Platinum Price South Africa Today — Live ZAR per Gram

South Africa's dominance of global platinum supply stems from one geological feature: the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC). This vast layered intrusive rock formation in the Limpopo and North West provinces of South Africa is the world's largest known platinum group metals (PGM) deposit — by an enormous margin. Approximately 75–80% of all known platinum reserves on Earth sit within the BIC.

• The Merensky Reef: The primary ore horizon of the BIC, discovered in 1924 by Hans Merensky. A thin (30–90 cm) but continuous layer of chromitite and silicate rock that carries economically significant concentrations of platinum, palladium, rhodium, and other PGMs. Most of the great South African platinum mines were built on or near the Merensky Reef.
• UG2 Chromitite Layer: Below the Merensky Reef, the UG2 (Upper Group 2) chromitite layer contains high PGM concentrations with a higher proportion of palladium and rhodium relative to platinum. As Merensky Reef grades have declined in some areas, many mines have transitioned to UG2 mining.
• Rustenburg Platinum Belt: The main concentration of PGM mining activity — a crescent-shaped zone extending from Rustenburg (North West Province) through Limpopo. This area hosts Anglo American Platinum's (Amplats) largest operations and Impala Platinum's (Implats) flagship Rustenburg mines.
• Platreef: A wider, flatter PGM-bearing layer in the northern Bushveld (Limpopo Province). Lower PGM grades than Merensky but mechanisation-friendly geometry. The basis of Ivanhoe Mines' Platreef project.

Two companies dominate South African platinum production — and by extension, global platinum supply:

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), listed on the JSE (AMS), is the world's largest primary platinum producer. Amplats operates the Mogalakwena, Unki, and Mototolo mines, as well as the Amandelbult and Dishaba operations. Amplats refines platinum to LBMA Good Delivery standard at its Waterval smelter and Precious Metals Refinery in Rustenburg. In 2023, Anglo American announced plans to unbundle Amplats as a standalone company — a major structural change for both Anglo American group and the platinum market.

Impala Platinum (Implats), also JSE-listed (IMP), is the second-largest South African platinum producer. Implats owns the Rustenburg Lease Area mines, Marula mine, and the Canadian operations (Lac des Îles). Implats has pursued aggressive cost-cutting and shaft rationalisation programs in recent years in response to challenging platinum price conditions.

Sibanye-Stillwater (SSW) expanded into PGMs through acquisitions — buying Lonmin's South African operations (2019) and Stillwater Mining in Montana, USA (2017). Sibanye is now a major gold and PGM producer with operations spanning three continents.

Platinum's traditional primary demand driver — automotive catalytic converters for diesel exhaust treatment — faces long-term pressure from the EV transition and tightening diesel vehicle regulations. However, a potentially transformative new demand source is emerging: proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers for green hydrogen production.

PEM electrolysers use platinum as a catalyst to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. As the global green hydrogen economy scales up under climate commitments, PEM electrolyser demand is expected to grow substantially — and platinum is the preferred catalyst due to its stability and efficiency in the acidic PEM environment. If green hydrogen production scales as forecast by the IEA and industry projections, platinum demand from electrolysers could offset declining automotive demand and potentially create a new structural deficit in the platinum market.

For South Africa — where platinum mining is a major economic pillar employing hundreds of thousands directly and indirectly — the green hydrogen story is not just an investment thesis but a potential economic lifeline for the platinum mining sector.