S. Africa's Sibanye signs a chrome pact to Glencore amid a slump in platinum prices

Sibanye Stillwater, a miner with a diverse portfolio of operations, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a deal to manage chrome for Glencore's Merafe Venture South Africa in order to offset the effects of a prolonged platinum metal price slump.

Chrome is a platinum by-product, and South African miner Sibanye has reported increased incomes from the metal that's used in steelmaking despite the sharply reduced prices of the primary minerals.

Platinum group metals, used to reduce automotive emissions, are experiencing a steep decline in price and face an uncertain outlook as the sales of battery powered vehicles increase.

Chrome prices are also soaring, fueled by Chinese demand, and producers anticipate a rebound in the fourth quarter of 2024, after a slight cooling.

Sibanye announced that the majority of its chrome recovery plants in South Africa will be operated by Glencore Merafe Venture. "This allows both parties to maximize synergies, and increase chrome production", Sibanye stated.

In a separate press release, Merafe Resources confirmed the agreement with Glencore Merafe Venture. Glencore Merafe Venture is a Glencore affiliate.

Neal Froneman, the outgoing CEO of Sibanye, said that he expected the deal to "immediately increase cash flow from SA PGM operations".

Sibanye's chrome sales in 2024 were 3.1 billion rand (168.84 millions dollars), a 42% rise on 2023. The company's sales of chrome, which totaled 1.3 million tonnes in six months, were 19% more than they were the previous year. $1 = 18.3608 rand (Reporting and editing by Helen Popper; Reporting by Nelson Banya)

(source: Reuters)