South Africa is the world's richest country in terms of its mineral reserves - worth $2.5 thousand billion - according to research by the American banking group Citigroup, reports Bloomberg. The Citigroup report, which was compiled by its mining analyst, Craig Sainsbury, says that Russia comes second after South Africa, and Australia third.
The research states that South Africa, Guinea, the Ukraine, India and Kazakhstan all have mineral reserves unrelated to energy worth more than $200bn. Mines in these countries also all have average life spans of more than 100 years at current rates of exploitation. Countries like Guinea and Kazakhstan with high resource values but limited mining activity could see greater demand from the world's biggest mining companies and foreign wealth funds, the report continues.
Sainsbury says Chinese mines have an average 17-year life of mine, according to surveys by the US Geological Survey system. Sainsbury says it's no wonder that China continues to invest massively in metals and mining, Bloomberg reports. He says that China is expected to continue investing in copper and iron ore, together with energy resources like coal and uranium. Of South Africa's $2 500bn worth of reserves, $2 300bn resides in the platinum group metals.
Russia's iron ore reserves are valued at $794bn - more than the Australian iron ore reserves, which are estimated to be worth $737bn. Iron ore reserves in the Ukraine, according to Sainsbury, are worth $510bn, and Guinea has bauxite (aluminium ore) worth $222bn. In dollar values Guinea, South Africa, India, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the countries that under-produce the most in terms of their reserves, says Sainsbury. India will need to increase its domestic production rates, especially in light of its economic upturn. But bureaucracy and national protectionism will probably scare off any foreign investors, the report declares.
Source : http://www.miningmx.com/news/markets/SA-richest-country-in-the-world.htm (http://www.miningmx.com/news/markets/SA-richest-country-in-the-world.htm)
[I remember a time when the Rand was stronger than the US$, as this article shows below. But because the jews own the minerals (Oppenheimers) and the reserve bank (Gill Marcus), this country is regarded a third world country]
A rand was worth more than a US dollar from the time of its inception in 1961 until 1982, when mounting political pressure combined with sanctions placed against the country because of Apartheid started to erode its value. The currency broke above parity with the dollar for the first time in March 1982, and continued to trade between R 1-R 1.30 to the dollar until June 1984, when depreciation of the currency gained momentum. By February 1985, it was trading at over R 2 per dollar, and in July that year all foreign exchange trading was suspended for 3 days to try to stop the devaluation.
By the time that State President PW Botha made his notorious Rubicon speech on 15 August 1985, it had weakened to R 2.40 per dollar. The currency recovered somewhat between 1986-88, trading near the R 2 level most of the time and even breaking beneath it sporadically. The recovery was short-lived however, and by the end of 1989 the rand was trading at levels of more than R 2.50 per dollar.
As it became clear in the early 1990s that the country was destined for black majority rule and one reform after the other was announced, uncertainty about the future of the country hastened the depreciation until the level of R 3 to the dollar was breached in November 1992. A host of local and international events influenced the currency after that, most notably the 1994 democratic election which saw it weaken to over R 3.60 to the dollar, the election of Tito Mboweni as the new governor of the South African Reserve Bank, and the inauguration of President Thabo Mbeki in 1999 which saw it quickly slide to over R 6 to the dollar. The controversial land reform program that was kicked off in Zimbabwe, followed by the September 11, 2001 attacks, propelled it to its weakest historical level of R 13.84 to the dollar in December 2001. [today its trading around R7-50]
Source : http://wapedia.mobi/en/South_African_Rand (http://wapedia.mobi/en/South_African_Rand)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73928.html (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73928.html)
I can't help thinking most of the world looks with envy at South Africa. Thats why they wanted to destabilise it, kill the Boers, make it communist etc.
With China withholding strategic metals (why wouldn't they? -if they have to one day fight the USA) everyone is going to be courting South Africa.
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