Northam Platinum achieves new output record as chrome production surges
2026-07-16 11:21:33 [Print]
Northam Platinum reported a 17% increase in chrome production for its 2026 financial year, driven in part by the ramp-up of its Eland Platinum operation in South Africa's North West province. The Eland facility alone recorded a 49.5% surge in chrome output, reaching 308,831 tons, while Northam's group-wide chrome production totaled 1.69 million tons.
Against the backdrop of platinum group metal (PGM) price volatility this year, chrome is increasingly being recognized as a valuable by-product and a key revenue diversifier for PGM miners.
However, potential policy changes loom on the horizon. The South African government has proposed an industrial policy aimed at capping chrome exports in an effort to encourage greater domestic smelting into ferrochrome. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has clarified, however, that the measure remains a proposal at this stage and has not yet been implemented.
Against the backdrop of platinum group metal (PGM) price volatility this year, chrome is increasingly being recognized as a valuable by-product and a key revenue diversifier for PGM miners.
However, potential policy changes loom on the horizon. The South African government has proposed an industrial policy aimed at capping chrome exports in an effort to encourage greater domestic smelting into ferrochrome. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has clarified, however, that the measure remains a proposal at this stage and has not yet been implemented.
Ferro-chrome Cr 60%min, C 0.1%max IW Rotterdam
Unit:USD/lb Cr
China‘s chromium metal producers' inventory to production ratio statistics by province by month
Unit: %
