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Production of Platinum in South Africa, 2020 - 2028 (Thousand Ounces)

Industry: Production and Consumption
Current: Market Sizing & Shares

Production of Platinum in South Africa reached 4,304.73Thousand Ounces in 2023
Production grew by a CAGR of 6.56% between 2020 to 2023,and is expected to grow by...
GlobalData projects the production to grow at a CAGR of...

Production of Platinum in South Africa, 2020 - 2028 (Thousand Ounces)

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Platinum production in South Africa

According to the USGS, South Africa held a significant position of platinum group metal (PGM) reserves, ranked first globally as of January 2018, accounting for majority of share out of the global total. Most reserves are located in the provinces of Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga. The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) has the largest PGM reserves, which is spread across Limpopo, North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces. The BIC consists of three horizons: the Merensky Reef, Platreef and UG-2 Reef. The Merensky Reef is also known as the Merensky pegmatoid, it consists of base metal sulfide granules coupled with platinum group minerals. The Platreef – located in the northern part of the Bushveld complex – comprises calcium silicates, pyroxenites and serpentinites. The UG-2 Reef is a platiniferous chormitite layer under the Merensky Reef, containing enormous amounts of platinum group elements in it.

South Africa’s platinum mine production is expected to increase and the increase in production will be supported by various upcoming projects, including:

The Platreef project in Limpopo, which is expected to start production in 2022, is currently in the construction stage
The Styldrift 1 project in Pretoria is also currently under construction
The Garatau project in Limpopo which is awaiting regulatory approvals and permissions and is expected to start operations in 2022
The Waterberg JV Project in Maineleng which is also expected to start production in 2022

Active mines in South Africa indulged in platinum mining

Impala Mine
Marikana Mine (Lonmin)
Mogalakwena Mine
Kroondal Mine
Two Rivers Mine
BafokengRasimone Platinum Mine
Tumela Mine
Modikwa Mine
Thembelani Mine
Bathopele Mine

Factors affecting the demand for platinum

Demand for platinum is mainly driven by Asian countries, particularly Japan and China, the two largest consumers of platinum globally. Among the European and American countries, the UK and the US are the largest receivers of platinum from South Africa, driven by automotive (auto-catalyst) and jewelry purposes. In addition, industrial use (chemical, petroleum, electrical, glass, medical and biomedical) and investments (ETFs, bars and coins) also demonstrate some demand, although on a miniature scale.

However, demand from the UK is declining, owing to the country’s falling diesel vehicle production. The growing popularity of electric vehicles will further reduce the country’s need for platinum over the forecast period.