Welcome to another edition of Mining Prospectus, with more positivity in the air, after a torrid 2017 that saw only the strong survive, while others fell by the wayside.
It has been encouraging to see many of South Africa’s key precious metals firming up, platinum has shown the most promise of late, with only gold taking a back seat. Positive markets don’t usually suit gold, which relies more on negative sentiment.
It goes to show that share pricing often goes in cycles, and the people who make the most money long term are in it for the long term.
Speculative buyers will at times cash out to avoid rock bottom. If your pockets are deep enough, rock bottom is where you pick up the best premium stock deals.
Unfortunately much of the political noise around the elections is still reverberating and one hopes that potential future president Cyril Ramaphosa can provide more stable and sound leadership. Only time will tell.
One thing that many can agree on is that he can’t be any worse than ‘The Donald’, who continues to put his foot in his mouth on a regular basis. I’m still not sure if it’s all an act to create a certain narrative, or is he just not that clued up on foreign affairs or emotional intelligence?
Do we need an overhaul of the way politics is conducted and managed?
Most management structures and business ideologies change constantly to keep up with the latest trends. How has politics kept up with the latest trends? We are moving away from pyramid structures of having a singular boss, to more flat forms of management.
The days of one person making all the decisions should be looked at. As we embark on our journey through 2018, let’s hope cool heads prevail and South Africa claws its way back out of the recession, into more fertile soil for doing business.
