Platinum Expanding Most in Metals as Lonmin Doubles Earnings

Investors expanded their platinum holdings in funds faster than for any other precious metal this year, in a bet that mining companies digging as deep as 1.4 miles underground will fail to meet record consumption.

Assets in exchange-traded products rose 14 percent to 42.8 metric tons, valued at $2.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prices will rally 14 percent to a three-year high of $2,050 an ounce by Dec. 31, based on the median estimate of 25 analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg. Lonmin Plc, the third-biggest producer, will double profit this year, and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the second-largest, will report a 49 percent gain, the mean of analyst estimates shows.