Platinum (Pt, atomic number 78, CAS 7440-06-4) anchors every PGM basket ounce, and a PGM basket price is a producer's total metal revenue divided by its total basket ounces sold, expressed per 4E, 6E or another labeled ounce. The element itself, covered on platinum (Pt), element 78, never trades alone in a mining company's results: it is weighed, priced and reported together with palladium, rhodium and the other platinum group metals in one basket figure.
What Is a PGM Basket Price?#
A PGM basket price is revenue per basket ounce, a realized, backward-looking figure, not a market quotation like the live per-metal quotes on platinum group metal prices today. Producers publish it after metal is sold, not before, because it already carries the pipeline lags, hedges and contract terms settled during the reporting period. A basket price is always expressed per 4E ounce, per 6E ounce or another named label, and the label is never optional: a 4E figure and a 6E figure for the same ore are not comparable without converting one to the other.
Basket Price vs Spot Basket Price#
A spot basket price applies today's spot prices to a fixed prill split for sensitivity analysis; it is not what a producer actually receives, because of pipeline lags, hedges and contract terms. Analysts use it to test how a metal's price move would shift revenue, holding the prill split constant while spot prices move. A realized basket price, by contrast, is what actually cleared through sales during a stated period, on the metal-in-concentrate or refined-metal basis the producer reports, so the two figures answer different questions and are never interchangeable.
Why Basket Price Matters to Investors and Producers#
Basket price matters because a rising platinum price does not automatically raise a producer's revenue: the basket price depends on the prill split and on how the added metals are priced relative to the basket average. Widening the basket adds ounces to the denominator, and whether the reported figure rises or falls depends on whether the newly added metal is priced above or below the existing basket average on the date in question, not on a fixed rule. A producer with a large rhodium or gold share can see its basket price move more than platinum alone suggests, which is why investors read the prill split before the headline basket number.
PGM Basket Definitions: 2E, 3E, 4E, 5E, 6E and 6PGE#
Eight basket labels are used across PGM reporting, from 2E (platinum and palladium only) to 6PGE+Au (all six platinum group elements plus gold). Each label fixes which of the six platinum group metals, plus gold, a producer counts before dividing revenue by ounces, and the same ore body can be reported on two or three different labels depending on which part of a results announcement is being read.
Johnson Matthey's PGM Market Report never uses a basket at all: Johnson Matthey base prices cover platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium as separate, per-metal series, which is why a basket calculation is never built on Johnson Matthey figures alone.
The Basket Table by Element#
The basket table below lists which of platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, osmium and gold each label includes. Each row states a basket ounce, one of the PGM ounces (4E and 6E) definitions that producers report against a named label, not a physical weight distinct from the troy ounce itself.
| Label | Pt | Pd | Rh | Ru | Ir | Os | Au | Elements | Where used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2E | Yes | Yes | 2 | Sibanye-Stillwater US operations (J-M Reef, Montana) | |||||
| 3E / 3PGM | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 | Cost denominators, such as Valterra's AISC "per 3E ounce" | ||||
| 3PGE | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 | Exploration and assay reporting; "3PGE+Au" equals 4E | ||||
| 4E | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4 | Sibanye-Stillwater SA, Northam, Sylvania and most Bushveld reporting | |||
| 5E / 5PGE | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5 | Rarely used alone; the base of "5E+Au" | ||
| 5E+Au (equals 6E) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 | Valterra ("5E+Au"), Implats ("6E"), Zimplats ("6E"), Sylvania (6E) | |
| 6PGE | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 | Geological and assay literature; includes osmium, excludes gold | |
| 6PGE+Au | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 | Exploration assay reporting |
Which Producers Use Which Basket#
Producers do not share one basket: Valterra Platinum reports 5E+Au ounces and a 3E AISC denominator in the same results announcement, while Implats and Zimplats report 6E and Sibanye-Stillwater's South African operations report 4E. The table below sets out each company's basket alongside Johnson Matthey, WPIC and the USGS, which report per-metal figures rather than a basket at all.
