Sibanye Gold Says Volkswagen's Troubles Won't Demolish Platinum Prices

Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBGL) has stated that the recent Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal won’t hurt platinum prices as much as many are expecting, Mining Weekly reported. Sibanye recently bought Anglo American Platinum’s (JSE:AMS) Rustenburg operations in South Africa, and has also acquired Aquarius Platinum (LSE:AQP).
As quoted in the publication:

In the view of Sibanye Platinum CFO Justin Froneman, the key issue to unpack is whether or not the VW emissions scandal will result in a consumer backlash.
“You are seeing some numbers coming through that support a consumer backlash but we don’t think it has long legs,” Froneman told Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online during question time at the analyst and media conference Sibanye called on Tuesday to announce its planned acquisition of the Sydney-, London- and Johannesburg-listed Aquarius Platinum.
Froneman’s rationale is that the VW debacle looks like probably being a US issue only and one centring on nitrogen oxide (NOx) rather than on carbon dioxide (CO2), caused by VW skimping on the trapping of NOx, a leading cause of smog and acid rain, which can be captured by a catalytic converter, as has been standard equipment on most gasoline cars for decades.

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