SOARING gold and platinum prices made all the difference to Sibanye-Stillwater in the March quarter boosting group adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by 371% to R19.4bn (March quarter 2025: R4.2bn).
This was despite largely unchanged platinum and gold production and sharply higher costs on the gold operations.
South African platinum group metals (pgm) production was 2% up at 11,920 kilograms (11,699kg) at a maintained all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of R24,629/ oz (R24,599/oz) which delivered adjusted ebitda of R12.4bn thanks to an 87% increase in 4E pgm prices.
South African gold production was steady at 4,336kg (4,389kg) which delivered adjusted EBITDA of R4.7bn (R1.8bn) because of a 49% rise in the gold price received.
Gold production AISC jumped 15% “primarily due to higher operating cost and higher royalty taxes linked to the elevated gold price”.
No financial results were provided for the March quarter because Sibanye-Stillwater only reports these on a six-monthly basis.
Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Richard Stewart commented that, “it is pleasing that group operating results for the first quarter of 2026 reflect improved operational stability and consistency across all group operations.
“Underpinned by effective cost management in most operations, this solid performance provides the foundation to drive enhanced operating margins, and deliver shared value for all stakeholders, as we continue to execute our refreshed strategy.”
Turning to Sibanye-Stillwater’s United States pgm operations, where AISC were 14% up year-on-year and production 5% lower, Stewart said the strategic focus was to get AISC down to around $1,000/oz by the end of 2028 “to ensure through-cycle commodity sustainability and resilience”.
“The step change in AISC will be driven by increasing productivity through the progressive implementation of increased mechanisation and increased mining volumes.”
Stewart said construction of the concentrator at the Keliber lithium mine in Finland was completed in January and the refinery finished construction in the first week of April.
Said Stewart: “The phased start-up of the project commenced with mining operations at the Syvajarvi mine in February 2026. At the end of quarter one 42,100 tons of ore was stockpiled for use to commission the concentrator that is planned to commence in quarter three 2026.”
Stewart said operating guidance for the 2026 financial year remained unchanged at end-March with South African pgm production estimated at 1.65 million oz to 1.75m oz of pgm at an AISC of R26,500 to R27,500 per oz and gold production (excluding DRDGold) forecast at 13,700kg to 14,700kg at an AISC of R1,62m to R1.73m per kg.
