INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

mainly trade in polished diamonds but we are expanding into the alternatives with people’s free cashflow, as a result of interest rate hikes, making things more difficult and leaving less money in pockets. We are looking at lab-grown diamonds, moissanites and similar products. It’s not a small base but it’s not huge – our client is not the man on the street, it is the jewellers.”

The company boasts 3D CAD, CAM, casting, finishing, stone setting, and diamond sourcing to ensure products are surrounded by integrity.

PGM EXPANSION employs a combination of pyro- and hydrometallurgical refining to result in a high level of purity. Here, while historically strong with gold and silver, the company expects to grow in PGMs as demand continues to surge. more than 30 people and is bolstering its jewellery offering with the addition of more gemstone business.

Well-documented challenges in the country’s electricity supply have hampered the big platinum producers, leaving a shortage in supply against a backdrop of surging demand. Reports suggest that 2023 will see a 28% rise in demand – to 8.2 million ounces – and the price is already sitting above its five-year average.

“We are expanding more in the gemstone side where we have a polished and rough diamonds operation,” highlights Wiese. “We

Precious Metals Tswane’s key offering, and the biggest part of its multi-million rand turnover, is the refining process. Efficient, environmentally-conscious, competitively priced, technologically advanced, and highly accurate, the methodology used by the company

“That is where we are expanding,” says Wiese. “Our main source of revenue is the refining of metals and the local market, unfortunately, is not large enough. We are thinking of expanding and we are looking regionally at markets in SADC. We have gone to various countries and looked at the market