JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Platinum’s appeal is being bolstered by its wide discount to gold, increasing industrial applications, and inclusion on the critical mineral lists of many countries, World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) CEO Trevor Raymond outlined at the culmination of Shanghai Platinum Week, where day-one viewership reached the 455 000 level.

Poised to transform domestic price risk management and boost demand for platinum products are new physically settled platinum and palladium futures, which the Guangzhou Futures Exchange embedded during a week that has served as a core platform for industry innovation and collaboration, as well as a highlighter of the critical role that platinum group metals (PGMs) play in the global economy's technological advancement.

“The insights shared during the event underscore the dynamic nature of the PGM market, from innovations in hydrogen technology to the expanding investment demand in Asia,” the WPIC release to Mining Weekly stated.

Ongoing collaboration is seen as being vital to leveraging the week’s insights and innovations for sustainable growth.

“We eagerly anticipate continuing these important conversations at Shanghai Platinum Week 2025,” Raymond added.

WPIC co-organises the yearly event with the China Gold Association Platinum Committee, Anglo American and the Precious Metals Industrial Committee of the China Material Recycling Association. As the global market authority on physical platinum investment, WPIC was create in 2014 by South African platinum producers Anglo American Platinum, Implats, Northam Platinum, Sedibelo Platinum and Tharisa.

In his presentation, Minerals Council South Africa VP Paul Dunne, who is also CEO of Northam Platinum, spoke of the importance of PGM mining to modern society, highlighted the growing importance of iridium and ruthenium for the hydrogen economy in particular, and noted that despite the predicted downturn in platinum production, current production levels remained higher than official forecasts.

WPIC research director Edward Sterck suggested that harmonising platinum value-added tax rules with gold and launching domestic PGM derivatives could further elevate Chinese platinum demand.

The London Platinum and Palladium Market presented on good delivery, where it sees significant opportunity for more Chinese refineries to gain accreditation.

Over the course of the week, attendees heard 42 presentations and 37 organisations displayed PGM-containing products, relating to applications from hydrogen, semiconductors, medicine and jewellery to platinum investment products and technical innovations.

At the Shanghai Jiading Hydrogen Park, attendees had the opportunity to meet corporate teams, view the production facilities of hydrogen-related companies, and converse with policy advocates.

RECYCLING INDUSTRY

It is feared that China's new reverse-invoicing tax policy, which aims to regulate scrap collectors, could negatively impact future recycled PGM supply and efforts to have it changed remain underway.

Representatives from various companies revealed success in developing platinum as an investment product, driven by the metal’s wide price discount to gold and high-quality products.

GUANGZHOU FUTURES BREAKTHROUGH

The new physically settled platinum and palladium futures contracts through the Guangzhou Futures Exchange represent a far-reaching shift in the way both metals are purchased, traded and how price risk is managed, particularly for domestic market participants in China, but also internationally.

Rather than the three-month contracts typically offered by other exchanges, key features of the new products include 12-month contracts, which not only bestow escalated hedging flexibility but also more frequent opportunities for settlement.

If they hold contracts to expiry, participants will be able to opt to offset the position or to take delivery of either form of the metals.

Uniquely, platinum and palladium in the form of ingots and sponge  – pure metal in powder form – as opposed to just ingots, will be accepted if delivery is required.

Further benefits of Guangzhou Futures Exchange's new futures include providing a mechanism for businesses involved in the market to hedge price risk and better manage their operations, something that is currently not freely accessible in China.

For example, the removal of price risk will allow platinum jewellery and investment product fabricators to reduce the premium charged for platinum products as well as the discount on buyback.