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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...

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The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the launch of platinum and palladium futures and options contracts on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, Heraeus reports.

The contracts will accept both sponge and ingot forms of the metals for physical delivery, a world-first among major futures exchanges, Heraeus states in its latest precious appraisal publication.

The derivatives are expected to strengthen domestic hedging capability and improve price discovery, the Hanau-based precious metals company reports.

Over time, the development should broaden market participation, increase liquidity and establish an onshore pricing reference for platinum group metals (PGMs).

This comes amid a period of significant structural adjustment in China's platinum market, following the removal of VAT exemption on platinum imports on November 1.

The policy changes triggered a surge in trading activity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, with volumes hitting a four- month high and averaging 982 kg a day in the week of 20 October and driving one-month platinum lease rates to 25%.

However, since the VAT exemption took effect, turnover has retreated sharply, averaging just 30 kg a day since November 1.

Mining Weekly can report that China, the single largest consumer of platinum globally, accounted for close to 30% of global platinum demand in 2024. The breakdown for 2024 was automotive demand 17%; jewellery demand 20%; industrial demand 31%; investment demand 32%, which accounts for 64% of total bar and coin demand, including investment bars equal to or above 500 g. China is also increasingly globally dominant in several PGM-consuming industries.

As reported by Mining Weekly earlier this year, the availability of platinum and palladium in ingot and sponge form is seen as a central point of the exchange trading of Guangzhou Futures Exchange, which has a focus on green commodities essential for the energy transition.

The ability to take delivery of sponge is seen as being transformative for industrial users of PGMs as well as automakers, as this is the main form typically used for their manufacturing purposes. No other exchange in the world allows delivery of sponge.

Other benefits of Guangzhou Futures Exchange's futures are viewed as potentially including provision of a mechanism for businesses to hedge price risk and better manage their operations, something which is currently not freely accessible in China. For example, the removal of price risk will allow platinum jewellery and investment product fabricators to reduce the premium charged for platinum products as well as the discount on buyback.

On the rhodium, ruthenium and iridium PGMs front, Heraeus quotes DigiTimes as reporting that hardware and semiconductor makers are struggling to keep pace with surging artificial intelligence-related demand, with reports indicating delivery lead times of more than two years for hard disk drives.

In response, major cloud service providers are ramping up orders of solid-state drives to offset supply shortages, despite solid-state drives being a more expensive option.

Hard disk drive production capacity remains severely constrained, unable to meet near-term demand and reflected in the rising average selling price of the drives.

Heraeus reports that the situation has been compounded by the industry's post-Covid shift to a build-to-order strategy, which limits inventory buffers and flexibility in scaling output. Despite market conditions, leading manufacturers have not drastically increased capital expenditures.

If robust demand extends into 2026, disk manufacturers may ramp up production, which would translate into higher demand for ruthenium. Prices for all three small PGMs remained stable last week.

On the palladium and rhodium front, Her...

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West Wits Mining on Monday issued a drawdown notice for the first tranche of a $12.5-million loan facility to advance the development of Qala Shallows, the promising project that is bringing gold mining back to within 15 km of the central business district of Johannesburg, the Golden City.

The ASX-listed West Wits has satisfied all conditions precedent for the first tranche from Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II LP and the initial drawdown expected on Tuesday, November 18.

The $12.5-million represents the first of up to three Nebari tranches, from which West Wits will be able to absorb a further $22.5-million.

Once received, the funds will be used to secure Qala Shallows' first gold pour in March.

This first development funding serviced by debt provides the capital to continue progressing Qala Shallows while reinforcing the quality of this asset and the ability of West Wits to transition from developer to producer.

Quite remarkably, this gold ore is arising from an untouched block of virgin Qala Shallows' reef. Qala, which is Zulu for 'start', is signalling that there is still much more to come and 'shallows' points to the project's relatively shallow 800 m depth.

A 30 000 t ore stockpile by the end of the first quarter of 2026 will ensure a consistent supply of ore to the Ezulwini processing plant 40 km away, which is part of a toll treatment agreement already done and dusted with precious metals major Sibanye-Stillwater, Ezulwini's owner.

"The facility's flexible structure provides a strong funding base as we continue to advance this project to first gold pour and production ramp-up in early 2026 and beyond," West Wits CEO Rudi Deysel pointed out in a release to Mining Weekly.

