Aim- and ASX-listed Jubilee Metals has achieved record production levels at its South African chrome operations, both on monthly output for March and for the quarter ended March 31 – which is the third quarter of the company’s 2024 financial year. Chrome output of 408 710 t in the quarter compares with the 381 114 t of chrome produced in the second quarter of the year.

Minerals Council South Africa is focused on increasing the domestic demand for green hydrogen, which it sees as contributing to the kickstarting of the hydrogen economy in South Africa. “The applications that we’re looking at are stationary as well as mobility applications of using hydrogen within the mining industry,” Minerals Council modernisation and safety senior executive Sietse van der Woude outlined during last week’s Hydrogen Economy Discussion covered by Mining Weekly.

This week: Use underground mines for electricity storage, optimise mine water use; Market development of full PGMs basket is essential, Industry Day hears, and, South Africa well placed to benefit from huge green hydrogen outlook

New York- and Toronto-listed Platinum Group Metals, which is emerging in South Africa’s Waterberg, on Tuesday provided an update on its new light battery technology that points to increasing potential of palladium and platinum playing a key energy density and weight-lowering role in cumbersome battery electric vehicles (BEVs), where they currently play no part. Amid the market development of platinum group metals (PGMs) being collectively emphasised by South Africa’s PGMs mining industry in unprecedented fashion, Platinum Group Metals restated its goal of this year creating prototypes for commercialisation consideration this year.

The Bushveld Geology and Metallogeny Research Chair was announced on Friday at Wits University. The Research Chair, based in the Wits School of Geosciences, will conduct research in geology and metallogeny, foster a new generation of highly qualified industry-based geoscientists, and create awareness about the importance of the Bushveld Complex. The Research Chair, worth R40 million over five years, is supported by African Rainbow Minerals, Dwarsrivier Chrome Mine, Northam Platinum, Rustenburg Platinum, and Sibanye-Stillwater Platinum Mines. 

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.