We spoke to Andrew Hinkly, executive head of marketing, to tell us more about Anglo American Platinum and its new exciting rural electrification project that launched on 5 August 2014.
What is the importance of platinum to the country?
Platinum is one of the rarest metals hidden in the earth’s crust and it just so happens that South Africa is endowed with 80% of the world’s platinum. This puts South Africa and Anglo American Platinum in a position to explore the many opportunities that platinum poses beyond its traditional applications. Opportunities that can boost the economy, create jobs and provide an interesting new future for the world.
But first, what is platinum?
Platinum is a rare precious metal that is also an excellent industrial metal. It is silver in colour and is harder, heavier and more expensive than gold. Its high melting point and unique physical and chemical properties make it ideal for many industrial applications and the world’s best jewellery. Platinum also has five other platinum group metals (PGMs) that are present in the same ore. Palladium and rhodium are two of its well-known sister metals.
The most common use of platinum in the world today (54%) is for catalytic converters. They are used for pollution control devices that are fitted onto car exhausts to limit carbon emissions. The rest of the world’s platinum is used for industrial applications (26%), jewellery (16%) and investments using exchange traded funds (4%) – where people hold on to the metal as they would gold bars. But, there are a host of other, beneficial applications of platinum that are currently being explored by the company that will ensure the long-term sustainability for the platinum sector with added job creation and economic upliftment for South Africa.
Getting more out of PGMs
As the world’s leading primary producer of platinum, Anglo American Platinum accounts for about 40% of newly mined production across the globe. Therefore, it is in our interest to explore the uses of platinum, which is why we have set-up the Platinum Group Metals Development Fund (PGMDF) – a fund dedicated to the development of new markets and increase the use and application of PGMs in the global environment.
These new markets are created through investments into research, technology development, commercialisation and marketing. New demand segments include water treatment, batteries, electrochemical systems, medical devices, electronics, recycling and energy – all of which can be done with platinum.
If all these markets are fully developed, this could spell massive benefits for the country through economic upliftment through foreign investment and job creation.
Fuel cell technology – platinum powers communities
One of the exciting new technologies involving platinum is fuel cells. Fuel cell mini-grid electrification technology is an attractive, cost-competitive alternative to grid electrification which can be used in remote areas and can viably accelerate access to electricity.
Platinum fuel cells offer an efficient, low carbon option when comparing it with supplying rural communities with power from diesel generators. Unlike other green alternatives like wind power, these fuel cells can produce power whenever the demand exists and with no reliance on weather conditions.
Anglo American Platinum is currently conducting a field trial of this new platinum technology in partnership with Ballard and the Moqhaka Municipality, providing power to 34 households in Naledi in Kroonstad.
This is the first-of-its-kind in South Africa and is ideal for low-to-medium communities who are approximately 8km away from existing power transmission lines and in difficult terrain, of which there are many. Fuel cell mini-grids are best suited to smaller communities of 50 to 200 households, consuming up to 3kWh of power daily.
The technology used to power Naledi consists of three platinum-based, 5kW fuel cell stacks, each with a methanol reformer. They are integrated into a power generation system that includes batteries, DC/AC inverters, controls and a methanol fuel supply tank.
In rural communities in South Africa, access to electricity has a profoundly positive social and economic impact. This eliminates the need for these communities to rely on hazardous materials like paraffin and wood for cooking and heating. Electricity in homes and schools improves the quality of education, and the ability to pump water for irrigation facilitates farming and income generation.
The economic impact of platinum fuel cells
These fuel cells offer the country an opportunity to create a new, high-tech manufacturing sector in South Africa. Thousands of jobs could be created in South Africa throughout the platinum fuel cell value chain if the technology is deployed for rural electrification. These jobs could include component manufacture, assembly and integration, design, installation, servicing and maintenance and fuel supply, and local beneficiation.
This aligns with the objectives set out by governments National Development Plan and this not only creates jobs but also develops a new market for PGMs, which supports and sustains mining jobs.