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Platinum is already very well embedded as an indispensable catalyst in the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) technology that very impressively powered the Toyotas that chauffeured delegates during last week's B20 and G20 global summits in Johannesburg.

Now, the precious metal that South Africa hosts in greater abundance than any other country on earth could also find that its remarkable catalytic qualities are utilised by battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as well.

This is because platinum group metals (PGMs) have been found by Florida International University to be able to extend the life of lithium-sulphur batteries for the betterment of not only sustainable mobility but also for renewable-energy storage, and to have potential to be a significant efficiency and sustainability boost for electricity grids as well.

New York- and Toronto-listed Platinum Group Metals Limited reiterates this in its latest 2025 annual results, in which the Canada-based company makes clear that it is continuing to advance the use of PGMs in lithium battery technologies by way of Lion Battery Technologies, which is highlighting the benefits that PGMs can bring to the lithium battery space.

Interestingly, Platinum Group Metals Limited spelt out in a media release to Mining Weekly that it is also continuing to take the Waterberg project on the northern limb of South Africa's PGM-rich Bushveld Complex in Limpopo province towards a development and construction decision.

While this is underway, the company, headed by CEO Frank Hallam, is continuing to collaborate with an affiliate of South Africa's Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Valterra Platinum and Florida International University to take PGMs to the next level. Valterra, it should be noted, is the company that last week chauffeured B20 and G20 delegates around Johannesburg in Toyota Mirai cars, which are FCEVs.

Valterra led a mine-to-market FCEV display, which involved South Africa's Sasol providing the hydrogen, Air Products dispensing the hydrogen, Bambili Energy providing the South Africa-manufactured membrane electrode assemblies for the fuel cells, and Bosch, providing the fuel cells.

On top of this, it is envisaged that the use of PGMs in BEVs will be achieved by allowing the catalytic contribution of PGMs to extend the life of lithium-sulphur batteries significantly, through the addition of nanoparticles of platinum to the sulphur side of the battery so that the tiny particles can work at molecular scale to ensure a cleaner, greener and healthier tomorrow.

This comes against the background of diversified demand for PGMs having already extended well beyond the automotive, jewellery, investment, and hydrogen sectors into the fibreglass, semiconductor, health and even food preservation sectors in what many see as "only the beginning".

Interestingly, research and development by Florida International University is repeatedly pointing to the lighter weight and higher energy density of lithium-sulphur batteries as important competitive advantages engendered by PGMs.

"The unique properties of PGMs as powerful catalysts are being applied to various technologies as possible solutions for more efficient energy generation and storage, which may create new demand for PGMs.

"The company's battery technology initiative through Lion with partner Valterra represents one such new opportunity in the high-profile lithium battery research and innovation field," Platinum Group Metals Limited stated, while also pointing out that the investment is creating a vertical integration with a broader industrial market development strategy to bring new PGM-using technologies to market.

Lion's reiterated target is to develop batteries with specific energies that are 20% to 100% higher than current...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer says South Africa's PGMs could get a boost with China’s platinum futures exchange debut; good news for the Phalaborwa rare earths project with a surge in the European prices of yttrium; and Mining Weekly was recently taken around Johannesburg i

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The commitment of one of the largest black-empowered businesses listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to transition towards a low-carbon future while continuing to meet current energy demands through coal operations took a major leap forward on Thursday through a 213 MW combined wind and solar renewable energy acquisition and maintenance transaction.

In yet another iteration of the commitment to power possibility through a just and inclusive energy transition, JSE-listed Exxaro Resources, through its wholly owned Cennergi subsidiary established in 2012, has entered into binding agreements with Acciona Energía to acquire majority interests in two fully operational renewable energy assets.

These are the 138 MW Gouda Wind Farm in the Western Cape and the 75 MW Sishen Solar Facility in the Northern Cape.

The deal also involves Exxaro's Cennergi being the entity responsible for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of both assets.

The timing linked purchase price will range from between R1.7-billion to R1.8-billion.

