Can this be the PGM market’s next big thing?
THE hydrogen economy was supposed to be platinum’s salvation, but it is turning out to be the lightest of lifelines. Deployment of electrolyser capacity, the technology that…
Platinum Week cognoscenti agree the metal will keep rolling on
PLATINUM has been on the wrong end of the Middle East crisis falling 13% since hostilities between the US and Israel and Iran began. Yet industry mavens who gathered for the…
Is this a new era for platinum? Its miners think so
SINCE the decline of gold production in the 1990s, platinum has become South Africa’s most valuable strategic metal, and among its most important economically. Of critical raw…
The stunning rebound of South Africa’s PGM producers
EXACTLY two years ago, Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne, who is also president of the Minerals Council South Africa, warned that a severe squeeze on the platinum group metals…
Hybrid vehicle sales will buoy platinum until 2026
THE SURGE in the platinum price over the past month to above $1,385/oz may be followed by a short-term correction, but it is expected to continue appreciating in the remainder of…
Southern Palladium goes north in search of money
ROGER Baxter, former CEO of the Minerals Council South Africa, is recently back from meeting North American investors to whom he’s been extolling the virtues of Southern…
Time to let out the handbrake on platinum group metals?
The JSE’s four largest platinum miners cut nearly R30bn in planned capital and stay-in-business expenditure in February in a clear vote that the metal’s price, and those of its…
Amplats launches R10bn plan to stave off tough 2024
ANGLO American Platinum (Amplats) today announced plans to slash costs and cut expenditure for a total saving of R10bn in 2024 in an effort to stave off the twin effects of lower…
PGM miners face fight for survival if price downturn persists
A DASH for cash might be on the cards for South Africa’s haemorrhaging platinum group metals (PGM) sector if current spot prices persist for much longer. That’s the thinking of…
Sibanye-Stillwater to cut 287 jobs at US mine as palladium halves
THE grim prospects for the palladium price has forced Sibanye-Stillwater into a fresh round of restructuring at its US mine Stillwater Mining. Sibanye-Stillwater announced today…
A counter-consensus argument for PGM prices is beginning to emerge
IT’S been a horrible year for platinum group metals (PGM). Platinum and palladium prices, which comprise 70% to 80% of total South African production, are down 9% and 48% over…
Sibanye CEO asks shareholders to hang in for ‘ah-ha’ moment
SIBANYE-Stillwater will move into net debt next year as capital expenditure from its battery minerals project pipeline ramped up, the miner said in a presentation on Tuesday.…
SA manganese miners unsure how EV demand will work for them
ASK any mining executive involved in the manganese industry about the metal’s prospects in electric vehicle batteries (BEVs) and you’ll likely get some hemming and hawing. The…
How the wheels came off for SA’s platinum group metal miners
“We didn’t see it coming” are not the words investors typically want to hear. But it was a refreshingly honest take from Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne, when asked about the…
Does new Amplats CEO Craig Miller have what it takes?
INCOMING Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) CEO Craig Miller ought to have an easier ride than his predecessor. In her three years as boss of the platinum group metals (PGM)…
Ghana to process first lithium locally, says minister
GHANA is to process its first lithium locally to ensure it maximises its revenue from the metal, said Bloomberg News citing the country’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources…
Andrada targeting an asset level investor to fasttrack lithium production
ANDRADA Mining CEO Anthony Viljoen said his company was shooting for an asset-level joint venture as it sought to fasttrack lithium production. The AIM-listed firm said on May 11…
Andrada starts process for strategic partner as seeks to accelerate Uis lithium plan
ANDRADA Mining may take on a strategic partner to accelerate the development of lithium production from its Uis mine in Namibia. Uis, previously operated by Iscor for tin…
Zimbabwe miners call on Mnangagwa to lift export ban on lithium
LITHIUM stockpiles in Zimbabwe have grown to two million tons after the Southern African country imposed an export ban on the battery material in December, said Bloomberg News.…
Project risk and volatile pricing makes lithium a different order of risk for Sibanye-Stillwater
SIBANYE-Stillwater achieved great success correctly picking platinum group metal (PGM) prices from about 2015/16 when it initiated an acquisition strategy that eventually took in…