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[SMM PGM Flash] Valterra Platinum reports that refined platinum group metal production, excluding tolling, fell 41% year on year to 576,900 ounces in the quarter ended 30 September 2026. The company attributed the decline mainly to scheduled processing maintenance and annual stock counts moving from the first quarter to the third. Metal-in-concentrate production fell 6% to 804,300 ounces, reflecting lower own-mined output and purchases of concentrate. Sales volumes declined 27% to 683,300 ounces. The maintenance timing means the quarterly refining decline does not represent an equivalent deterioration in underlying mine supply. Nine-month refined production remained broadly in line with 2025 and refining returned to unconstrained rates during September. Valterra maintained its 2026 production guidance of 3.0–3.4 million ounces for both concentrate and refined output. However, cash operating unit costs are expected around the upper end of its R19,000–R20,000 per PGM ounce range, reflecting consumable inflation and safety-related production stoppages.