Bushveld as early as today, after its directors spent last week in South Africa ironing out final terms with the Government.

Like Aquarius, and the Xstrata takeover target Eland Platinum, Platinum Australia is one of a new breed of platinum companies. They picked up ground that the majors were forced to give up, after the collapse of apartheid, under a new "use it or lose it policy".

Platinum Australia completed a feasibility study on the $US40 million Smokey Hills project last year and has already ordered long-lead time items. The company expects the mine to start producing its 100,000 ounces a year in the middle of next year. At spot prices, its capital costs would be repaid within about three months.

Platinum Australia's managing director, John Lewins, said his company wanted to expand its resource base in the area through an acquisition or a joint-venture deal with other parties in the area. His neighbours include Anglo Platinum and Impala, the country's two largest producers.

Beyond Smokey Hills, Platinum Australia is earning a 49 per cent share of the $US88 million Kalahari Platinum project, which is in South Africa, but outside the Bushveld. The Kalplats project is undergoing a bankable feasibility study and could produce 300,000 ounces a year from an open pit.

Platinum mining has not yet occured in Australia, but it is a distinct possibility in the future. Platinum Australia owns one of the most promising projects, the Panton find in Western Australia. Panton was uneconomic when the platinum price was lower a few years back but could produce up to 40,000 ounces a year if the numbers now stack up.