This year’s African Mining Week (AMW), scheduled from 1 to 3 October 2025 in Cape Town, will place a strong focus on South Africa’s platinum group metals (PGM) industry, which currently contributes around 80% of global supply. A key panel, titled “South Africa’s Strategic Influence in the Global PGM Market,” will explore opportunities for growth and investment across the value chain and examine national efforts to reinforce the country’s global leadership in the sector.
The session aims to foster collaboration among stakeholders while addressing both challenges and future strategies to boost production and strengthen South Africa’s dominance in the PGM market.
Held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025, AMW is a premier platform for networking and examining the breadth of mining potential across the continent.
Several major developments are already underway in South Africa’s PGM landscape. In May 2025, Ivanhoe Mines achieved a major breakthrough at its Platreef Mine in Mokopane, driving underground access to a rich orebody containing platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, gold and copper. The mine aims to begin production in Q4 2025, with Phase 2 – targeting an annual output of 450,000 ounces – expected within two years.
Meanwhile, Platinum Group Metals Ltd, based in Canada, plans to raise $1.8 billion to advance the Waterberg Project, which boasts 246.2 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves at an average grade of 2.96 grams per tonne.
Also making strides, Pelagic Resources began developing a new PGM concentrator at its Kookfontein Mine in February, with the facility now in its final construction stages. Designed by Nuco Chrome in early 2024, the concentrator is slated for commissioning in the first half of 2025.
Other significant projects include the Bengwenyama Project by Southern Palladium, which completed a pre-feasibility study in October confirming a 14% rise in reserves, and the Steelpoortdrift Vanadium Project, developed by Vanadium Resources Ltd., in partnership with China Energy Engineering International Group. The project will tap into 680 million tonnes of vanadium in the Bushveld Complex.
Additionally, Northam Platinum Holdings is working to revive the Eland Mine Complex in North West Province, with plans to boost production from 100,000 ounces in 2025 to 180,000 ounces by 2028.
As the sector experiences renewed momentum, African Mining Week 2025 will serve as a critical forum to evaluate new policies, share technological advances and attract investment into South Africa’s robust PGM sector.