The transaction is described as one that strengthens the position of the coal-anchored Exxaro as a growing energy solutions business, as well as in acquisitive growth in energy transition metals.

"Exxaro is not only investing in cleaner energy but also securing long-term, stable, and sustainable value for all our stakeholders," Exxaro CEO Ben Magara emphasised in a release to Mining Weekly.

Both assets were procured under Bid Window 2 of South Africa's Energy's renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme and sell electricity to Eskom under 20-year take-or-pay power purchase agreements, Sishen until 2034 and Gouda until 2035).

Gouda and Sishen are held 54.9% by Acciona Energía, 25.1% by Celenex - a majority owned Royal Bafokeng Holdings subsidiary - 10% by Soul City broad based empowerment company, and 10% by local community trusts.

The transaction includes Acciona's 80% stake in Acciona Energy South Africa O&M, an operations and maintenance company, providing services and parts to both Gouda and Sishen. The remaining 20% stake is owned by Soul City.

This acquisition is set to increase Cennergi's net operating capacity by 117 MW, from 200 MW to approximately 317 MW, representing a material expansion of its operational base.

The acquisition is viewed as accelerating the execution of Exxaro's sustainable growth and Impact strategy by bringing the company closer to its 2030 goal of 1.6 GW managed net renewable energy capacity.

It is also seen as broadening Cennergi's footprint across South Africa and uplifting predictable earnings through long-term, inflation-linked power purchase agreements with South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom and backed by National Treasury.

Exxaro executive head of energy Leon Groenewald highlighted the geographical diversification and scale that the transaction brings to Cennergi.

"It brings us closer to achieving our goal of reaching 1.6 GW of capacity by 2030. Acquiring the O&M company allows us to provide asset management and O&M services to two additional utility-scale renewable energy assets," Groenewald pointed out.

It also provides skilled staff, advanced systems, and expertise to strengthen Cennergi's position as a South African renewables management and O&M provider.

The transaction closing date, which is expected to occur in the first half of 2026, will coincide with the transfer of ownership of the sale equity to Cennergi.

In addition to coal, Exxaro has equity accounted investments in iron-ore and base metals, with a manganese transaction currently underway.

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Physically settled platinum and palladium futures contracts and futures options will commence trading on November 27 on China's Guangzhou Futures Exchange, which is cracking a world first by taking delivery of sponge, an advance that is highly attractive to industrial and automotive end users. Up to now, exchanges have only been prepared to take delivery of platinum ingot and bar.

Despite being the world's largest consumer of platinum group metals (PGMs), China has typically been a PGMs price taker, with only its varying levels of imports impacting on international price discovery.

Now, the listing of platinum and palladium futures is seen as increasing the influence of China's future demand expectations on global price discovery.

Moreover, the provision of an alternative mechanism to gain exposure to platinum and palladium supports broader liquidity and the overall effect is viewed as being a major boost for South Africa's world-leading PGMs endowment in that fabricators can register their future production under a 120% bank guarantee and price risk hedging across the supply chain will likely lower buyback discounts.

Guangzhou will publish stock holdings daily amid rising hope of a link-up with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to bring a ready-made green finance derivatives system to South Africa.

"The launch of the Guangzhou Futures Exchange and the fact that it's open to international participation, means that China's future demand expectations can begin to be reflected in the price discovery process, and that's going to be quite beneficial to the market," World Platinum Investment Council research director Edward Sterck pointed out to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

As with other futures exchanges, exposure will need to be collateralised with physical platinum in exchange approved warehouses as margin against short positions.

This may result in a demand draw as volumes increase. Since the platinum-trading Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) offers only one-way trading with purchase for delivery, Guangzhou is positioned to attract two-way domestic volumes.

Platinum volumes have averaged around 0.8 t a week on SGE, well below average spot trading on London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The latest available data for Osaka Exchange Platinum Standard Futures trading volume as of November 21 was 7 157 contracts.

In the view of Sterck, Guangzhou is going to be of significant benefit on many different levels.

