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Platinum has received a major boost from a strategic agreement signed at Shanghai Platinum Week 2026 at a time of rapid expansion of China's platinum bar and coin market.

The boost is the result of Beijing's Caibai signing a strategic agreement with the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC).

The agreement involves the introduction of the first-ever platinum investment bar series to be stocked by Caibai, a time-honoured gold bar and coin retailer, which turns 50 this year.

With immediate effect, a series of seven 30 g platinum investment bars have hit the market

"The growing interest in platinum as an investment product presents an exciting opportunity for us, and we have added the first platinum investment bar series to our range to give our customers more choice and enable them to access this market. We believe that there is significant development potential for platinum investment," Caibai GM Caigang Ning stated.

"Our partnership with Caibai supports WPIC's broader strategy of expanding platinum investment demand by improving retail accessibility. Caibai's strong reputation and high footfall provide a compelling platform to introduce platinum to an even wider base of Chinese investors," WPIC Asia Pacific regional head Weibin Deng added in the release to Mining Weekly.

Caibai's dual role as jewellery retailer and bullion distributor reflects a distinctive feature of Asian precious metals markets, where jewellery has long held a quasi-investment function.

High-purity pieces are commonly purchased as both adornment and a store of value, with pricing often closely linked to underlying metal prices.

This has led to a high degree of interchangeability between jewellery and investment products, making it common for retailers to offer both.

Consumers frequently make jewellery purchases with the expectation that the items can be resold or exchanged based on metal content, reinforcing precious metals as a trusted investment vehicle.

The addition of platinum bars to Caibai's range is therefore a natural progression, positioning the metal within an already well-established retail investment framework. It also comes at a time of rapid expansion in China's platinum bar and coin market, which has grown from negligible levels in 2018 to an estimated 404 000 oz in 2025.

Meanwhile, industry leaders from across the global platinum group metals (PGM) value chain are engaging in Shanghai on the opportunities and challenges shaping the sector.

Other takeaways from the Shanghai Platinum Week are the manner in which AI is driving PGM demand through printed circuit board demand growth.

Much of the expenditure in optical crystal production centres on platinum and iridium needed for the crucibles to grow the crystals.

Fibreglass production has grown from 5.8-million tons in 2021 to 8.13-million tons in 2025 in China alone, with exports having doubled to 1.95-million tons.

Production capacity for low dielectric constant/low loss yarn made using PGM bushings needs to be expanded.

China's platinum and palladium markets have developed following the launch of futures and options contracts on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX), which was launched after last year's Shanghai Platinum Week. GFEX is said to have contributed to improved price discovery, with platinum open interest averaging around 620 000 oz and average daily trading volumes of 186 000 oz.

A key potential milestone will be qualified foreign Investor approval. If granted, this could allow broader international participation and make the natural arbitrage between GFEX and global exchanges more accessible.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the growing activity in copper exploration and mining in the Northern Cape; Mintek's plans to add value to the South African platinum group metals (PGMs) sector; and Sibanye-Stillwater's growing PGM project portfolio in South Africa.

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.

ASX-listed Prairie Lithium has taken delivery of North America's largest commercial direct lithium extraction (DLE) unit comprising four columns at its Prairie project, in Saskatchewan, marking another milestone as the company advances toward Phase 1 commercial lithium production.

The arrival of the DLE unit represents a derisking event and enables the next phase of equipment installation and commissioning, which remains on track for the fourth quarter of the year.

Prairie has already established substantial infrastructure on site, including production and disposal wells, electrical infrastructure and a power transformer.

The DLE unit is about four times larger than the commercial DLE system currently deployed at Standard Lithium's Arkansas project, where a single column was installed in March 2024 and is achieving industry-leading results.

"This milestone demonstrates the scale of Prairie's Phase 1 development and our ambition to become a leading commercial DLE producer in North America," says chairperson Paul Lloyd.

Lithium produced from Phase 1 operations is already secured under a binding offtake agreement with Hydro Lithium, which will purchase 100% of production.

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.

Successful removal of coarse waste is beneficial in that it reduces power requirements in the milling circuit, lowers water requirements, and increases platinum group metal (PGM) feed grades.

With preconcentration, a head grade of, for example, 2 g/t can be as much as doubled to 4 g/t, resulting in PGMs being valuably increased in the circuit.

Displayed was a PGM grade of 1.7 g/t being uplifted to 4.8 g/t through dense medium separation (DMS), at a flotation loss of around 0.4 g/t.

