![]() However, the Canadian company Majescor demonstrated that if one can get around the political situation, the potential results will be worth it. Companies like Newmont were reluctant to take interest further as political violence, crony capitalism and a lack of transparency would counter any progress made. The investment into Haiti’s gold mines is a gamble. ![]() Foreign firms feel that the government is not providing enough leeway to start mining. The present situation is somewhat similar. ![]() They have twice abandoned Haiti due to political unrest and while they have returned to explore the northern region of the country, there is still no real commitment to gold mining. Their experience in Haiti is typical of the problems that have stopped real investment into the country’s gold mines. One of these stakeholders was the American firm Newmont Ventures Limited. It seemed as if the untapped golden potential of Haiti would never be realised.įrom the late 1990s and onward though, Haiti saw $30 million worth of investment to explore its land for gold and other minerals. Companies were put off by the authoritarian regime led by Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier. Yet, this revelation did not lead to foreign direct investment. In the 1970s the United Nations Development Programme confirmed the existence of gold in Haiti in abundance. The Spanish did so first, followed by the French, until Haiti emerged as the world’s first independent black state. Haiti’s history is littered by exploitation of its minerals. Yet, poor governance and corruption has led to a lack of foreign investment and the fear that any potential investment in the sector will not be felt by the wider population that desperately needs it. The mass poverty in the country could be at the very least reduced by gold mining. However, there is an estimated potential worth of $20 billion in precious metals, including gold, located in the North of the country. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and its economy contracted by more than 5% following the devastating 2010 earthquake. Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin make up the top global platinum producers.Haiti’s hidden gold may hold the key to alleviating its socio-economic issues however this will be dependent on political stability and the absence of crony capitalism. ![]() Platinum deposits are largely concentrated in South Africa, with the country supplying around three-quarters of the world’s demand. Despite platinum’s troubles and gold now trading above it, that reputation has stayed. Platinum traditionally traded at a higher price than gold and combined with platinum’s rarity compared with gold, “platinum” as an adjective has come to be associated with a higher level of prestige than gold. As consumers and manufacturers moved away from diesel in the wake of Dieselgate, platinum lost out to palladium, which performs better in petrol vehicles. Platinum’s primary use has been in catalytic converters for diesel vehicles – 45% of the platinum sold in 2014 went to the automotive industry. The namesake of the platinum-group metals is also the worst-performing on the market, having taken a huge hit from the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Given its rarity in the earth’s crust, it tends to form a small portion of a PGM miner’s portfolio. Like other PGMs, iridium is mined as a by-product of nickel, and like other PGMs, iridium’s biggest deposits are in South Africa and Russia. Though it is also a catalytic metal, because of its high melting point and resistance to corrosion, iridium is the preferred material for crucibles. Iridium is nearly as dense as the densest metal osmium and is the most corrosion-resistant metal element, resistant to air, water, salts and acids.īecause of its hardness, iridium is difficult to fabricate into usable parts, but the same characteristics that make it difficult to work with also make it a valuable additive for strengthening alloys. Iridium is one of the rarest metals in the Earth’s crust, with annual production of just three tonnes. Today, China, Australia and Russia form the top three gold-producing countries. At its peak in 1970, South Africa produced 32 million ounces of gold, accounting for two-thirds of the world’s gold production. Until the 1970s, South Africa was the dominant gold producer, but production has declined since then.
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