To begin with, it will increase liquidity in China and eventually increase liquidity globally. "If you look at the platinum trading volumes on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, as an example, they average only about 4 t a week, whereas if you look at, say, NYMEX trading volumes, it's more like 200 t a week. So, clearly, the ability to bring into play another derivatives market within China has the potential to massively scale up liquidity there."

The exchange makes platinum more accessible as an investment. It also uplifts platinum an industrial metal to the end users within China and eventually to available to international participants, which creates another avenue by which arbitrage can take place on the regional pricing differentials between London, New York, Japan and China.

Again, that helps to increase liquidity and the availability of platinum to market participants. The other thing to bear in mind is that within China, there has historically not been an easily accessible way to manage price risk for end users.

"For example, jewellery manufacturers or the fabricators of investment products or automakers don't have the ability necessarily, to easily manage their price risk. As a result, particularly when it comes to...

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Even though there is consensus that gold has probably already hit its 2025 high point and is unlikely to go beyond the all-time-record it set in October when it breached the $4 300/oz mark, a Santa gold rally during the Christmas period and into year-end should not be ruled out.

Also, while the incomplete reopening of US administration is encouraging, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) needs to return with key risk-assessment data required by the Federal Reserve as all eyes focus on December 10 when a further interest rate change could have implications for gold.

Moreover, the indication of the US Supreme Court that tariff implementation is probably beyond executive office scope could also impact.

These and several more points are made by World Gold Council senior market strategists John Reade and Joseph Cavatoni in their latest episode on gold market developments, gold price movements, the impact of political events in Washington, and year-end gold predictions.

The World Gold Council's latest GoldHub also provides an update on China's gold market, where stability and growth are prevalent, and on India's peak Diwali and Dhanteras peak gold-buying occasions.

Regarding China, World Gold Council research head in China Ray Jia reports that gold capped further gains in October, with wholesale gold demand defying seasonal patterns, rising to 124 t.

Chinese gold exchange trade funds (ETFs) added 34 t worth at $4.5-billion last month, and gold futures volumes surged at the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

The People's Bank of China, which has reported gold purchases 12 months in a row, added 0.9 t in October, lifting the total to 2 304 t, 8% of China's foreign exchange reserves and 24 t higher than at the end of 2024.

Looking ahead, the recent Chinese gold market value-added tax (VAT) change is likely to put pressure on local gold jewellery demand as the sector is impacted by additional tax. But consumer sensitivity to price may also be lessening as the gold price has been rising steadily for more than three years now.

The VAT change does not apply to gold bars sold by Shanghai Gold Exchange members, gold ETFs or gold accumulation plans, and there may be further room for growth in gold bar sales, as consumers may purchase them for jewellery making purposes, Jia adds.

World Gold Council's Reade and Cavatoni also analyse the sentiment from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and London Platinum and Palladium Market Global Precious Metals Conference 2025 in Kyoto and the implications of upcoming economic data on gold prices, amid gold calming down from its $4 300/oz October breaching and correcting below $4 000/oz.

"Gold now seems to have stabilised broadly around the $4 000/oz level," said Reade, based on conversations with participants at the LBMA conference in Kyoto, for example.

"I think that seems to be the consensus that we've probably seen the highs of the year.

Based on conversations on the US side, Cavatoni agreed and spoke of the US sentiment being the same - "pretty calm, pretty much interested in looking forward at the gold price and understanding that the short-term volatility is something to expect.

Reade: I was speaking to a couple of hedge fund managers that I chat to from time to time, they expect the same. They think most of the work has been done in gold this year, but don't rule out a bit of a Santa rally into Christmas and into the end of the year, as fund managers want to establish positions that they can have for 2026 and also show their chief investment officers that, yes, they're the gold guy, and they are long gold. Never does any harm with that. Now, Santa rallying is something that comes through in equity markets, particularly in the US sometimes, so into the holiday season ...

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The economics of South Africa's Phalaborwa rare earths project in Limpopo province has been uplifted very materially by the 3 000%-plus surge in the European prices of yttrium, a silvery white, moderately soft, ductile metal used in the aerospace, energy and semi-conductor industries, to name a few.

