Platinum Australia announced further wide zones of target grade mineralisation at the Kalahari Platinum Project. The firm said that the results continued to build its "confidence" in the continuity of wide zones at the project. It also said that it was undertaking a further drilling study with the possibility of establishing resources for the prospect.

Northern Shield Resources, a small platinum exploration company based in Ottawa, believes it has found significant platinum resources. After re-interpreting data from the 1960s, the firm found an intrusion at its Highbank Lake Property. According to the firm it is a layered intrusion complex and Mining Weekly reported that it could be half the size of the Bushveld Complex. "There are many crudely fractionated mafic bodies in Canada that explorationists label as layered as a marketing gimmick but Highbank is truly well layered," said Chief Executive Officer Ian Bliss.

Nkwe Platinum announced that it expects significant resources to be discovered at its Genorah Project. Initial investigation confirmed 12.4 million ounces of platinum group elements but as only 40 per cent of drill holes have been analysed there is potential to double this resource. Managing Director of Nkwe Platinum said that the drilled area used to calculate the resource was about ten per cent of the surface area of the project.

Meanwhile, Barrick Gold Corp announced that it had completed a feasibility study on the Sedibelo platinum project in South Africa. The firm said that it will decide whether to pursue the project in the future but it estimates that total production could reach 4.76 million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold. According to reports from Bloomberg, it predicted that annual output in the first five years would be about 240,000 oz.

Amseco has announced high platinum, palladium and rhodium values at the Thetford Mines. Bertrand Dufour, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emseco, said that early results indicated the presence of precious metals in between chromite layers in pyroxenite units over several metres. This rock is part of the Thetford mines ophiolitic complex which is known for its chromium potential.

Japan announced an agreement with Brazilian mining company Vale for the exploration of metals in Africa. The partnership will see the pair team up in search of rare metals and minerals using satellites. The news follows an announcement last year that revealed that Japan was looking to search for rare metals from space. Platinum is an area of strong interest for Japan due to its rising price and the level of demand for the precious metal in hi-tech goods.

This month Braemore also announced that it had signed a subscription and farm-in agreement with Pan Palladium. The venture intends to evaluate the feasibility of developing and mining the Grass Valley Platreef Project. The project has an estimated 3.6 million ounces of platinum group elements (pge) as well as significant resources of nickel and copper. David Russell, acting joint Chief Executive Officer of the firm said that he was delighted with the agreement. He said the agreement would also provide the firm with the potential for a 35MW smelter which will include a base metal refinery.