Mineral intelligence
PGMs mining assets in Africa
The platinum group metals are six elements that occur together, trade as a basket, and come overwhelmingly from one geological province, which sits in Africa.
STRATUM does not yet publish verified pgms assets. Intelligence on this mineral is gathered continuously, and members are notified as assets clear verification.
What members see
Grades and assay results, resource and reserve estimates, evidence provenance, deal structure, infrastructure and power, and the geospatial layer. Identity of the operator is released only to compliance-cleared members on an approved request.
PGMs mining: uses, market and Africa’s position
What pgms is
The six platinum group metals are platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium. They occur together in the same ores, usually alongside nickel and copper, and are separated in refining. The commercial weight of a deposit rests on its platinum, palladium and rhodium content, with the minor metals recovered as by-products. Grades are quoted in grams per tonne of combined PGM, and the split between the metals matters as much as the total.
What pgms is used for
Autocatalysis
Catalytic converters in petrol and diesel vehicles remain the dominant demand for platinum, palladium and rhodium. Tightening emissions standards raise loadings per vehicle even as drivetrains electrify.
Hydrogen economy
Proton exchange membrane electrolysers and fuel cells use platinum and iridium. A scaled hydrogen build-out is the demand story the market watches most closely.
Industrial and chemical
Glass fibre bushings, nitric acid catalysts, silicones and petroleum reforming all rely on PGM catalysts with few substitutes.
Jewellery and investment
Platinum jewellery remains a significant demand centre, and bars, coins and exchange traded funds carry investment flows.
PGMs market outlook
PGM prices are set by a small number of supply basins and by automotive and industrial demand cycles. Recycling from spent autocatalysts is a meaningful secondary supply. The open question is timing: internal combustion demand declines slowly while hydrogen demand builds, and rhodium and iridium remain structurally scarce throughout. Deposits outside the established basins carry a premium for supply diversification.
PGMs in Africa
Southern Africa dominates global PGM supply. South Africa's Bushveld Complex is the largest PGM province on earth and the principal source of the world's platinum, with Zimbabwe's Great Dyke the second major African producer. The two together account for the clear majority of global platinum output in the public record, which makes PGMs the commodity where Africa's position is strongest of all.
What to check on a pgms asset
For a PGM asset, the first question is the prill split: what share of the contained ounces is platinum, palladium and rhodium. Then the reef type and depth, because Merensky and UG2 mineralisation carry different metallurgy and cost structures. Then power supply and smelting arrangements, which in Southern Africa are as decisive as the geology.