| Company | Reporting basket | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Valterra Platinum | 5E+Au (production); 3E (AISC denominator) | Two denominators inside one results announcement |
| Impala Platinum (Implats) | 6E | Company states 6E as platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold |
| Sibanye-Stillwater, South Africa | 4E | Company also describes it as "3 PGM+Au" |
| Sibanye-Stillwater, United States | 2E | J-M Reef ore, palladium and platinum only |
| Northam Platinum | 4E | Refined production reported in oz 4E |
| Zimplats | 6E | Defined explicitly in company reporting |
| Sylvania Platinum | 4E and 6E, both reported | Publishes both figures each period |
| Johnson Matthey | Per metal, not a basket | Separate series for platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium |
| WPIC Platinum Quarterly | Platinum only | Never a basket |
| USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries | Platinum and palladium, in kilograms | Not ounces, not a basket |
6E vs 6PGE: The Trap to Avoid#
"6E" and "6PGE" are not the same basket: 6E means five platinum group elements plus gold (platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold) and excludes osmium, while 6PGE means the six platinum group elements including osmium and excludes gold. Implats describes its own 6E as "platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and gold," never counting osmium; geological "6PGE" reporting swaps gold for osmium instead, becoming a seven-element "6PGE+Au" once gold is added back. Treating a 6PGE+Au exploration result as comparable to a 6E production figure silently imports osmium into a number that never carried it, so the safest habit is to name the elements rather than trust the label alone.
How a PGM Basket Price Is Calculated#
A basket price is calculated by multiplying each metal's price by its share of the basket, the prill split, and summing the result. That sum, divided by the total basket ounces sold in the period, is the realized basket price a producer reports; the same arithmetic run on today's spot prices instead of realized sale prices produces the spot basket price described above.
Prill Split: The Weights Behind the Basket#
Prill split is the percentage each element contributes to a basket's total value, and Sibanye-Stillwater's South African PGM operations reported a 2025 4E split of platinum 59%, palladium 30%, rhodium 9% and gold 2% on 1,724,778 oz 4E produced. A 4E prill split reports the relative shares of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold; a 6E prill split adds ruthenium and iridium to the same base. The prill split, multiplied by each metal's price and summed, is what actually sets a producer's basket price, which is why two companies mining similar ore grades can report different basket prices once their prill splits diverge:
- Platinum-led splits, such as Sibanye-Stillwater's South African 59/30/9/2, are rhodium-levered: a rhodium price move shifts the basket beyond its 9% weight alone.
- Palladium-led splits, such as Sibanye-Stillwater's US operations at Pd 78% and Pt 22% on the J-M Reef in Montana, report no rhodium inside a 2E basket, though the ore itself carries minor rhodium the smelter and refinery still recover.
Worked Example: Sylvania Platinum's 4E and 6E Ounces#
Sylvania Platinum declared 81,002 oz 4E and 104,233 oz 6E for the same FY2025 period, a 28.7% larger figure purely because the 6E basket also counts ruthenium and iridium. Both figures describe identical output from the same processed material; only the counting rule changes, and the entire gap between them is the ruthenium and iridium content that a 4E basket leaves out. This uplift is UG2 chrome-tailings-specific, at the industry's high end: a producer blending Merensky and UG2 ore shows a smaller 4E-to-6E gap, so Sylvania's 28.7% is not a rate to apply elsewhere without a producer's own disclosed figures.
Basket Prices by Producer#
Producers publish their own realized basket price once or twice a year, on their own basket definition, so the figures below carry different labels and currencies and cannot be summed or averaged against each other.
