[SMM Precious Metals Express]

A major green hydrogen project in South Africa has taken another key step forward. Hive Hydrogen South Africa announced on September 15 that it has formally awarded the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for its approximately USD 5.8 billion green hydrogen and green ammonia project to Spanish engineering firm Técnicas Reunidas. The project, now in the late development stage, is regarded as a flagship green hydrogen initiative in South Africa and one of the key demonstration projects under the European Union’s Global Gateway programme in the country.

[SMM Flash] Platinum and palladium prices declined on September 16 as precious metals came under pressure following the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%. Platinum fell 2.3%, while palladium declined 1.5%, as the US dollar strengthened following the decision. The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously for the increase, citing elevated inflation and the need to support a return towards its 2% inflation objective. The move adds another macroeconomic pressure point for the PGM complex following recent price volatility. Higher US interest rates can strengthen the dollar and increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding precious metals, potentially weighing on investment demand even when physical-market fundamentals remain supportive. The latest PGM declines therefore largely reflected the broader precious-metals response to tighter US monetary policy rather than a newly announced change in platinum or palladium supply-demand fundamentals.

[SMM Flash] Valterra Platinum has highlighted the scale of its Mogalakwena PGM operation in South Africa's Limpopo province, with executive head of mining operations Willie Theron pointing to an inclusive resource of about 285 million oz on a 4E basis. Valterra is targeting annual Mogalakwena production of about 900,000 oz to 1 million oz on a 6E basis, with management describing the scale of the mineral endowment as supporting resource-life potential exceeding 300 years. The figure highlights Mogalakwena's strategic importance to Valterra's long-term PGM supply base and provides substantial optionality for future mine sequencing, processing and capital deployment. However, the 300-year-plus figure should not be interpreted as a 300-year mine plan or Mineral Reserve life: it relates to the scale of the inclusive Mineral Resource and the resource and production figures are also reported on different 4E and 6E bases. Actual economically mineable reserves and future production will depend on technical, economic and market conditions.