As platinum producers close mines at an alarming pace and on a devastating scale, the only silver lining might be that the metal's price will finally be lifted from persistently low levels. Impala Platinum announced earlier this week that it would slash 13,000 jobs and close five shafts over the next two years. While the restructuring is shattering for employees and has attracted a strong reaction from the department of mineral resources, the stock market took the news in its stride. In fact, the share price was buoyant after the Thursday morning announcement and closed 3.3% higher on the day. The platinum metal price also reacted positively and was nudged upwards from $818 to beyond $830 on the day. That is because, along with the job cuts and the shaft closures, 230,000 oz of the precious metal will be taken out of the market. Arnold van Graan, mining analyst at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking said the restructuring and resultant loss in production, "is probably a key ...
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