South Africa’s dominant role in the platinum group metals (PGMs) sector, producing 80% of the world’s platinum, gives the country significant strategic influence over the global market, a panel discussion featuring PGM industry players highlighted during African Mining Week 2025. The panel discussion further emphasized the need to leverage this drive greater value addition through downstream beneficiation and advanced manufacturing to ensure that South Africa captures more of the economic and developmental benefits linked to its PGM mineral wealth.

During the discussion, Liberty Chipise, Research and Development Manager at MetSop, highlighted the important role of innovation in mineral processing. He noted that high energy costs and complex ore bodies are driving up operational expenses, making it essential to deploy mineralogy-driven technologies that extract maximum value from tailings and employ more effective mineral processing reagents that have a lower carbon footprint.

Fahmida Smith, Principal Market Development at Valterra Platinum, emphasised the company’s commitment to reinvestment, innovation and socio-economic development. Since 2024, Smith said Valterra has reinvested R80 billion in capital, R4 billion in social investment, and R132 billion in local procurement leveraging South Africa’s position as the custodian of 80% of the world’s PGM reserves.

Smith emphasised the importance of creating multiple market development opportunities across the full PGM basket to stimulate demand for the metals that Valterra produces, noting its role in engaging government on supportive frameworks that allow for the uptake of PGM-containing products and technologies.

Vinay Somera, Chief Executive Officer of Isondo Precious Metals, stressed the urgency for South Africa to seize green hydrogen economy opportunities.

“We have the opportunity to add value to our PGMs through the hydrogen economy now, but it won’t last forever,” he said.

By building South Africa’s first large-scale industrial facility to produce PGM catalysts and membrane electrode assemblies for fuel cells and electrolysers, Isondo is doing its part in positioning the country to move PGMs further up the value chain through advanced manufacturing and in doing so maximise the value addition for the country. “This gives South Africa a seat in the global hydrogen industry that we never had before,” Somera said, noting that it also anchors the country as a competitive manufacturing hub.

Somera also stated that South Africa’s PGM sector success in future will be measured by its ability to shift from being a price taker to becoming a price maker, while Chipise believed the country’s success could lie in its value-addition, and recycling of PGMs in a circular economy, while Smith believed success could be measured by the creation of self-sustaining, inclusive communities around PGMs.