The market development aspect of the platinum group metals (PGM) industry is fundamentally key, it was repeatedly stated at last week’s 2024 Resources for Africa Platinum Day. There is strong consensus that PGMs are amazing metals that are incredibly useful as future green metals across a broad range of applications.

Hydrogen could play a key role in addressing South Africa’s pressing energy challenges and platinum group metals (PGM) will have a pivotal role to play in the hydrogen economy, as the metals are a catalyst in many of the processes in the value chain. It is also critical for the country to act now to undertake projects and build up component manufacturing capacity so that this is in place when demand increases.  

With the platinum group metals (PGM) basket price remaining at low levels, particularly with platinum pricing at about $935/oz currently, investors are looking at how mining companies are able to generate free cash flow, the cost of their operations and their commodity mix. Commenting on investors’ sentiment towards PGMs at the moment, JP Morgan metals and mining equity analyst Catherine Cunningham says investors favour the companies that are best able to weather the storm, should it continue for longer.

Metal markets analyst Dr David Davis, who passed away this week at the age of 77, was closely associated with the platinum, gold and uranium mining and investment for more than four decades.  Known for his relentless pursuit of data pertaining to global supply and demand specifics, Davis earlier this year calculated, in a 25-page review for Auctus Metal Portfolios of Singapore, that overwhelming demand and declining South African mining supply were on the horizon for platinum in particular. 

Platinum group metals (PGMs) miner Zimplats CEO Alexander Mhembere is confident about the company’s ability to become cash-generative in the next financial year, which starts in July, despite the tough political and economic landscape of Zimbabwe and general PGM market challenges brought on by low prices. Addressing attendees at the PGMs Industry Day, in Johannesburg, this week, he noted that, even amid the current downturn in PGM prices, the company would be striving to maintain the bulk of its workforce and would not be hasty in “pulling the lever” on downsizing initiatives.

In this article, EY Africa strategy and transactions leader Quintin Hobbs writes about the growth in green hydrogen demand and the related growth in electrolyser demand. It is now clear that green hydrogen will play a pivotal role in the global energy transition, especially in hard-to-decarbonise heavy industry sectors that include chemical manufacturing, steelmaking, cement and transport. 

Platinum group metals (PGM) miner Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne firmly believes internal combustion engines (ICEs) are here to stay for the foreseeable future, which, in his view, will mean salvation for PGM miners that are struggling to remain profitable amid sustained low commodity prices. “The world is getting over the love affair with electric vehicles. There's no question about that. It certainly will not be a replacement for the ICE. However, it's capturing some market share, but ICEs will have a longer life and the lower metal requirement will be balanced by natural depletion,” he said at the PGMs Industry Day, in Johannesburg, earlier this week.

Martin Creamer talks about green hydrogen and platinum group metals.

Vancouver-based Flying Nickel has announced an inaugural 405 020 oz measured and indicated mineral resource at its Minago nickel and platinum group metals (PGMs) project in Manitoba’s Thompson nickel belt.   The mineral resource estimate (MRE), prepared by Mercator Geological Services, includes a total measured and indicated mineral resource of 125 700 oz of platinum, 279 330 oz of palladium and 689.53-million pounds of nickel.

TSX-V-listed Canada Nickel has initiated the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase for its Crawford nickel sulphide project, situated in the Timmins-Cochrane mining camp of Ontario. Spearheaded by Ausenco Engineering Canada, the FEED phase marks a significant step forward in the project’s development trajectory.