(Ecofin Agency) - Platinum group metals (PGM) producers in South Africa face falling prices and operational headaches. Companies have cut staff and watched revenues shrink. Ivanhoe Mines moves in with a different plan: diversify revenue at its Platreef mine.

Ivanhoe Mines runs Africa’s largest copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On May 8, Ivanhoe announced its teams had reached the core of the Platreef deposit in South Africa for the first time. This moment signals the start of high-grade ore extraction and Ivanhoe’s push to create the world’s first true polymetallic mining complex.

Ivanhoe Mines waited 30 years after securing permits to reach this production phase. The company plans to commission its concentrator in the fourth quarter of 2025. Platreef holds 59 million ounces of precious metals in indicated resources and 94 million ounces in inferred resources. Ivanhoe aims to tap this potential by blending traditional PGM mining with large-scale nickel and copper output.

Ivanhoe’s feasibility study projects that phase one will produce 100,000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold (3PE+Au) per year, plus 2,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,000 tonnes of copper. Phase two, expected in 2027, will ramp up production to 450,000–550,000 ounces of 3PE+Au, 9,000 tonnes of nickel, and 5,600 tonnes of copper per year. Ivanhoe targets a revenue split: 25% from nickel and copper, 75% from precious metals.

Anglo American Platinum, the global PGM leader, will get over 80% of its 2024 revenue from PGMs and gold, with only 18.5% from nickel, copper, chromium, and other base metals. In 2020, the precious metals share topped 90%.

Ivanhoe’s strategy leans on Platreef’s geology. Diversifying revenue helps Ivanhoe weather market shocks. In 2024, the average PGM basket price dropped 11%, says Anglo American Platinum. With energy costs up and power cuts frequent, South African producers have cut operations and laid off workers.

Platreef’s balanced production could make Ivanhoe more resilient, but the company still faces sector-wide challenges. If the market improves, Platreef stands to gain from rising copper demand and PGM market fundamentals, including hydrogen and catalytic converter demand.

This article was initially published in French by Emiliano Tossou

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum