It is a quiet news day for the platinum group metals. The one verified fresh development is operational: more than 400 Sibanye-Stillwater workers in Montana are set to return to the Metallurgical Complex and the mine in Nye on Friday after ratifying a new labor contract, ending a strike that began September 3. The broader market backdrop remains the platinum pullback and depressed palladium prices that have weighed on sentiment since early October.
Top stories#
Montana miners return to work Friday as strike formally ends#
Sibanye-Stillwater confirmed its workforces at the Stillwater East mine and Columbus metallurgical facility in Montana have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Steel Workers International Union, effective retroactively from June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2029. The deal sets a wage increase of 4.5% in year one, the greater of 3.5% or CPI in year two, and the greater of 3% or CPI in year three, according to Mining Weekly. The ratification closes the strike action dating to September 3, with employees expected to resume duties from October 9. The East Boulder mine workforce, also in Montana, separately ratified its own agreement with the same union on September 30, effective from August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2029, on matching wage terms.
CEO Richard Stewart said the agreements "support the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of the US PGM operations." Sibanye-Stillwater is a major platinum and palladium producer; see our Sibanye-Stillwater production profile for context on the company's output.
Return-to-work brings relief to Montana mining community#
Local reporting from Columbus, Montana captured the economic stakes of the stoppage. Columbus mayor and local business owner Joe Morse told KTVQ he was "looking forward to the Thursday nights when the shift gets off and having them back in here." Sibanye-Stillwater senior vice president Heather McDowell told the station palladium has dropped to roughly $1,500 to $1,600 per ounce, versus near $2,900 per ounce four to five years earlier, a decline she linked to the company's push for cost control and mechanization at its US operations.
Prices and market context#
The palladium range cited by Sibanye-Stillwater management on 7 October reflects a market that has fallen sharply from its prior highs, largely on weaker automotive demand for the metal used mainly in gasoline autocatalysts. Track live levels on our palladium price page and palladium price chart.
Platinum has been trading well below its 26 January 2026 record of $2,923/oz (WPIC), after the World Platinum Investment Council's Q2 2026 Platinum Quarterly, published 9 September, swung its full-year 2026 forecast to a 265,000-ounce surplus from a 297,000-ounce deficit projected in Q1, even as it revised the 2025 deficit to more than 1 million ounces. That shift in the supply-demand outlook has weighed on sentiment through early October. See our platinum spot price page and platinum price history for more.
What to watch#
- Friday, October 9: Stillwater East and Columbus metallurgical facility employees formally resume day-shift duties, the first operational test of the new three-year labor contract.
- Ongoing: how quickly Sibanye-Stillwater's US PGM operations rebuild output following the stoppage, and whether the East Boulder agreement, in effect since August 1, keeps that mine running without disruption.
- Next WPIC Platinum Quarterly: whether WPIC updates its 265,000-ounce 2026 surplus forecast from the Q2 2026 report.
- Palladium demand trend: whether automotive demand stabilizes near the multi-year-low price range cited by Sibanye-Stillwater management.
Sources#
- Mining Weekly, "Sibanye confirms wage deal, strike end at remainder of US operations," https://www.miningweekly.com/article/sibanye-confirms-wage-deal-strike-end-at-remainder-of-us-operations-2026-10-07
- KTVQ (Q2 News), "More than 400 Sibanye-Stillwater workers end strike, back to work in Columbus and Nye on Friday," https://www.ktvq.com/news/more-than-400-sibanye-stillwater-workers-end-strike-back-to-work-in-columbus-and-nye-on-friday