An annual African mining conference in Cape Town will be the focus of investors' attention on the Johannesburg stock exchange next week, when the world's second-biggest platinum firm will also release results.
On Tuesday, the so-called Mining Indaba kicks off in Cape Town. It brings together all the movers and shakers in the industry and is often the source of dozens of updates on mining group's plans and government regulation.
The meeting runs until Thursday and major representatives of mining groups like Anglo American and BHP Billiton will be there.
"It's important, but it also keeps fund managers out of the office, so sometimes there's a week's delay before the orders come in," said on head dealer.
On Thursday, Impala Platinum releases its results. Headline earnings per share for the six months to end-December are expected to fall 49 percent to 15.50 rand, according to a consensus estimate of six analysts surveyed by Reuters.
The forecasts were in a range of 14.10-17.00 rand. Headline earnings strip out exceptional earnings and their tax effects.
In December, Implats warned investors that its interim profits would fall more than 30 percent. It said a 28 percent appreciation in the rand in the first half had caused revenues per platinum ounce to slide by 23 percent, but operational efficiencies and costs remained satisfactory.
Outside the mining sector, investors will look to the release on Wednesday of insurer Mutual & Federal's annual results. M&F is the subject of a take-over bid by its biggest shareholder Old Mutual, but minority shareholders have said they would fight the offer to buy them out as they considered it too low.
On Thursday, retailer Woolworths Holdings is due to release its first half results.
Investors have a taste of what is to come, with a trading update earlier this week that it expected earnings to rise by 10-30 percent in the six months to end-December.
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