- The platinum market recorded a deficit of approximately 992,000 ounces in 2024 and is forecast to remain in substantial undersupply through 2025.
- This tightening supply-demand balance has prompted a sharp rally in platinum prices.
- Platinum Group Metals Ltd. is working to address a portion of the world’s platinum need.
The platinum market is entering its third straight year of major structural supply deficits—a situation that is adding both pressure and opportunity for players such as Platinum Group Metals (NYSE American: PLG) (TSX: PTM), a development-stage mining company focused on its flagship Waterberg project in South Africa to help unlock new platinum supply while exploring innovative industrial applications for platinum and palladium.
According to the World Platinum Investment Council, the platinum market recorded a deficit of approximately 992,000 ounces in 2024 and is forecast to remain in substantial undersupply through 2025, with deficits estimated at 966,000 ounces for this year (https://ibn.fm/VOZDI). These supply gaps are driven by sharply constrained mine output—forecast to decline by up to 6% this year—and weak recycling rates, which have failed to keep pace with demand. With inventories dwindling fast, it’s clear the market is approaching a critical tipping point.
Adding further strain, global demand remains resilient. While auto demand may soften as EV adoption accelerates, the slower-than-expected EV transition has bolstered continued platinum use in internal combustion and hybrid vehicle catalytic converters. Jewelry demand is also on the rise, especially as consumers, particularly in China, pivot to platinum as a cheaper alternative to gold.
Furthermore, a Sprott special report noted that “perhaps the most striking development is the 300% surge in investment demand highlighted by WPIC, driven by strong Chinese bar and coin demand and a doubling of speculative net long positions. Investment demand is forecast at 688,000 ounces in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of net positive investment. This shift reflects growing investor recognition of platinum’s undervaluation, especially as prices break a 15-year downtrend and speculative interest pivots from short to long positions.”
This tightening supply-demand balance has prompted a sharp rally in platinum prices. Metals analysts report platinum recently surged over 10% in June alone, reaching four-year highs above $1,200 per ounce (https://ibn.fm/BaiIj). Market commentary highlights that the persistent deficits and declining above-ground inventories are laying the groundwork for prolonged price strength.
Platinum Group Metals is working to address a portion of the world’s platinum need. The company’s Waterberg project, on the Northern Limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Complex — the planet’s prime platinum reserve — is being advanced toward development and construction (https://ibn.fm/Cwoq8). The September 2024 Waterberg DFS update (https://ibn.fm/4iMo9) shows Waterberg is being designed as a fully mechanized, underground mine targeting platinum as well as other key metals, including palladium, rhodium and gold, (“4E” or “PGM”) with copper and nickel byproducts.
The October 2024 DFS update emphasized Waterberg’s potential to become one of the lowest-cost, largest underground PGM operations globally, leveraging shallow, decline-access and mechanized mining. Through these efficiencies, the project could deliver much-needed new platinum supply at a time when market demand for the metal is strong.
“The 2024 DFS validates the world-class nature of the Waterberg Project,” said Frank R. Hallam, PLG president and CEO. “Engineering teams from Stantec, DRA and Fraser McGill have collaborated to achieve an optimized and de-risked mine plan while also minimizing capital requirements. The primary objectives of the 2024 DFS were to update and minimize capital and operating costs, and to simplify the construction, ramp up and operating profile of the Waterberg Mine. I believe these objectives have been achieved.”
“We look forward to advancing the Waterberg Project for the benefit of our partners and local communities, as well as all the people of South Africa,” Hallam continued. “The Waterberg Project is planned to create approximately 2,000 jobs during construction and approximately 1,425 mostly high-skilled jobs once steady state mining is achieved. PGMs, copper and nickel play key roles in automotive emissions control and energy transition technologies, including that found in battery electric, plug-in hybrid, gasoline hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The Waterberg Project is a long-life asset capable of profitably producing these critical metals.”
Platinum Group Metals is positioning itself at the confluence of a rapidly tightening platinum market and technological innovation. With global deficits reaching up to a million ounces, supply tightening through declining mined supply and weak recycling, and growing industrial, automotive, jewelry, and investment demand keeping prices buoyant, the company’s Waterberg project represents a timely source of new material. Success in bringing Waterberg into production could allow Platinum Group Metals to not only help ease market shortages but also capitalize on a rising price environment.
For more information, visit www.PlatinumGroupMetals.net.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to PLG are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/PLG
