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Reference specimen · Hi-Res Images of Chemical Elements, CC BY 3.0
Precious
Top-10 #8Sample dataThe platinum-group metals are platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. They are used in autocatalysts, hydrogen electrolysers and fuel cells, glass, electronics, chemicals, jewellery and investment. South Africa's Bushveld Complex holds most of the world's PGM reserves and produces about 70% of its platinum and more than 80% of its rhodium. Zimbabwe's Great Dyke is the #3 platinum source. The industry is dominated by a few integrated miners that smelt and refine in South Africa.
Verified companies only
Volumes, origins and terms are shown to verified companies. Availability for everyone else: Contract (concentrate) / Spot (refined, licensed). Verify your company or submit a request.
PGM concentrate
Unit: oz · HS 7110.11
flotation concentrate (tens to hundreds of g/t 4E/6E), sold to smelters under toll or purchase-of-concentrate agreements
Converter matte / furnace matte
Unit: oz · HS 7110.21
Zimbabwe ships matte to South African refineries
Refined metals
Unit: oz · HS 7110.31
platinum and palladium sponge/ingot ≥99.95% (LPPM Good Delivery), rhodium sponge, iridium, ruthenium
By-products
Unit: oz · HS 7112.99
nickel, copper, cobalt, chrome (UG2 chrome concentrate)
ARAM sourcing assessment
Valuable but dominated by integrated majors. Opportunities: junior concentrate producers seeking toll-smelting or offtake, chrome by-products, and refined metal through licensed dealers. Listing status: Contract (concentrate) + Spot (refined, licensed channels only).
South Africa
Bushveld — Valterra Platinum (ex-Anglo American Platinum), Impala Platinum (Implats), Sibanye-Stillwater, Northam, African Rainbow Minerals, Tharisa, Sedibelo; many junior/mid-tier concentrate producers
Zimbabwe
Great Dyke — Zimplats (Implats 87%), Mimosa (Implats/Sibanye), Unki (Valterra), Karo (development), Tharisa's Karo project
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — African rows of the world production & reserves table
World Mine Production and Reserves: Significant revisions were made to the 2024 production for Russia and South Africa 82,600 70,000 126,000 120,000 63,000,000 Zimbabwe 15,200 15,000 18,400 18,000 1,300,000 World total (rounded) 217,000 190,000 179,000 170,000 >76,000,000
| Year | Country | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | South Africa | 7110 | $10.71bn | — |
| 2024 | South Africa | 7110 | $9.96bn | — |
| 2023 | South Africa | 261690 | $1.13bn | 18.5 kt |
| 2024 | South Africa | 261690 | $1.00bn | 16.9 kt |
| 2023 | Zimbabwe | 7110 | $121.2m | 21 t |
| 2024 | Zimbabwe | 7110 | $103.2m | — |
| 2024 | Zimbabwe | 261690 | $881k | 582 t |
Mirror data fills gaps where exporters report late or incompletely.
| Year | Buyer | Origin | HS | Value | Net weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Japan | South Africa | 7110 | $4.12bn | 73 t |
| 2024 | USA | South Africa | 7110 | $3.71bn | 86 t |
| 2023 | USA | South Africa | 7110 | $3.59bn | 68 t |
| 2024 | Japan | South Africa | 7110 | $3.32bn | 81 t |
| 2023 | China | South Africa | 7110 | $2.96bn | 69 t |
| 2024 | China | South Africa | 7110 | $2.84bn | 74 t |
| 2023 | Germany | South Africa | 7110 | $1.58bn | 30 t |
| 2024 | Germany | South Africa | 7110 | $1.53bn | 40 t |
| 2023 | Germany | South Africa | 261690 | $1.35bn | — |
| 2024 | Germany | South Africa | 261690 | $1.02bn | — |
| 2023 | Rep. of Korea | South Africa | 7110 | $564.2m | 12 t |
| 2024 | Rep. of Korea | South Africa | 7110 | $484.8m | 12 t |
Source: UN Comtrade (public data). Values in US$.
Minerals trade on formula prices: a published benchmark × metal content × payable percentage, less treatment charges and impurity penalties, settled on independent assay. Payment is typically by documentary letter of credit, with 90–95% provisional payment against shipping documents and the balance on final assay.
Request terms for Platinum-Group MetalsZimbabwe
Levy / tax
5% levy on unbeneficiated platinum exports (Jan 2025); pressure to refine locally; export proceeds retention rules
Primary sourceSource
South Africa
Permit / licence
precious-metals export permits (South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator — SADPMR); Precious Metals Act
Authority: SADPMRPrimary source
Zimbabwe (Great Dyke): 2025 platinum ~491 koz (−4%); Zimplats 6E in matte FY2025 606 koz; Unki (Valterra) 219.7 koz in concentrate. 37,194 t of matte exported to South African refineries in 2025 (~US$1.5bn); 5% levy on unbeneficiated platinum exports from Jan 2025. South Africa (Bushveld) is the world's dominant platinum and rhodium source (Valterra/Anglo American Platinum, Implats, Sibanye-Stillwater, Northam).
Source 1 · miningzimbabwe.comSource 2 · whitecase.comSource 3 · investingnews.com
Research compiled September 2026 from USGS, UN Comtrade, producer and regulator publications. Facts marked “reported” come from secondary sources and should be confirmed before contracting.
On the ground · Platinum-Group Metals
The mines and districts that define supply, with their operators. They are shown for geographic context: third-party operations, not ARAM sites, and not the source of any particular lot. Ownership and status as publicly reported in 2026.
Mining districtSouth Africa
Operated by Valterra Platinum, Impala Platinum, Sibanye-Stillwater and others
The heart of South African platinum mining on the Bushveld Complex, which also yields chrome (UG2) and vanadium.
Photo: Bruce Paulmac · CC BY-SA 3.0
Mining districtZimbabwe
Operated by Zimplats, Mimosa, Unki and small-scale chrome miners
A 550 km layered intrusion across Zimbabwe hosting platinum-group metals and high-grade chromite.
Photo: NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team · Public domainHi-Res Images of Chemical Elements, CC BY 3.0
Aram Dulyan (User:Aramgutang), Public domain
Reference specimens of the ore minerals and products, from public collections. They illustrate the material, not a specific ARAM lot or source.
Tech & industrial metals
Chromite ore is smelted into ferrochrome, which makes stainless steel stainless. South Africa's Bushveld Complex holds more than 80% of the world's chromite reserves and is the dominant exporter of chrome ore, mostly to China. A large share comes as UG2 chrome concentrate recovered from platinum-mine tailings. Zimbabwe's Great Dyke is the #2 African source, and Zimbabwe bans raw chrome ore exports to force local ferrochrome smelting.
#10Precious
Gold is the most liquid commodity on the list and Africa's largest mineral export by value. The top producers are Ghana (Africa's #1, about 6 Moz in 2025), Mali, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Supply splits into large-scale mines selling doré to accredited refiners, and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), which employs millions and is the channel most exposed to smuggling, conflict financing and money laundering. It is traded under the strictest due-diligence regime of any mineral.
Precious
Africa produces most of the world's rough diamonds by value. Botswana is the #1 producer by value, and Angola, the DRC (#1 by volume, mostly industrial quality), South Africa, Namibia (marine diamonds), Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and Lesotho (Letšeng, very high value per carat) follow. Rough trade is regulated by the Kimberley Process. Since 2022 the market has been in a deep downturn from lab-grown competition: De Beers' rough sales fell from US$5.67bn in 2022 to US$1.95bn in 2024.