It was a quiet week for Platinum Group Metals price action but a notable one for corporate structure and PGM-adjacent science. Sibanye-Stillwater added a new share-trading venue in South Africa, while researchers in Japan and Israel reported a record-setting platinum-free fuel cell catalyst. Platinum eased and palladium touched a fresh one-year low as the week drew to a close.
The week's top stories#
Sibanye-Stillwater approved for a secondary listing on South Africa's A2X exchange#
Sibanye-Stillwater said on Tuesday, September 29, that its ordinary shares had been approved for a secondary listing on South Africa's A2X exchange, with trading due to start October 6. The company's primary listing on the JSE and its American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange are unaffected, and no new shares will be issued. A2X is a licensed South African exchange regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank. Sibanye-Stillwater framed the move as a way to widen investor access and potentially support liquidity in its stock. For a company whose earnings are directly exposed to platinum, palladium and rhodium prices, a broader set of trading venues gives PGM-linked sentiment one more channel through which to reach its share price. See DailyPlatinum's Sibanye-Stillwater production profile for background on the group's mines and output.
In a separate, previously reported labor matter, Sibanye-Stillwater's Montana workforce ratified a new three-year wage agreement at its East Boulder mine on September 30, even as strike action continued at the company's Stillwater East mine and Columbus metallurgical facility; DailyPlatinum covered that settlement in detail on September 30.
Platinum-free catalyst sets a fuel cell power record#
Researchers led by Hiroshi Yabu of Tohoku University's Advanced Institute for Materials Research and Dario Dekel of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, with Yasutaka Matsuo of Hokkaido University and AZUL Energy also involved, reported a carbon-supported blue-pigment catalyst that pushed a platinum-free fuel cell to a record power density of 902 milliwatts per square centimeter, Interesting Engineering reported on September 29. The result is described as the highest reported performance for an anion-exchange membrane fuel cell cathode built on a metal phthalocyanine. Yabu said the work shows that "careful molecular design can close the performance gap between platinum catalysts and platinum-free catalysts." The article noted platinum's price of roughly $54 per gram and its limited supply as the economic motivation for finding alternatives. Anion-exchange membrane fuel cells are a lower-cost relative of the proton-exchange membrane systems that still dominate hydrogen vehicles and still depend on platinum and iridium catalysts; a catalyst that narrows the performance gap without platinum is a long-range item to watch for anyone tracking the metal's role in hydrogen technology, even though it is not yet a commercial threat to platinum demand. Background on the metal's catalytic uses is on DailyPlatinum's platinum element page.
Prices over the week#
Platinum was quoted at $1,691.00 per troy ounce by Kitco at 10:03 p.m. ET on Friday, October 2, down $23.00 on the day. That level followed the World Platinum Investment Council's Q2 2026 Platinum Quarterly, published September 9, which shifted its 2026 outlook to a projected surplus. Palladium fared worse into the weekend. InstaForex reported on Friday, October 2, that palladium futures had fallen to roughly $1,170 per ounce, their lowest level in a year, as a stronger US dollar and rising Treasury yields reduced demand for non-yielding metals ahead of US payrolls data. The same report pointed to softer automotive demand and higher recycling volumes as longer-term pressure on palladium, partly offset by reduced mine output from Russia, and put the metal's year-to-date decline at 28.4%. Track current levels on DailyPlatinum's platinum price and palladium price pages.
What to watch next week#
- A2X trading start, October 6: Sibanye-Stillwater's ordinary shares begin trading on South Africa's A2X exchange.
- Stillwater East and Columbus labor dispute: whether Sibanye-Stillwater reaches a settlement for the sections still on strike now that the East Boulder agreement is ratified through July 2029.
- US non-farm payrolls: the data release InstaForex cited as a near-term driver for Federal Reserve policy expectations that have pressured palladium and the wider metals complex.
- Further reaction to the WPIC's Q2 2026 surplus call: continued market commentary on the Council's September 9 shift to a projected 2026 platinum surplus.
Sources
- Miningmx, Sibanye-Stillwater adds A2X secondary listing
- Shanghai Metals Market, Sibanye reaches East Boulder wage agreement; separate US strike continues
- Interesting Engineering, Blue pigment catalyst unlocks record fuel cell power without platinum
- Kitco, Platinum Price Today
- InstaForex, Palladium Slides to 1-Year Low