China's Mg Inventory Up 4.28%, Spot Prices Hit Weekly Low Amid Active Trading

Northam Platinum Holdings expects to report record headline earnings per share of between 3,006.1 cents and 3,082.3 cents for the year to end-June 2026, an increase of 689.4% to 709.4% on the prior year, according to a trading statement released 11 August. The group also produced a record total equivalent refined PGM output of 938,754 ounces from its own operations, up 4.4%, bringing it within sight of the 1-million-ounce production goal it set in 2015. Total metal sold rose 8% to 1.087 million ounces, while sales revenue climbed 64.1% to R54 billion, driven primarily by a 57.4% appreciation in the rand-denominated 4E basket price alongside higher volumes sold. Chrome concentrate production featured as a supporting contributor to the record year, rising 17.4% to a record 1.69 million tonnes — the same figure SMM has already reported from Northam's July production update, now confirmed within the group's full financial results. With PGM basket pricing doing the heavy lifting behind the earnings surge, chrome's steady output growth adds a second, more stable revenue stream for a group whose fortunes are otherwise closely tied to volatile platinum, palladium and rhodium prices — reinforcing the diversification rationale Northam and other South African PGM producers have increasingly emphasized this year.

[Magnesium Ingot Transaction Center Moves Down Slightly, Market May Continue to Consolidate on a Weak Note] Today, the spot transaction center moved down slightly, and low-priced supplies emerged. Manufacturers' sentiment toward shipments diverged; downstream buyers in China made just-in-time procurement; outside China, a small number of repeat orders emerged, with relatively large room for negotiation on actual orders. In the short term, magnesium ingots are expected to consolidate on a weak note.

[SMM Flash] The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is becoming an increasingly important arena in the US-China competition for critical minerals, with the country holding significant resources of cobalt, copper, lithium, coltan, tantalum, tin, tungsten and other strategic commodities. China has built a strong position across the DRC's mining, processing and refining value chain, while the US is seeking to diversify supply through infrastructure investment, diplomacy and direct participation in mining assets. A key component of the US strategy is the Lobito Corridor, supported by a $553 million US Development Finance Corporation loan to rehabilitate about 1,300 km of railway linking the DRC to Angola's Atlantic port. The US-backed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium has also proposed acquiring a 40% stake in Glencore's Mutanda and Kamoto assets, with the transaction implying a combined enterprise value of about $9 billion and providing Orion rights to direct its share of production to nominated buyers. These moves could gradually diversify DRC mineral trade routes and customers, although China's established processing capacity and infrastructure footprint mean that a significant shift in the supply chain is unlikely to happen quickly.