Nebari MD Justin Anderson described the first tranche as representing "an important milestone in advancing the Qala Shallows development", while adding that Nebari was "looking forward to continuing our support as West Wits progresses towards production".

As part of South Africa's Central Rand Goldfield, West Wits' Witwatersrand Basin project is gifted with 5.025-million ounces of gold at 4.66 g/t, within an endowment that has given the world more than a fifth of its gold.

Qala Shallows is the first phase of the larger Witwatersrand Basin project that is sequentially targeting the Kimberley, Main and Bird reef outcrops, and which is poised to turn West Wits into a long-term gold producer, with average steady state annual run-of-mine production of 65 000 oz for 25 years.

West Wits has prepared all operational procedures and health and safety standards across all disciplines to ensure safe, productive, and efficient mining operations.

A credit-approved term sheet for a senior debt syndicated loan facility of up to R902.5-million ($50-million) has also been secured from South Africa's Absa bank and the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.

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Leading Investing in African Mining Indaba 2026 voices this week unpacked how regional integration promotion, pan-African partnerships and policy alignment are accelerating Africa's mining transformation, which is in turn promising to catalyse energy and transport infrastructure development, industrial and manufacturing activity, skills demand, and employment creation on the continent.

As Africa's biggest mining platform, the Mining Indaba is helping to build momentum towards the realisation of a timely new Africa partnership era.

The influential voices promoting continental and regional integration as the engine of Africa's mining transformation ahead of next year's major mining event include Mining Indaba executive advisory board chairperson Frans Baleni, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa economic affairs officer Dr Marit Kitaw, Mining Indaba head of government partnerships Zeinab El-Sayed, and Mining Indaba product director Laura Nicholson, who took the opportunity to announce partnership with ICMM, which has chosen Mining Indaba to premiere a documentary on the world's deepest underground marathon, the world first that took place in a zinc mine Sweden last month 1 120 m below sea level.

"Yes, it's exciting to see what happened in an underground mine in the world's deepest marathon ever, but it stands for so much more," Nicholson remarked during the media briefing, where Baleni emphasised the alignment of next year's Mining Indaba theme to this year's G20, Kitaw spoke of the crucial importance of the development of African skills and institutional capacity, and El-Sayed pointed out that regional integration also requires trust and thrives on the positive relationships that are developed around it.

"Just after we, as a continent, will have hosted the G20, we'll also be finding solutions at Mining Indaba that are about partnership, working together, integrating the region, and inclusive involvement," Baleni said in response to Mining Weekly.

"We really need to invest in skills and technology, because at the end of the day, if you don't have the appropriate skills or the technology, it just becomes a pipedream," Kitaw cautioned.

"When we talk about regional integration, we often think about big infrastructure or trade corridors, which are critical.

"But integration is also about something that's a bit less tangible. It's about trust between governments, between regions, between policy makers and private sector, because the resources under the soil aren't the real engine of the kind of mining transformation that we all want to see on the continent. It's the relationships that we build around it," El-Sayed remarked.

"Africa needs action," said Baleni.

"Regional integration emphasises regional mineral corridors, putting our voices together, having an African agency," Kitaw stated.

"Regional integration links mining to energy, energy to infrastructure, infrastructure to manufacturing, and ultimately, all of that to jobs growth," El-Sayed pointed out.

"We need to break down the silos of how we work and come together," Nicholson noted.

The journalists present also heard from Kitaw that "critical minerals have now become a currency. We talk about cobalt in the DRC, manganese in South Africa, graphite in Mozambique, platinum and gold in South Africa, and I can go on, so we have the endowments, but to have economies of scale and bargaining, you need to have regional integration."

Making these conversations much less about what divides everybody and much more about what connects everybody was urged by El-Sayed, while Nicholson urged that Africa also begins to celebrate the many successes that have already taken place on continent.

INCLUSIVE GROWTH

Leveraging minerals for sustainable development and inclus...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer the Phalaborwa project in Limpopo, which is turning out to be very rewarding; the study which shows that the South Africa iron-ore trade route to Europe could go green as soon as 2029; the African region being a gold mine for Barrick Mining Cor

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The South Africa-Europe iron-ore trade route could go green as soon as 2029 and scale toward full decarbonisation by 2035, according to a study released by the Global Maritime Forum.

The feasibility study, produced in collaboration with a consortium created in 2023 - which includes Anglo American, CMB.TECH, Freeport Saldanha, VUKA Marine, and ENGIE - said the corridor linking Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape to the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands would be one of the first Global South-to-North green shipping routes.

