Key points
-
Implats sales rose 7 percent amid stronger platinum group metal prices.
-
Company achieved a fatality-free quarter with stable operations.
-
Full-year production and cost guidance for FY26 remains unchanged.
Platinum group metals producer Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) recorded higher refined and saleable production, along with stronger sales volumes, in the three months ending September 30.
The gains came as global platinum group metal (PGM) prices strengthened and market sentiment improved.
Strong start to the financial year
Implats’ refined and saleable metal volumes rose 3 percent to 830,000 ounces, while final metal sales increased 7 percent to 847,000 ounces.
Chief Executive Nico Muller said the recovery in PGM pricing provided a “welcome tailwind” for the company’s operations.
“The sustained recovery in PGM pricing provides a welcome tailwind. Implats is well positioned to maximise and share value while maintaining a firm focus on safe, consistent, and efficient operational delivery,” Muller said in a statement.
He added that the company achieved a fatality-free quarter, underscoring its commitment to safety and operational discipline.
“Implats remains firmly on track to deliver against its previously communicated operational, cost, and capital expenditure guidance for FY26,” he said.
Market conditions and demand outlook
Muller said the company had concluded annual contractual negotiations with its core customers, reaffirming a positive demand outlook across its portfolio of precious and base metals.
He noted that 2025’s PGM markets had been shaped by “constrained liquidity, improved investor sentiment, and firmer pricing.” Geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty has pushed buyers toward securing stable supply of critical metals.
Mixed performance across operations
Tonnage milled at managed operations increased slightly to 7.11 million tonnes. Higher throughput at Impala Rustenburg’s North shafts offset lower output from Impala Canada and operational disruptions at the South and Central shafts.
However, lower ore grade and recoveries led to a 5 percent decline in total managed production to 693,000 ounces.
Joint venture production from Mimosa in Zimbabwe and Two Rivers in South Africa also dropped 5 percent to 138,000 ounces.
At Impala Rustenburg, milled volumes increased 2 percent to 3.99 million tonnes, but grades fell 4 percent. The North shafts performed well, with concentrate volumes up 6 percent to 137,000 ounces.
Zimplats in Zimbabwe maintained stable output, though lower ore grades and power outages slightly reduced production.
Marula continued its steady recovery, achieving a 1 percent increase in milled volumes despite a modest drop in grade.
Impala Canada’s performance remained within plan, though tonnes milled fell 8 percent due to the mine’s adjusted operating strategy aimed at improving cost efficiency.
Refining and sales volumes
Refined production, including saleable ounces from Impala Canada and Impala Rustenburg’s North shafts, rose 3 percent to 830,000 ounces.
The company completed its annual maintenance schedule during the period, with inventories increasing by 60,000 ounces to about 480,000 ounces.
Sales volumes climbed 7 percent to 847,000 ounces. Third-party concentrate deliveries to Impala Refining Services also grew by 3 percent.
Health and safety performance
Implats reported no fatal incidents during the quarter. The company’s lost-time injury frequency rate stood at 3.52 per million person-hours worked, a 7 percent regression.
The total injury frequency rate rose 25 percent to 8.54, which the company attributed to medical checks for employees exposed to smoke during an underground fire.
Muller said Implats would maintain its full-year guidance for production, cost, and capital expenditure.
