Retail platinum buying kept setting records in the UK even as the futures price stayed far below January's peak, the Royal Mint reported this week. A valuation upgrade at an early-stage South African developer reopened talk of consolidation among PGM juniors, and fresh commentary challenged the regulatory footing behind Sibanye-Stillwater's biggest recent capital decision. Platinum, palladium and rhodium all eased into Friday's close, with spot markets now shut for the weekend.
The week's top stories#
Royal Mint says platinum and silver bullion sales already at full-year records#
The Royal Mint said this week that silver and platinum bullion sales have already set new full-year records with a quarter of 2026 still to go, while demand for gold bullion has also picked up again, Kitco News reported on 21 October. Platinum bullion revenue rose 118% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2026, the Mint said, with both platinum and silver already topping their previous full-year totals despite three months remaining in the year. Silver bullion purchases rose 295% over the same nine-month period compared with 2025. Stuart O'Reilly, a private wealth consultant at the Royal Mint, pointed to the UK Budget, US midterm elections and ongoing uncertainty around interest rates as factors that could keep shaping investor demand for precious metals into year-end. The figures suggest UK retail buyers have kept adding physical platinum through a year in which the price fell sharply from its January record, a different dynamic from the ETF outflows that have weighed on the broader market. Readers can compare current premiums on DailyPlatinum's platinum bars page.
Southern Palladium flags takeover risk after Bengwenyama valuation jump#
South African PGM-chrome developer Southern Palladium said this week it could become a target for a larger producer after a sharp upgrade to its flagship project's valuation, MiningMX reported on 20 October. CEO Johan Odendaal said the company is "probably vulnerable at the moment, especially now that we have the mining right granted," and said it is preparing for approaches because "we have to." Earlier in the month, disclosing an updated prefeasibility study prepared by Minxcon, Southern Palladium raised the post-tax net present value of its Bengwenyama project on the Bushveld's Eastern Limb to $1.96bn from $857m, based on an 8% discount rate, MiningMX reported on 13 October. Philip Newman, managing director of Metals Focus, told MiningMX that "platinum remains supported by a further market deficit, although physical tightness has eased," adding that "palladium faces softer automotive demand and improving supply, bringing its market closer to balance." The episode shows how far the PGM rally of the past two years has lifted greenfield project valuations even as spot prices have since retreated.
Sibanye-Stillwater's Burnstone bet challenged over unresolved empowerment rules#
Sibanye-Stillwater's board approved the R6.2bn restart of its Burnstone gold project in early September, alongside the Mount Lyell copper-gold project in Tasmania, as part of a sharp improvement in half-year earnings, Business Day reported on 2 September. This week, MiningMX argued in an opinion piece on 19 October that the investment is effectively being made on faith, because empowerment requirements that could apply when Burnstone's mining licence comes up for renewal in roughly two years remain unresolved. "If we're forced to re-empower, that has a massive impact on the economics," CEO Richard Stewart told MiningMX on 12 October. Burnstone is expected to produce about 130,000 ounces of gold a year at steady state, with an estimated 25-year mine life and first production targeted for 2029. Burnstone is a gold project rather than a PGM mine, but the regulatory uncertainty around South Africa's Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act applies equally to Sibanye's platinum and palladium operations. Readers can track the company's PGM output on DailyPlatinum's Sibanye-Stillwater production page.
Prices over the week#
Platinum closed the week lower, settling at $1,563 per troy ounce on Friday 23 October, a 0.88% daily decline and down roughly 10.8% over the trailing month, according to Trading Economics' CFD-tracked series. The metal's all-time high remains $2,923/oz, set on 26 January 2026 according to the World Platinum Investment Council, with Johnson Matthey's base-price series recording $2,860/oz for the same event. Palladium's Umicore 10am reference price was quoted at $1,060.00 per ounce on Friday 23 October, down from a range near $1,121-$1,142 earlier in the week, according to Umicore's Precious Metals Management page. Rhodium was unchanged over the weekend at $8,625.00 per troy ounce, matching Friday's close on 23 October, according to Kitco. For live reference prices, see DailyPlatinum's platinum price page, palladium price page and rhodium price page.
What to watch next week#
Investors will watch whether Southern Palladium's management receives or confirms a formal approach after flagging this week that it could become a takeover target following Bengwenyama's valuation upgrade. Progress on South Africa's proposed amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, which Sibanye-Stillwater says could affect Burnstone's economics when its mining licence comes up for renewal in about two years, remains a longer-running theme to track. Heraeus has historically published its annual Precious Metals Forecast in November, with the 2027 edition expected in November 2026, a report that typically resets consensus price ranges for platinum, palladium and rhodium.
Sources: Kitco News (Royal Mint); MiningMX, 20 October (Southern Palladium takeover vulnerability); MiningMX, 13 October (Bengwenyama NPV upgrade); MiningMX, 19 October (Sibanye-Stillwater Burnstone opinion); MiningMX, 12 October (Sibanye-Stillwater BEE certainty); Business Day, 2 September (Sibanye earnings and Burnstone approval); Trading Economics (platinum); Umicore Precious Metals Management (palladium); Kitco (rhodium).