Canadian mining junior Platinum Group Metals (PTM) is looking at the possibility of building a convertor matte furnace in South Africa to smelt platinum concentrates produced from its proposed Waterberg platinum mine.
Reason is the apparent opposition by the South African government to PTM’s proposal to export platinum concentrates to be refined in Saudi Arabia because its policy to promote local beneficiation.
This follows PTM’s publication in September of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) to build a mine capable of annual steady state average concentrate production of 353,208oz of platinum group metals (pgms) at a cost of $946m.
Included in the DFS was a proposal to build a pgm smelter and base metal refinery (BMR) in Saudi Arabia because of the problems PTM was experiencing reaching agreements to have its production refined in South Africa.
In its report for the March quarter 2025 PTM commented, “a key requirement for the proposal to establish a pgm smelter and BMR in Saudi Arabia would be a long-term South African government approval for the export of unrefined precious metals in concentrate.
“PTM has been working with the government of South Africa to identify local beneficiation opportunities and to analyze the possible impact of exporting concentrates on the value chain.
“Through these discussions the government of South Africa has expressed their preference and support for beneficiation in South Africa.
“As a result, PTM and Aljan (Aljan & Bros Company for Mining which is PTM’s partner in the proposed Saudi Arabia smelter) are also now studying the possibility of establishing a matte furnace in South Africa capable of smelting Waterberg project concentrate.
“The convertor matte would be shipped to Saudi Arabia for further processing through a BMR at which time spent auto catalysts and other pgm-bearing material could be co-processed.”
This would drop the shipping requirements to Saudi Arabia from 130,000t of concentrates annually to 8,000t of matte annually.
PTM said that as well as looking into the Saudi Arabia smelting proposals it continued discussions with several South African smelter operators – including Impala Platinum – looking at negotiating a formal concentrate offtake agreement for Waterberg.
Impala Platinum is a 15% shareholder in the Waterberg project with a right of first refusal over smelting and refining its production but has held back on developing the project declining in 2020 to exercise a control option that it owned.
