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VALTERRA throttled back third quarter refined platinum group metal production 41% to 576,900 ounces as it rephased maintenance plans, while lower PGM concentrate output from its mines also weighed.
The lower concentrate output from its own mines – down 5% year-on-year – was a consequence of safety stoppages after Valterra suffered fatalities in the first half of its financial year. But there was yet another fatality in July, which Craig Miller, CEO of the platinum miner, described in today’s production update as “unacceptable”.
“Refined production reflected the planned re-phasing of processing maintenance and annual stock counts into the third quarter, supporting a more balanced distribution of refined production across the year,” said Miller.
The outcome for investors was a 27% year-on-year decline in third quarter sales volumes, which came in at 683,300 oz. Valterra drew down on inventories – but did not give a number on stock levels – in order to soften the impact of lower refined output.
Miller said, however, the company would remain within forecast numbers for its 2026 financial year, ending December 31, of three to 3.4 million oz in both concentrate and refined metal.
There is some pressure on cost guidance, with cash operating unit costs expected to come in at or around the upper end of the R19,000 to R20,000 per PGM oz range. Valterra blamed higher prices for fuel, drill steel, chemicals and explosives, linked to the Middle East conflict, plus the volume impact of the safety stoppages.
Prices for PGMs remain elevated, however. The realised basket price in the third quarter was 24% higher in dollars and 15% higher in rands, the latter coming out at R38,815/PGM oz.
The major PGMs eased from the second quarter owing to weaker vehicle sales and wider economic concerns, but they stayed well above last year’s levels. Iridium and ruthenium kept rising on strong demand from emerging technology uses. Year to date, the dollar basket price is up 60% to $2,683/oz, and the rand basket is up 47% to R43,967/oz.
Reflecting the growing influence of by-products in the business case of PGM miners, Valterra’s chrome concentrate production rose 7% to 277,000 tons in the quarter, while year-to-date chrome sales were up 42% to 814,000 tons.
The co-product benefits of increased chrome is receiving big attention among South Africa's PGM producers.
Chrome production at Northam Platinum rose 17% in its 2026 financial year (ended June 30) partly because of the ramp-up at Eland Platinum in North West province. Sibanye-Stillwater said it will double chrome output from about 2.3 million tons a year to become one of the world’s top five producers.
Southern Palladium, a PGM developer, updated its prefeasibility study for its Bengwenyama project, saying chrome would now comprise 19% of all production when second phase development was completed equal to output of a million tons from 350,000 tons annually in a previous study.