Recycling

Investment demand for platinum is broadening to minor platinum group metals such as ruthenium and iridium, with up to half of some ruthenium imports into China being for investment purposes rather than industrial use, SFA (Oxford) CEO Henk de Hoop reported on June 3. Platinum bar and coin demand is expected to be 33% higher in 2026 than in 2025, while the World Platinum Investment Council forecasts a fourth consecutive annual deficit of 297 000 oz, with above ground stocks projected to provide less than three months' global demand cover by year end. Recycling supply is forecast to rise 9% to 1 826 000 oz in 2026, although higher prices are creating working capital constraints for recyclers, and mine supply is expected to remain broadly flat at 5 551 000 oz as geological and geotechnical factors limit the ability of deep-level underground operations to flex output despite a price rally that has seen platinum rise more than 100% over the past year.

South Africa's recycling sector is receiving targeted infrastructure investment, with producer responsibility organisation Petco reporting nearly R9-million in support for small businesses in 2025, up from R4.5-million in 2024, helping two Gauteng buyback centres achieve 20% to 30% productivity gains through conveyor systems and balers. Plastics SA is intensifying river catchment projects across the country ahead of World Oceans Day 2026, coordinating municipalities, environmental organisations, waste management companies and community groups to prevent plastic pollution from reaching waterways, with initiatives under way in Cape Town's Soetrivier catchment and ongoing projects in Durban and Bushbuckridge. The Western Cape successfully diverted 1 110 586 t of waste from landfills in 2024, with organic waste composting projected to spike from 220 425 t in 2024 to over 341 600 t in 2025 as the province targets a ban on 100% of organic waste from landfills by 2027.

Rare earths recycling is advancing through strategic partnerships, with ASX-listed Ionic Rare Earths signing binding sale agreements with US-based Advanced Magnet Lab for separated magnet rare earth oxides and a joint development agreement with Nth Cycle to eliminate oxalic acid dependency from its refining process, reducing operational expenditure and carbon footprint while addressing a hidden reliance on Chinese chemical supply chains. French rare earths separator Carester has secured a minority investment term sheet from InfraVia's Critical Metals Fund alongside US Rare Earth for its Caremag facility in Lacq, which is scheduled for commissioning later this year and will recycle 2 000 t a year of magnets and refine 5 000 t a year of mining concentrate, positioning it as Europe's first large-scale rare earths recycling facility. Mkango Resources' subsidiaries HyProMag and Mkango Rare Earths UK have been named collaborative project winners of the UK's DRIVE35 competition, leading the three-year £6.5-million REACT UK project to establish a full circular UK supply chain for neodymium-iron-boron magnets from end-of-life hybrid and electric vehicles, with the UK government providing £3.2-million of funding.

The Southern African Vinyls Association reported at its fourteenth annual general meeting on May 21 that global PVC markets face growing uncertainty, with Vinmar International noting that China's coal-based PVC production economics have improved significantly relative to ethylene-based production elsewhere owing to an 83% increase in Brent crude oil and a 64% rise in naphtha prices following geopolitical developments, while large-scale new PVC capacities in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are expected to reshape global trade flows into Africa and Europe. Shoprite's Centurion distribution centre achieved Level 2 Zero Waste to Landfill certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa, diverting more than 90% of waste from landfill by channelling 31 931 t of materials to verified recycling partners and composting 1 652 t of organic waste in the 2025 financial year. South Africa's scrap metal recycling sector is calling for intervention from the Competition Commission on the Price Preference System policy, with the Recycling Association of South Africa, Metal Recyclers Association and Scrap Recycling Coalition arguing that the system enables dominant domestic buyers to manipulate the market through blocking offers, non-genuine bids and uniform low pricing that disproportionately burdens waste pickers and squeezes out independent recyclers.

Crushing and screening equipment supplier Pilot Crushtec is exhibiting its TwisterTrac VS350E Stage V mobile crusher at Hillhead in the UK from June 23 to 25, actively seeking European distributors for both mobile and static product ranges as the company builds on an installed base that includes the first Stage V unit sold into the UK last year and machines operating in Eastern Europe. Western Cape recycler CL Trading is set to double its processing capacity from 3 500 t a month with the installation of a R3-million Enerpat horizontal baler, funded partly by Petco, which can produce a one-tonne bale in just over three minutes compared with 25 minutes for standard balers, enabling the company to buy more waste material from its network of more than 700 waste pickers and small collection businesses. Sibanye-Stillwater reported a 371% surge in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to R19.4-billion for the three months ended March 31, achieving zero fatalities and across-the-board safety improvements, with South African platinum group element operations delivering 393%-higher Ebitda of R12.4-billion on 87%-higher four element PGM prices and consolidated recycling operations contributing Ebitda of R1.6-billion from sales of 1 343 043 oz of precious metals.