Mining benefits include being able to lower the cutoff grade, which increases the reserves and provides the opportunity to extend the life of the mine, Mintek physical separation head Gertrude Marape pointed out during Mintek's PGM Day covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Mintek flexibly provides clients with options. "Some clients already know the techniques, the technology that they want to use. Some ask us to advise, but essentially, we work with everyone," Marape stated in providing comprehensive information on the benefits of upfront waste rejection and chrome removal in PGM circuits.

Marape was one of a dozen Mintek managers, engineers and scientists who presented in the auditorium of this 92-year-old State-owned research organisation, which is situated at 200 Malibongwe Drive in Randburg.

While typical PGM reefs are Merensky, upper group two (UG2) and Platreef, Marape also paid attention to the PGMs present in chrome reefs such as lower group (LG) reef, middle group (MG) reef and, of course, UG2 reef.

Mintek has found that it is easier to introduce a preconcentration stage on a greenfield project than it is at a brownfield project. As much as some brownfield projects were metallurgically suitable, practical implementation has generally been found to be inappropriate.

Information was provided on the recovery of PGMs from the tailings of chrome-rich MG and LG reefs as well as UG2. In the work that Mintek has done, PGMs lost in the chromite concentrate ranged from 0.7 g/t to 0.8 g/t. Displayed was also significant enhancing of chrome recovery from secondary flotation.

Mintek's studies show that upfront preconcentration is viable but mineralogy dependent.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work, but if it works, there's value in it, because then it reduces capital expenditure and operational expenditure of plants, lowers cutoff grade and also provides flexibility in the cases of PGM extraction being amenable to mechanised or conventional mining methods, Marape noted.

Moreover, Mintek's experience regarding interstage chrome removal is that it provides better yields and higher chrome recovery but that this will be accompanied by some loss of PGMs to chromite concentrate.

In addition, PGMs and chrome are recoverable from MG, LG and UG2 reefs, which uplifts revenue potential.

PGMs come mainly from the Bushveld Igneous Complex's three limbs – the western, eastern, and northern limbs.

While typical reefs are Merensky, UG2 and Platreef, there are also PGMs in chrome reefs such as LG reef and MG reef.

While LG and MG reefs are initially mined mainly for their chrome, PGMs are there for the taking in LG and MG tailings.

Displayed were infographics showing typical upfront coarse waste rejection, done after crushing and before milling.

Most of the reefs have a lot of pyroxenite gangue in them and the rejection of this coarse waste in them can be through DMS or through sorting – dry on-site processing – depending on which is more beneficial and with greater throughput also being taken into consideration.

Mintek used to provide on-site sorters but now has partnerships with various sorting companies and can link clients to these suppliers.

The purpose of coarse waste rejection is to rejec...

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.

ASX-listed Viridis Mining & Minerals has upgraded the mineral resource estimate (MRE) of its Colossus rare earths project, in Brazil, following targeted infill drilling.

The measured and indicated MRE of the project is now an industry-leading 305-million tonnes grading 2 723 parts per million (ppm) of total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 659 ppm of TREO, respectively.

Notably, the programme identified a measured mineral resource of 31-million tonnes grading 2 858 ppm TREO and 758 ppm mixed rare earth oxides (MREO), providing the company with a high-confidence resource foundation for the highest-value years of planned production supported by outstanding project economics, strong early cash flows and rapid capital payback.

Viridis reports the Colossus mineral resource totals 473-million tonnes grading 2 505 ppm TREO and 592 ppm MREO. High value magnet rare earths continue to comprise 24% of the TREO within the measured and indicated resource.

Viridis says the substantial measured mineral resource supports an anticipated conversion of the initial production schedule to proven ore reserves as part of the project's definitive feasibility study. This satisfies a key requirement for project debt financing and represents a major step towards a final investment decision on the project during the second half of the year.

"The Colossus project continues to set the global benchmark for ionic adsorption clay rare earth developments through its combination of world's highest-grade measured and indicated MREO mineral resource, industry-leading measured resource grade supporting the early years of planned production, proven reserve conversion pathway supported by exceptional geological confidence, industry-leading metallurgical recoveries using a near-neutral pH leach process and significant potential for further resource growth," explains Viridis MD Rafael Moreno.

Moreno mentions that the current MRE covers only 12% of Viridis' landholding, however, Colossus already hosts almost half a billion tonnes of mineralisation and the world's highest-grade measured and indicated MREO resource.

"This is not just a geological milestone, it is a financing milestone. Defining more than five years of measured resources for the initial mine plan satisfies a key technical requirement for project debt financing," Moreno says.