JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Minor platinum group metals (PGMs), particularly iridium and ruthenium, are continuing to outperform, supported by robust demand from emerging technology applications, Valterra Platinum reported on Friday, October 23.

The price Valterra realised for iridium in the three months ended September 30 was $7 720/oz, compared with $4 287/oz in the corresponding period of last year. The price realised for ruthenium in the quarter was $1 583/oz, compared with $799/oz in the third quarter of last year.

The price of iridium is rising because of supply constraints combined with growing industrial demand from green hydrogen, AI, and electronics and the ruthenium from data centre and cloud computing demand.

The six PGM products of integrated producer Valterra are platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and osmium, along with associated metals such as gold and base metals such as nickel and copper.

The average realised basket price was R38 815/PGM ounce, or $2 383/PGM ounce, representing year-on-year increases of 15% in rand terms and 24% in dollar terms.

Although major PGM prices moderated quarter-on-quarter amid weaker automotive sales and broader macroeconomic concerns, they remained well above prior-year levels, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company stated in its third-quarter production report on the stock exchange news service (SENS).

Total PGM production, expressed as metal-in-concentrate containing five element (5E) PGMs and gold, decreased by 6% to 804 300 oz, driven by lower own-mined volumes and by weaker purchase of concentrate volumes.

Own-mined PGM production decreased by 5% to 511 900 oz, primarily driven by the impact of safety stoppages at the Amandelbult underground operation, where Olwethu Kutta lost her life in a fall-of-ground at Tumela in July, which Valterra CEO Craig Miller has described as being unacceptable. “Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and colleagues and we remain unwavering in our commitment to preventing a recurrence.”

A call to action was launched to strengthen safety leadership and controls across the business, supported by an independent review from industry-leading safety specialists.

“The findings and recommendations from these processes are being implemented across our operations as we continue to strengthen our safety culture and pursue our goal of zero harm,” Miller reported.

Purchases of PGM concentrate decreased by 7% to 292 400 oz, reflecting reduced volumes from various third-party producers.

While refined third-quarter PGM production, excluding tolling, decreased by 41% to 576 900 oz, refined production for the nine months ended September was broadly in line with the prior year.

Owing to the lower refined production, PGM sales volumes decreased by 27% but, once again, sales volumes for the nine months ended September remained in line with the same period in 2025.

Guidance for 2026 remains unchanged, with metal-in-concentrate and refined production expected to be between three-million ounces and 3.4-million ounces.

Cash operating unit costs are expected to be at or around the upper end of the guided range of R19 000/PGM ounce to R20 000/PGM ounce owing to inflationary pressures on fuel, drill steel, chemicals and certain explosives. These inflationary pressures are associated with the ongoing Middle East conflict, coupled with the impact of the safety-related stoppages on production volumes.

Mitigation initiatives remain in place through operational efficiencies, disciplined cost management and procurement interventions. The targeted all-in sustaining cost remains at about $1 050/3E ounce.

“Looking ahead, production remains on track to be delivered within our 2026 guidance range, and we remain focused on operating safely, executing with discipline and delivering sustainable value for all our stakeholders,” said Miller in the SENS report sourced by Mining Weekly.