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Let's make South Africa the best possible place. The future looks very, very bright, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) founder Dr Patrice Motsepe said on Friday at the close of ARM reporting a good set of half-year financial results.

Motsepe, who has ceased being executive chairperson of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed diversified mining company but will continue in a non-executive capacity, pledged that ARM would continue to play its role in building a future for all South Africa, black, white, coloured and Indian South Africans.

Following ARM reporting 10%-higher half-year headline earnings of R1.6-billion plus an interim dividend of R5 a share, Motsepe committed ARM to continue its practice of making donations to all political parties.

It would maintain the historic relationships across the board, "because we're all South Africans and I think good political parties always listen to the voters of other political parties, and there's always something to them."

Building a future for all South Africans – "black South Africans, white South Africans, coloured South Africans, Indian South Africans" – would be ongoing, he promised as the presentation, covered by Mining Weekly, drew to a close.

"We must continue to be positive and optimistic. This country has got such incredible, incredible people, and I've never been more confident, and I'll tell you partly why.

"It's because we grew up in societies where your existence, your credibility, was amongst the poor, was amongst the marginalised, the unemployed.

"We've educated more than 5 000 students through the Family Foundation and many other things over many years, because we always understood, stay with the people on the ground. The joy we derive is in these relationships with vulnerable people," he told the audience, which included his wife Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe and their sons.

"This company has to remain a world-class company, and we have to make sure of that for all shareholders, whether in South Africa or worldwide.

"They don't have to buy the shares of African Rainbow Minerals. They can buy the shares of other companies. We have to give them a reason that they should have confidence in ARM and keep buying ARM shares because we give them competitive and, in some respects, superior returns.

"Over the years, we've employed the smartest and the brightest, black, white, coloured and Indian South Africans, and will continue to do so.

"As a company, we have a huge obligation to all stakeholders, the communities where we live and the country as a whole," Motsepe added.

ARM ended the half year with net cash of R8 464-million compared with R6 609-million in the same period last year.

Basic earnings increased by 69% to R2 353-million or R12.20 per share and revenue was up 32% to R8 399-million.

Two Rivers platinum mine achieved three million fatality-free shifts and the ARM Ferrous division reached more than one million fatality-free shifts.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses robust investment demand for platinum in 2026; the ‘encouraging’ recent developments in China’s hydrogen economy; and Africa’s envisaged hydrogen mobility build-out potential.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

The world's current extraordinary times are providing South Africa's platinum group metals (PGM) companies with an extraordinary opportunity to focus on how to strengthen themselves.

Consensus is widespread that a new era is upon us. Trade paths are changing and the move from globalisation to multi-polarity accelerating.

With 80% of the world's PGMs supplied from Southern Africa, engagement with other jurisdictions is under way to determine the extent to which relationships can be formed to provide security for long-term supply.

While demand for PGMs has risen, certain supply risks are being acknowledged amid historical levels of investment in future supply lapsing.

The shift in world uncertainty, combined with shifts in fundamental markets, has given cause for PGM prices to rise.

As a consequence of the nature of the major forces, consensus is widening that price support currently underway will outlast the current White House administration and is requiring the PGM mining and marketing industry to organise South Africa and Southern Africa very differently for a generation to follow.

"It is our belief that this current upswing in prices will remain longer than has been the case in the past, where we saw relatively short summers following very long winters," Implats CEO Nico Muller emphasised during the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's stunning set of half-year financial results of 180% better earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of R18.1-billion, a fivefold increase in headline earnings of R9.3-billion, and free cash flow of R7-billion. Implats closed the period with an adjusted net cash balance of R12.1-billion and R28.8-billion in liquidity headroom.

Dominating the results were production performance at mine and PGM processing levels and the 40% increase in the rand basket price.

"If you look through all of the financials, the entire PGMs industry is looking a lot more attractive than what it did in the previous period.

"Given the fact that we are where we are in terms of metal prices and then increase in revenue, Ebitda and cash flow, it does provide us with a really important opportunity, and that is to change our strategic focus in the company.

"During the lean years, we are very defensive. We focus on cost control, capital management.

"We now have the opportunity to focus on how to strengthen the company and there is a pipeline of opportunity," Muller outlined at the presentation covered by Mining Weekly.

Starting off at the most basic level are a number of early action programmes to initiate life extension projects.

These have occurred at the Two Rivers mine, Marula mine and at some of the shafts at Impala Rustenburg.

Already approved is R1-billion for Rustenburg's 14 Shaft that will provide mine life extension.

"I'm very confident that some of the other early works programmes that we've initiated will result in approval of additional capital," Muller commented.

Roughly, a three-year extension to the current steady state 3.5-million PGM ounces a year production profile is on the cards. Thereafter, additional initiatives will be required.

Part two is the far-reaching optimisation of the South African PGM industry as a whole, firstly through the sharing of infrastructure.

"We will open up some processing capacity to share in the industry and we do believe it's critically important for Southern Africa to protect local beneficiation of the metals, and so I think that the opportunity to do so will increase as we go forward.

"Then there are the normal cross-boundary opportunities that always exist. An example of one of the areas that we battle with in the industry is the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex. We need to reimagine what the eastern ...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Platinum group metals (PGM) mining company Implats is looking at solar for the Marula PGM mine and also the Rustenburg operation, the company reported during a media roundtable on Thursday, March 5.