| Producer | Period | Basket label | Basket price or split | Currency | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valterra Platinum | FY2025 (year to 31 Dec 2025) | 5E+Au | US$1,852/oz, +26% year on year | USD | Valterra Annual Results 2025 |
| Valterra Platinum | Year-end 2025 | 5E+Au | US$2,562/oz, +89% during 2025 | USD | Valterra Annual Results 2025 |
| Sibanye-Stillwater, South Africa | 2025 prill split | 4E | Pt 59%, Pd 30%, Rh 9%, Au 2% | n/a (a split, not a price) | Sibanye-Stillwater SA PGM operations |
| Northam Platinum | H1 F2026 (6 months to 31 Dec 2025) | 4E | US$2,081/oz | USD | Northam trading statement, 9 Feb 2026 |
Valterra Platinum's Realised Basket Price#
Valterra Platinum's FY2025 realized basket price was US$1,852 per PGM ounce, up 26% year on year, on its 5E+Au basis; its year-end level was higher still, at US$2,562 per PGM ounce, up 89% during 2025. The two figures measure different things: US$1,852 per PGM ounce is the average realized across the full year, while US$2,562 per PGM ounce is the level reached at year end, so neither number replaces the other and both belong in the same read of the company's results. Valterra's own platinum price history shows the same 2025 rally, though a basket price and platinum's own spot series never move identically, since the basket blends five metals plus gold.
Sibanye-Stillwater's Rand Basket and Currency Risk#
Sibanye-Stillwater's guidance assumes a rand basket, not a dollar one: its 2026 guidance conversion assumption was R18.24 per US dollar, alongside by-product credit assumptions of US$4,800 per ounce for rhodium and US$2,500 per ounce for gold in its US PGM cost planning. A dollar basket price and a rand basket price for the same ounces move apart whenever the rand moves, so comparing Sibanye-Stillwater's rand results with Valterra's or Northam's dollar figures requires converting one into the other, with the exchange rate named alongside them.
Northam Platinum's 4E Basket#
Northam Platinum's H1 F2026 4E basket price was US$2,081 per ounce (platinum US$1,546; palladium US$1,330; rhodium US$7,284; gold US$3,843), yet the company still faced margin compression from cost inflation over the same six months. Rhodium's US$7,284 per ounce figure sits far above the other three metals, a reminder that a single high-priced, low-weight element can pull a 4E basket's total even while platinum mining output and platinum's own price move only modestly.
PGM Basket Tools and Related Pages#
Two DailyPlatinum tools turn today's spot prices into a basket figure. Every basket term used on this page, from prill split to 6PGE, is also defined in one place in the platinum group metals glossary.
Calculate a Basket Price#
The PGM Basket Price Calculator applies live platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium prices to a chosen prill split, turning today's spot prices into a spot basket price on any label from 2E to 6PGE.
Individual PGM Prices Today#
Each PGM in a basket has its own live price page, since a basket figure is only as current as the metals that feed it.
- Platinum and palladium trade with live quotes and NYMEX futures contracts.
- Rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium price only through dealer and refiner quotations, with no exchange.
The palladium price today page carries the same live-quote format as platinum's, feeding directly into any 2E through 6E calculation.
PGM Basket Price FAQ#
What is the difference between 4E and 6E platinum?#
4E platinum counts platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold; 6E adds ruthenium and iridium to the same four, which is why a 6E ounce figure is always larger than a 4E one from the same ore. The gap is entirely the ruthenium and iridium content 4E leaves out, and it varies by ore: largest on ruthenium- and iridium-rich UG2 feed, smallest on Merensky and Platreef ore.
What is a PGM basket price?#
A PGM basket price is a producer's total PGM revenue divided by its total basket ounces sold, on a named basket such as 4E, 6E or another label. It is a realized, backward-looking figure a producer reports after metal is sold, not a live market quotation, and it is never meaningful without the basket label attached to it.
What is the most expensive PGM?#
The most expensive PGM by unit price is rhodium or iridium, depending on the date; both trade far above platinum's per-ounce price and neither has an exchange spot market. Prices for both move on dealer and refiner quotations, not a public exchange, so which one leads on a given day has a dated answer, not a fixed rule; dated levels for one of the two are tracked on rhodium price today.
Is osmium included in a PGM basket?#
Osmium is not included in any commercial production basket (4E, 6E or 5E+Au); it is recovered separately and quoted only per gram, not per ounce. Osmium does appear in the geological "6PGE" label used in exploration and assay reporting, which is one more reason 6E and 6PGE are never interchangeable.