SOUTH AFRICA has long been synonymous with gold. In 1980, the
yellow metal accounted for half the country's exports. At the
height of apartheid, a British comedian even lampooned American
rap singers for wearing so much gold—while their lyrics shouted
black pride, their choice of accessories supported white racism.
These days, gold is looking a little tarnished. Among South
Africa's exports, it has been pushed into the silver position by
platinum. With the gold price depressed and platinum soaring to
a 13-year high this week (see chart below), South Africa's
mining-industry association expects the country to earn 29.9
billion rand ($3.9 billion) from the main platinum-group metals
(platinum, palladium and rhodium) this year, compared with 26.8
billion rand for gold.  South Africa has over half the world's
known platinum reserves—about 270 years' worth at current levels
of production. Its platinum miners are scrabbling to dig more of
the stuff. Anglo Platinum, the world's largest platinum miner,
plans to expa