South African iron-ore mining major Kumba Iron Ore, which operates two mines in the Northern Cape province and exports through Saldanha Bay, is an Anglo American group company and ENGIE is carrying out a major solar project in South Africa.

South Africa's primary iron-ore export terminal located at Saldanha Bay is already planning the development of green hydrogen-linked green ammonia production, alongside port upgrades to handle bunkering operations.

In the green corridor's initial years, ammonia-fuelled vessels will likely bunker in Rotterdam, which is one of the most mature ports in terms of its ammonia bunkering and safety frameworks. Meanwhile, Saldanha Bay will have the opportunity to build the infrastructure to become the long-term green ammonia production and bunkering hub for the corridor.

By 2035, the port could supply bunkering services to all corridor vessels locally, creating a dual-purpose facility that continues mineral exports while serving international shipping.

"This phased approach gives shipowners and fuel producers a clear timeline to work toward, and we now need coordinated action from policymakers and industry to make this a reality by 2029," Freeport Saldanha investment facilitation associate Shanon Neumann stated in a media release to Mining Weekly.

"However, to help Saldanha Bay transition quickly, blending public and private funding can unlock investment in infrastructure and reduce the risks of early projects," Neumann added.

The World Bank and World Economic Forum have both previously identified South Africa as a prospective participant in fuelling shipping's decarbonisation. The green corridor could contribute towards turning this notion into a reality.

Announced green hydrogen projects near the ports of Boegoebaai, Saldanha, and Walvis Bay could meet the corridor's fuel needs, including its high-demand scenario of 22 bulk carriers per annum by 2035. The possibility of such strong demand levels could mean a stronger business case for green hydrogen producers looking to secure enough offtake volumes to finalise investment decisions and accelerate new projects.

Add in the necessary financing, potential tax incentives, and port tariff discounts for fuel production and bunkering build-out at Freeport Saldanha, and South Africa could gain a competitive edge as an international bunker supplier.

The country's hydrogen sector may be able to contribute 3.6% to the country's GDP by 2030, with shipping and steel well-positioned to become early offtakers of the gas and its derivatives.

This green shipping corridor offers the opportunity to strengthen South Africa's export competitiveness, future-proof a strategic port, and support the country's Just Energy Transition through local value chains, skills development, and community benefits.

Regional and global regulations could materially improve the business case for the corridor. Europe's FuelEU Maritime greenhouse-gas intensity targets and Emissions Trading System levy, the latter to be fully phased in by 2026, narrow the cost gap between green ammonia and conventional fuels by more than 60% in modelled scenarios.

The International Maritime Organisation's net-zero framework, which will be revisited next year following the...

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AngloGold Ashanti is constantly coming up with the same answer during its continual assessment of where this 40 000-employee gold-mining major can generate the most value.

"The answer is clear," AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon emphasised during this week's third-quarter results presentation. "The best opportunities remain within."

Firstly, AngloGold Ashanti is committed to lifting performance from its core assets, driving margin growth through cost discipline, which is continuing to do what it has done well since beginning its new journey under Calderon in 2021.

The Full Asset Potential initiative he put in place has been valuable in keeping the cost-per-ounce measure in real terms. The site-led programme sets out to improve operational performance and ensure that assets operate at their full potential through step-change improvements in mine planning, productivity, and costs. It involves detailed analysis, benchmarking, and advanced analytics to identify opportunities, reduce dilution, increase ore tonnes mined, and lower costs.

It has helped to improve AngloGold's position of the cost curve and to deliver on its guidance as well as to unearth the organic growth options.

Having helped the Obuasi mine in Ghana to begin to develop a consistent operating cadence as it ramps up, it has also spotlighted the scalability and life-extension potential of other assets amenable to relatively low-risk, low-capital leverage within the framework of existing footprints, infrastructure and knowledge.

"The returns, as you can imagine, are more than competitive," Calderon commented during his elevation into the spotlight of the Geita mine in northwestern Tanzania, near the shores of Lake Victoria, which impressed visiting media, including Mining Weekly, during our visit there several years ago.

"We're committed to bringing some of our most exciting internal opportunities to life and we'll start today with Geita, our tier-one asset," Calderon reported. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

"For years, Geita has been viewed as a world-class mine with a relatively short reserve life. That's completely changing. This is a tier-one operation by every measure - consistent delivery, strong margins and exceptional operational stability. What's often overlooked is the geological quality. Geita is located in the Lake Victoria greenstone belt on the Tanzanian carton, part of the same gold province that holds Kibali and North Mara.