Yttrium, as reported by Mining Weekly earlier this month, is now included in the Phalaborwa resource and the project is expected to produce 213 t yttrium oxide a year as part of the high-purity, mixed product, which already has neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium in its proposed samarium, europium, gadolinium (SEG+) product basket.

SEG+ serves as a foundational material for downstream separation and refinement into high-purity rare earth products used in magnets for wind turbines and electronics.It is a mix of all the economically important medium and heavy rare earths.

The Phalaborwa project, which is expected to produce 213 t yttrium oxide a year as part of the high-purity, mixed SEG+ product, is turning out to be very distinctive in that it hosts commercial quantities of the full gamut of economically important rare earths. Its medium and heavy rare earth elements (REEs) are enhancing the outlook for the earnings before income taxation depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of the London-listed Rainbow Rare Earths.

"This price increase positively impacts annual estimated Ebitda for Phalaborwa as there will be no extra cost to produce it as part of our proposed SEG+ product," Rainbow Rare Earths CEO George Bennett commented.

Inclusion of yttrium in Phalaborwa's SEG+ mixed rare earth product could add $30-million to the project's annual estimated Ebitda at the lower range of the European price, based on a conservative SEG+ payability of 70%.

The price of yttrium oxide 99.999% cost, insurance, freight - CIF - Europe started the year, according to Argus Media data, at about $6/kg. It has since risen to between $220/kg and $320/kg, the large spread the result of differing pricing contracts.

Shortfalls have emphasised how extensively yttrium is used across civilian high-technology and defence applications.

Phalaborwa is a near-term and low-capital intensity source of all the economically and strategically important rare earths, with prices expected to stay elevated.

The project is one of the world's most resilient rare earths projects at a time when these elements are in growing demand for use in permanent magnets to help the world go green.

Involved is the first commercial recovery of REEs from phosphogypsum, which makes project developer Rainbow Rare Earths something of a pioneer.

The large-scale pilot plant was built as part of Rainbow Rare Earths' close collaboration since 2022 with South Africa's State-owned Mintek research organisation. The pilot operated at the high level of 20 kg per hour of feed, making it six to ten times the size of a normal pilot plant.

The availability of phosphogypsum is the result of the mining of a hard-rock phosphate deposit, which has been carried out by Foskor for more than 60 years.

The mined material is concentrated through a flotation process into a phosphate slurry, which over the period has been the feed for a nearby phosphoric acid plant, where two key ingredients were added, namely sulphuric acid and heat to create phosphoric acid.

An agreement was signed with phosphate mining company Bosveld Phosphates in June 2023 to ensure 100% ownership of the Phalaborwa project.

An interim economic study released in December 2024 proposed a project life of 16 years - two years longer than the one envisaged in the October 2022 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) - processing an average of 2.2-million tonnes of phosphogypsum a year.

The overall recovery rate of magnet rare...

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Africa's minerals are indispensable for a clean economy and these range from platinum group metals (PGMs), which power hydrogen and fuel cells, to cobalt and manganese, which will drive battery storage, and rare earths, which enable solar and wind technologies.

Valterra Platinum CEO Craig Miller pointed this out during a B20 event covered by Mining Weekly on Friday.

Interestingly, Miller created great B20 and G20 excitement by making use of a platinum-catalysed hydrogen fuel cell electric Toyota Mirai car that gave real-life visibility to the clean economy that this continent's PGMs can bring to the entire world.

"Our opportunity, and I dare say our responsibility, extends far beyond mineral extraction. It is to transform our natural endowment into a foundation for industrial growth that supports technological innovation, as well as shared prosperity across the continent," Miller highlighted at the event where African Continental Free Trade Area secretary general Wamkele Mene noted forcefully that all the signals, from the private sector and public sector, are dictating that "we have to seize this moment".

Transformation beyond extraction, Miller pointed out, required the activation of a set of enablers that together form the architecture of a thriving critical minerals ecosystem.

Needed first was an integrated forward-looking strategy embedded with clear and predictable rules and regulations.