This follows Implats' renewable electricity supply agreement with Discovery Green, which will supply up to 90% of Impala Refineries' electricity demand through a combination of solar and wind generation. First Discovery Green power is expected in the second half of the 2026 calendar year.

Regarding green power for Marula and Rustenburg, Implats COO Patrick Morutlwa said in response to Mining Weekly's question that the plan no longer involved the company itself building solar facilities.

"We've shifted the model a little bit. We're not now looking to build our own facilities. We look at wheeling agreements, as you have seen what we've done with Discovery Green for our refineries. So, for Rustenburg and Marula, we're looking for the same kind of arrangement," Morutlwa explained.

"Discover Green's still part of the pool of people we're talking to but for Rustenburg, we're speaking to Royal Bafokeng – they are keen to undertake that type of a project with us guaranteeing an offtake agreement with them. So, we are speaking to several players in industry."

Mining Weekly: And how much megawattage are you looking at?

Morutlwa: For Rustenburg about 50 MW and Marula about 30 MW and, as you know, for the refineries, it's for Discovery Green to supply about 90% of the baseload.

As reported by Mining Weekly last month, Discovery Green signed a five-year power purchase agreement with Implats on January 27, with the electricity being sourced from multiple wind and solar facilities that are being advanced to construction by independent power producers (IPPs) in various South African provinces, with the first wheeled electricity for Implats expected by the end of 2026.

Discovery Green is entering into exclusive procurement contracts with the IPPs (mostly wind generators) with the intention of supplying the electricity to multiple customers pursuing both decarbonisation objectives and price-path certainty.

The Scope 2 greenhouse-gas emissions at Implats' refinery in Springs are expected to be reduced by more than 852 000 t over the period, with 130 000 MWh of electricity delivered yearly at a tariff that is decoupled from Eskom's rising tariffs.

ZIMBABWE

In Zimbabwe, Zimplats' first 35 MW of its intended 185 MW solar power complex reached design capacity during the half-year, and construction has commenced on the $54-million, 45 MW second phase of the Zimplats solar project, which remains on track for technical completion in August 2026. Once commissioned, the plant will supply an additional 110 GWh of renewable energy annually and reduce emissions by 69 396 t CO2e per year.

Renewable electricity use remained steady at 31% against a target of 35%, as prolonged droughts in Zimbabwe and Zambia continued to constrain hydropower supply from Zambian national power utility Zesco.

Despite a moderate rise in electricity consumption associated with commissioning the Zimplats smelter, both scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions of 1.66 t CO2 per six-element (6E) ounce and energy use of 8.08 GJ per 6E ounce were largely unchanged compared with the prior period, owing to increased 6E output.

'Extremely robust' platinum investment demand expected

Investment demand for platinum is expected to be "extremely robust" in 2026.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

"We've not only got the attractiveness in terms of platinum's underlying supply demand fundamentals, but we also have a very uncertain macro-political environment, and that's creating strong demand for all of the precious metals as a store of value,"

World Platinum Investment Council research director Edward Sterck emphasised to Mining Weekly on Zoom interview, following the release on Wednesday, March 4, of the latest Platinum Quarterly and full year 2025, with a revised forecast for 2026. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).

Bar and coin demand is set to reach a six-year high in 2026 at a time when above-ground platinum stocks have depleted to just over four months' worth of global demand.

Persisting tight market conditions are pointing to considerable value volatility and price action.

"I think that platinum as an investment is a very good place to be positioned right now," Sterck highlighted.

Mining Weekly: What are the key factors attributing to the platinum market deficit of more than one million ounces in 2025 and the fourth consecutive deficit for the end of 2026. Why has the forecast gone from balance to deficit since your November market update?

Sterck: The key change between our November update and today is really investment. So, fundamentally, for 2025 we've moved from a deficit of a little over 650 000 oz to a deficit of over a million ounces. That's primarily due to higher exchange traded fund (ETF) demand and due to the exchange stocks in the US remaining at elevated levels and not seeing the outflows that we were anticipating previously. Looking through into 2026, many of the themes that occurred last year are continuing. Again, it's stronger or more robust ETF investment demand.

We're not, at the moment, projecting higher ETF demand, but we're just anticipating that we'll see less in the way of profit taking than we'd forecast before and we're also expecting those exchange stock holdings to remain stickier in the US on a continuation of trade tensions. So, effectively, the quarter of million ounce deficit we're expecting for 2026 versus what the balance market we were anticipating previously, that's mainly just reflecting on that sort of stronger and more robust investment demand environment.

What is the outlook for mine supply in 2026 and what is fuelling the growth in recycling supply?

Broadly speaking, we're expecting mining supplies to remain effectively flat. We've got much higher prices. The basket prices is substantially elevated from where we started 2025 but these are deep-level underground mines for the most part, and so inherently inflexible. Whilst, I'm sure the miners may wish in an ideal environment to be able to flex output to capitalise upon that improved profitability, you just can't do it that quickly. It's just a function of geology and geotechnics, and so output will remain broadly flat, and is likely to remain that way for a number of years to come. In terms of recycling supply, that's more price elastic.

Effectively, if you think about the catalytic converters you find on an average vehicle, it's usually two to three with any within any exhaust system. Yet the PGM metals are not evenly distributed amongst those catalytic converters. One of them is typically more highly loaded than the others, and so those other ones, in times of low prices, are not necessarily economic to recycle and recover the metals from. With higher prices, however, they are economic, and so we're expecting more of those that supply to come through the system.

What are the key areas of demand forecast for 2026?

Well, it's a small change on our previ...