July 1, 2020 COMEX Metal inventory

Sibanye-Stillwater released a notice, initiating Section 189A labour consultations for the Kwezi shaft at its Rustenburg mine in South Africa to assess mine restructuring plans. The mine has been in operation for years with declining ore grades. It sustained losses in 2024-2025 and is expected to return to losses in H2 2026. The consultation involves 1,114 personnel, including 781 permanent employees and 333 outsourced workers. At present, only the statutory consultation process is underway, and mine closure has not been confirmed. The 4E PGM output of this mine accounts for less than 3% of the company’s total South African PGM production. If production cuts are finally implemented, the overall supply impact will be limited.

[SMM Silver Express] SMM September 11, this week's SMM silver ingot Hong Kong spot premium (vs. LBMA) closed at a discount of $0.18-0.10/oz, with the overall discount narrowing.

[SMM Precious Metal Express] The US Treasury completed $5.187 billion in long-bond buybacks, unusually falling short of the $6 billion cap. Treasury Secretary Bessent attributed this to "buying cheap." The shortfall signals marginally weaker demand for long-end Treasuries, failing to provide support and instead pushing yields higher.