"After two decades of mining, large parts of the concession remain under-explored with compelling structural and geotechnical targets pointing to significant potential," Calderon pointed out.

Geita, with opencast and underground mines producing around 500 000 oz/y, is underpinned by 3.5-million reserve ounces and seven-million-plus resource ounces.

"We're now showcasing the next chapter for Geita, a mine positioned to remain a tier-one asset for at least the next 20 years, but in reality, it going to be much longer than that," Calderon forecast, while displaying a slide depicting the plan to unlock further value.

"We're allocating a total $50-million, an additional $15-million a year, to exploration. With that investment, we expect to grow reserves by about 60%, to increase life from around 7.5 years today to about 10 years or more."

One opencast and three underground production fronts will be maintained as a conceptual study proceeds to evaluate increasing processing capacity by one-million tons a year through upgrading and maintain a tailings storage facility (TSF) capacity by incremental extension. This will be followed by the construction of a new TSF in mid-2030s.

The focus is on near-mine drilling, with the mill expansion conservatively forecast to require capital expenditure of about ...

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In the three months to September 30, the free cash flow of AngloGold Ashanti rose 141% year-on-year to a record $920-million as continued cost discipline helped to capture the benefits of a higher gold price.

A quarterly dividend of $460-million was declared, taking dividends declared this year to $927-million.

Third-quarter group gold production rose 17% compared with the comparable period of last year, with strong contributions made by Obuasi in Ghana, Geita in Tanzania, Cuiabá in Brazil, Kibali in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the addition of Sukari in Egypt to the portfolio. The average ounce gold price received in the three months increased to $3 490/oz from $2 486/oz in the third quarter of last year.

"This is another record quarter for cash generation and another healthy dividend declaration. Cash costs again stayed flat in real terms, which means we can capture these stronger margins and show capital discipline by passing the benefit on to shareholders," AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon stated in Johannesburg Stock Exchange news service announcement covered by Mining Weekly.

The 40% increase in the average gold price translated into a 94% rise in cash generated from operations, reflecting strong price pass-through and cost discipline.

AngloGold Ashanti has advanced from an adjusted net debt position into an adjusted net cash position of $450-million at September 30, ending the third quarter with liquidity of $3.9-billion, including $2.5-billion in cash and cash equivalents.

The interim third-quarter dividend of $0.91 a share includes the minimum quarterly dividend of $63-million or $0.125, with the balance reflecting the decision to pay half of free cash flow generated for the three months to the end of September.

While AngloGold Ashanti's dividend policy commits to this 'true up' payment to 50% of free cash flow annually at year-end, the board used its discretion to make the payment at the quarter owing to the strength of cash flows and its confidence in the outlook for the balance of the year.

On the safety front, a total recordable injury frequency rate of 0.96 injuries per million hours worked was reported.

Third-quarter group gold production increased to 768 000 oz, up from 657 000 oz in the third quarter of 2024, reflecting the contribution from Sukari and improved performances at key assets, including Obuasi (+30%), Kibali (+21%), Geita (+6%), and Cuiabá (+6%).

Managed operations saw gold production up 16% year-on-year to 682 000 oz driven by Sukari's inclusion and the continued ramp-up at Obuasi, which was partially offset by lower output from Australia and Siguiri.

Non-managed joint ventures, namely Kibali, recorded a year-on-year increase in gold production to 86 000 oz owing to higher grades mined.

Production improvements were led by Obuasi, with a growing contribution from underhand drift-and-fill mining and a 23% year-on-year increase in recovered grade.

Sukari posted another strong result, with the third consecutive quarterly production increase. Gold production at Cerro Vanguardia, Iduapriem and Serra Grande remained largely unchanged year-on-year.

The focus on operational discipline and efficiencies was evident once again, with total cash costs flat in real terms. The inflation rate experienced across the business was approximately 5%.

Total group cash costs increased by 5% year-on-year to $1 225/oz and total group capital expenditure rose in line with plan to a 323%-higher $388-million. The increase in sustaining capital expenditure (capex) reflects the first-time inclusion of Sukari ($32-million) and ongoing investment to support asset integrity and long-term operational resilience, in line with strategic priorities.

The company is reinvesting in the growth of its min...