Silicon Metal Prices Stagnant, Market Transactions Mediocre [SMM Silicon Daily Review]

[SMM Express] Zimbabwe's mineral export earnings jumped 84.7% in H1 2026 to US$2.532 billion, up from US$1.376 billion a year earlier, according to Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe data. The surge was led by PGM matte, spodumene concentrate and PGM concentrates, which together accounted for over 74% of earnings — a marked departure from previous years when gold and raw chrome dominated the export mix. Within that shift, ferrochrome was singled out as one of the processed products "steadily supplanting raw mineral exports," alongside refined steel, polished granite and lithium sulphate. MMCZ's General Manager framed the change as evidence of beneficiation policy taking hold, with processed chrome product gradually displacing unprocessed ore in Zimbabwe's export basket. Industry stakeholders have also called for tighter mineral-tracking systems to guard against smuggling and transfer-pricing risk as the value of processed mineral exports rises.

[SMM Express] Eastern Platinum's Crocodile River Mine has completed a rare turnaround among South African PGM juniors, with chrome concentrate output climbing to 82,120 tonnes in 2025, up 353% from 18,118 tonnes in 2024. The gain came alongside a 59% rise in PGM concentrate production to 5,146 tonnes, lifting mine operating income to US$1.7 million, up 113% year-on-year, and narrowing the fourth-quarter net loss by almost 40%. The recovery reflects Eastplats' shift from a tailings-retreatment chrome operation into a growing metallurgical chrome and PGM concentrate producer, following the 2024 commissioning of a processing facility handling UG2 run-of-mine ore from the Zandfontein underground section. That momentum carried into Q1 2026, with chrome concentrate volumes up 71.7% year-on-year, even as PGM concentrate sales to Impala Platinum continued to account for the bulk of revenue. The chrome ramp-up gives Eastplats a growing secondary exposure to stainless steel raw material markets alongside its core PGM business.

Since entering Q2 2026, the silicon manganese alloy market has remained under sustained pressure. Prices of upstream raw materials—including manganese ore and coke—have stayed elevated, while downstream steel consumption remains sluggish amid strong price-suppression efforts from mills. The industry is caught in a dual squeeze of “high costs and weak demand,” with losses spreading rapidly from isolated cases to a widespread trend.