Sibanye-Stillwater's third-quarter operating update dominated PGM news on Friday, confirming the US production cut flagged earlier in the week while adding fresh detail on group earnings and the South African operations carrying the group through the strike. China's palladium trade data and a firmer platinum price rounded out the day.
Top stories#
Sibanye-Stillwater's Q3 EBITDA rises 9% even as US PGM output falls 19%#
Group adjusted EBITDA climbed 9% year on year to R10.8 billion ($662 million) in the quarter to 30 September 2026, Sibanye-Stillwater said in its operating update, with higher commodity prices doing most of the work across the South African PGM, gold, recycling and Century zinc operations.
The US picture looked very different: production at the Montana PGM operations fell 19% year on year to 59,417 ounces after the five-week strike at the Stillwater mine and Columbus metallurgical complex, and all-in sustaining costs rose 39% to $1,617/oz, according to miningmx's report on the update.
Sales volumes at the US operations declined 7% to 72,514 ounces as the company drew down concentrate inventories built up during the strike, miningmx reported.
South African PGM output slipped 10% year on year to 458,202 ounces, which MINING.COM attributed to planned reductions in surface production and depleting reserves at Kroondal, though the group kept its 2026 guidance for those mines at 1.65 million to 1.75 million ounces.
South African PGM adjusted EBITDA rose 16% to R5.8 billion on stronger sales volumes and a 15% increase in the platinum-palladium-rhodium-gold (4E) basket price to R37,200/oz, IndexBox reported citing the update; the US operations' EBITDA still grew 9% to $36 million as the two-element (2E) basket price rose 19% to $1,411/oz.
Sibanye had already told markets on Thursday that it was cutting 2026 US PGM production guidance to 245,000-255,000 ounces from 280,000-300,000 ounces and raising its cost forecast to $1,700-$1,760/oz from $1,520-$1,580/oz, a move DailyPlatinum covered as it broke.
Friday's fuller results added the group-level context: a 9% EBITDA gain despite the strike, and a workforce that Business Day reported was left about 25% below planned levels.
CEO Richard Stewart said the newly concluded labor agreement "supports the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of the US PGM operations," according to miningmx's report of his comments.
Business Day also reported that Sibanye is targeting production costs of about $1,000/oz at its US operations by end-2028, alongside annual output of about 410,000 ounces, as the Stillwater and East Boulder mines remain the only primary source of mined platinum and palladium in the United States.
China's palladium imports from Russia fall 70% in September as prices halve#
China's imports of Russian palladium fell 70% year on year to 1.56 tonnes in September, according to Kommersant data reported by bne IntelliNews on 5 November, a setback for Norilsk Nickel given that palladium accounts for about 23% of Nornickel's revenue.
Total Chinese imports of unwrought palladium halved to 2.9 tonnes, which Shanghai Metals Market linked to weaker world prices and inventories built up earlier in the year.
Over the first nine months of 2026, China still bought 25.9 tonnes of Russian palladium, up 45% year on year, for $1.5 billion, more than double the value a year earlier.
The September customs data implies a price near $1,550/oz, the report noted, cautioning that Russian export figures may include volumes from other producers or from stockpiles, so the comparison does not show what share of Nornickel's own output China is buying.
Nornickel itself has guided for 2026 palladium production of 2.4 million to 2.46 million ounces, which would be 9.5% to 11.7% below 2025 levels, a reduction bne IntelliNews flagged as the main support for prices even as Chinese buying softens.
Platinum edges higher into the weekend#
Platinum traded at $1,525.00 per troy ounce as of 7:13 a.m. ET on 6 November, up $13.00 on the day, with a day's range of $1,502 to $1,548, according to Kitco's live spot chart.
Palladium traded at $1,003.00 per troy ounce as of 10:46 a.m. ET on 6 November, down $12.00 on the day, within a range of $995 to $1,063, per Kitco.
The diverging moves came on a day when Sibanye's US output cut pointed to tighter platinum-group supply from one major producer, while the Nornickel and Chinese import data pointed to both a tightening Russian palladium supply outlook and softer near-term Chinese buying.
Prices and market context#
Platinum's $1,525/oz spot level on 6 November, per Kitco, remains well below the metal's 2026 high: the World Platinum Investment Council recorded platinum's all-time peak at $2,923/oz on 26 January 2026.
Palladium at $1,003/oz on 6 November is also far off its historic highs and continues to trade below platinum, a reversal from the years when palladium carried an autocatalyst-driven premium.
For readers tracking the spread, DailyPlatinum's platinum price and palladium price pages update through the trading day, and the platinum price chart and palladium price chart give longer-run context.
On the supply side, Sibanye-Stillwater's US PGM operations are the only primary US source of mined platinum and palladium, which keeps the Montana strike recovery relevant to US critical-minerals policy discussions even as the company's South African operations, covered on DailyPlatinum's Sibanye-Stillwater market page, continue to anchor group output.
On the demand side, the swing in China's Russian palladium imports is a reminder of how sensitive that trade flow is to price arbitrage and prior stock levels rather than to a single clear structural shift.
Readers following the catalytic converter demand base that still consumes the bulk of mined palladium can find background on DailyPlatinum's PGMs in autocatalysts page.
What to watch#
- Sibanye-Stillwater's effort to rebuild its US workforce and restore Stillwater and East Boulder output in the fourth quarter, after the strike left staffing about 25% below planned levels, per Business Day's 6 November report.
- Confirmation of full-year 2026 guidance from Sibanye-Stillwater against the revised US PGM range of 245,000-255,000 ounces and cost guidance of $1,700-$1,760/oz.
- Nornickel's 2026 palladium output, guided at 2.4-2.46 million ounces, and whether declining Russian supply continues to offset softer Chinese import demand.
- Further monthly Chinese customs data on palladium and platinum imports, the key gauge bne IntelliNews cited for whether September's 70% drop in Russian palladium imports extends into the fourth quarter.
Sources: Sibanye-Stillwater Operating Update (irw-press.com); Business Day (businessday.co.za); miningmx (miningmx.com); MINING.COM (mining.com); IndexBox (indexbox.io); bne IntelliNews (intellinews.com); Kitco Platinum (kitco.com); Kitco Palladium (kitco.com); WPIC Perspectives (platinum all-time high reference).