Miller highlighted the next enablers as reliable feedstock, a fit-for-purpose infrastructure, affordable finance, a skilled workforce, and strong market access - the levers that determine whether value is created locally and at scale.

"And lastly, perception enablers, which are investor confidence and community confidence built on trust and transparency," he added.

Market development, "which I know many of us are incredibly passionate about", as well as market access, were singled out by Miller as the two most catalytic changes required to achieve industrial and economic development.

Market development and market access were, he said, certainly what would transform a mine into an industry and a resource into a sustainable future creation.

"Developing regional markets for our critical minerals - and for the technologies that use them - will shift Africa from being a source of raw materials to becoming a hub for refined metals, manufactured components and a clean-tech innovation.

"To do that, one of the things that is required is the support of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which connects 55 economies into a 1.4-billion-person market.

"It enables regional value chains in critical minerals, batteries and clean technologies.

"The African Continental Free Trade Area provides the scale to attract capital, the rules to build investor confidence, and a platform to integrate SMEs and innovators into the global supply chains.

"Too often we speak of investing in minerals as though this is primary about to mine the act of extraction.

"We must instead see that investing in an entire value, a creating ecosystem, yes, mining, but also processing and marketing those minerals to final product is an imperative for the countries where we operate and for Africa's people.

"It requires us to invest in logistics and infrastructure and into institutions which train skilled people, which support professional services and marketing capacity, as well as the sophistication of suppliers, from small businesses to multinational technology firms.

"And critically, we have to enable this through the policy, through regulation, taxation, and a legal environment, legal environment that allows the ecosystem to thrive.

"So, if we can all align on capital, on skills, on policy around these enablers, Africa will not just fuel the world's transiti...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the first-of-a-kind platinum and palladium derivatives approved by China; trade tensions influence on the platinum industry; and the new Africa partnership era that the Mining Indaba is helping to build momentum towards.

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Mining Weekly as well several B20 visitors were this week chauffeured around Johannesburg in a platinum-catalysed hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) that journalists attending South Africa's B20 Summit witnessed being refuelled by Air Products with hydrogen from Sasol relatively quickly, with a full tank providing sufficient energy for a 500 km to 600 km journey. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Six companies were responsible for the impressive display of mine-to-market activation, which elevated the status of South Africa's platinum group metals sky-high at a time of visiting B20 delegates.

The companies work collaboratively in a green mobility partnership that emphasises the local availability within South Africa of key ingredients needed to put FCEVs on the road at a time when South Africa's promising hydrogen corridor Project Rhynbow scheme is also progressing.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Valterra Platinum, as an official sponsor of the B20 Summit, led the mine-to-market display at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, amid an advertising hoarding that drew prominent attention to the vital contributions of Sasol, which has been producing hydrogen in major volumes in South Africa since 1950; Toyota, which provided the top-notch FCEV Mirai car that was used to chauffeur Mining Weekly on the low-noise drive around town; Air Products, which showed how refuelling speed is basically what we're used to with petrol and diesel; Bambili Energy, the women-led local manufacturer of membrane electrode assemblies needed in fuel cells; Bosch, the German giant that makes use of the products made by Bambili; and BMW, which in February last year was the car company that laid on 'sheer driving pleasure' to the Mining Weekly team with its BMW iX5 FCEV taking journalists around Midrand.

While President Cyril Ramaphosa was outlining the extent to which the hydrogen economy unpacks major potential value for the South African economy, Valterra Platinum principal: market development Fahmida Smith was reporting on FCEVs already giving taxi drivers a much longer range in Europe.

This followed Toyota new energy business development senior manager Anton Smalberger pointing out that "the best model we have is what we've seen in Europe", a reference to the fleet of 200 FCEV taxis in Berlin.

"As Anton says, it does make economic sense, because it's giving the taxi drivers much longer range, and longer use of the vehicle," Smith pointed out.

Instead of having a vehicle offline for a few hours while it recharges, the taxis come into a refuelling station and take a few minutes to refuel their FCEVs, giving them a lot more drive time.

