Johan Odendaal
MD: Southern Palladium
‘We are preparing to progress to a definitive feasibility study which is expected to be completed in 2025’
JAN Odendaal is an optimist and then some. Mining developers have to be; they have to believe in their projects and their ability to develop them. But at some point, reality has to be brought into the equation and the reality for Southern Palladium is not good. It’s ugly out there in the platinum group metals (PGM) space. How ugly? Well, according to Northam CEO Paul Dunne it is “very unlikely any newcomer is going to come into this business”. Southern Palladium’s Bengwenyama project is on the Eastern Limb and it’s apparently shallow, which is beneficial.
No doubt Odendaal and his chairperson, Roger Baxter, would retort that Dunne is talking to his own book because he does not want any more competition in the depressed sector. According to Baxter in November, the Bengwenyama project would still work even if prices fell 15% from where they were then. Southern Palladium is ASX-listed so perhaps it will attract funds from Australian investors where there’s institutional familiarity with mining risk. The North American market may also prove a source of funding.
Baxter said last year the company had opened some doors following a roadshow in places like Toronto. One possibility is for Southern Palladium to raise a slug of money via a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. As we say, though, putting serious money into Southern Palladium or any similar platinum start-up at this stage would require a big leap of faith.
LIFE OF JOHAN
Odendaal is a heavyweight mineral economist with a BSc degree in geology, a BSc Hons degree in mineral economics and an MSc in mining engineering. His career experience includes 10 years as an independent mining consultant and 12 years as a financial analyst. He headed mining research for South African broking firm Huysamer Stals and spent several years at Merrill Lynch as a vice-president. He is also director and the co-founder of a mining consulting firm Minxcon, founded in 2005. He was appointed MD at Southern Palladium in May 2022.