"With that increase in drive time, they're able to then get to economies of scale. Within the South African context, we need to be cognisant that we don't have the large purse strings of Europe or the US or China, so we need to be very creative and innovative in how we do projects here, using the ecosystem approach," a reference by Smith to the combination of Valterra with PGMs, Sasol with hydrogen, Air Products with hydrogen transport and refuelling, Toyota and BMW with FCEVs, Bosch with accomplished global implementation, and Bambili and potentially more local companies with contributing manufacture.

"For us, the ecosystem is important. With this type of mobile refueller, you can have a mobile system very quickly on the ground," Smith remarked while standing alongside the mobile hydrogen dispenser provided by Air Products.

"As utilisation of the system increases, the price point decreases, and you can get to economies of scale a lot faster, eventually reaching the point of needing bulk infrastructure. You move away from the chicken-and-egg discussion and actively and innovatively drive ...

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The platinum market is expected to move to being in balance in 2026 - but this is contingent on a lessening of the trade tensions that have accentuated this year's substantial platinum market deficit of close to 700 000 oz.

Also to be noted is that a balanced market does not rebuild above ground stocks, which makes it very difficult to envisage a fundamental loosening of the tight market conditions that are likely to persist in 2026.

Meanwhile, on the way for 2025 is the third big consecutive annual deficit of 692 000 oz, which is a downward adjustment of 158 000 oz from the previous forecast thanks mainly to higher mining and recycling supply but with total 2025 supply still projected to be a five-year-low 7 129 000 oz and mining supply falling to a 5%-lower 5 510 000 oz, also its lowest level in five years.

On the demand side, total 2025 uptake of 7 821 000 oz is forecast, which is a 422 000 oz reduction on 2024, largely owing to the absence of expansions in the glass business.

On the 2026 supply side, a 4%-higher 7 404 000 oz is forecast owing to more recycling and 2%-higher mining production to 5 622 000 oz, while total demand is expected to contract by 6% (-436 000 oz) year-on-year to 7 385 000 oz. This fall is driven chiefly by an aggregated 540 000 oz swing in non-bar and coin investment demand, as warehouse stocks are drawn down from elevated levels on easing tariff-related uncertainty, with some profit taking by exchange traded fund (ETF) investors.

The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) has put forward a following year outlook in a current year Platinum Quarterly against the backdrop of trade tension-linked investment flows having accentuated the 2025 platinum market deficit in a big way.

"We've put forward our 2026 expectation of a broadly balanced market, going from a deficit this year of almost 700 000 oz to a 20 000 oz surplus, which is basically a balanced market for next year," WPIC research director Edward Sterck told Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview following WPIC's release of its Platinum Quarterly on platinum supply and demand movements for the third quarter of 2025, an updated forecast for 2025 and a first outlook for 2026.

While the expectation of a balanced market may be a bit of a surprise to many, it is heavily contingent upon an easing of trade tensions as well as ETF profit taking.

"In aggregate, those two segments contribute about 300 000 oz in change to the overall balance. Remove them, and we have a 300 000 oz deficit for next year, so the forecast of a balanced market is very contingent upon some fundamental changes in the way the world is operating right now.

"Trade tensions have persisted throughout the majority of this year. They've allowed the US to build up a significant strategic stockpile of critical minerals without the government having to fund anything. It's all been funded privately. This isn't just platinum, it's other metals as well.

"Then, in terms of ETF holdings, at one point we were up more than $700/oz in price terms, yet we still didn't see anyone selling their holdings on a net basis, so it's contingent upon things changing in that regard next year.

"Why did the price move this year? Well, one possible reason, and there are a few others we could discuss as well, is that above ground stocks fell to unsustainably low levels, approximately from May of this year.

"A balanced market doesn't solve that. Above ground stocks would need to be replenished for us to see the tightness come out of the market, and that would require a substantial surplus in 2026," Sterck explained.

Ongoing trade tensions would turn 2026 into another year of supply falling short of demand.

Platinum tightness remains, which is reflected by extremely high lease rates and deep backwar...