• Zimplats held production in matte at 606,300 6E ounces while concentrate output increased 5% to 660,400 ounces, with about 24,000 ounces carried in inventory
• Tonnes milled rose 7.7% to 8.05 million tonnes as grade declined 2.3%, showing that higher throughput protected output while increasing exposure to energy
• Implats’ realised revenue per ounce increased by more than 50% to about R38,100 as sales volumes rose 4%

Harare- Zimplats has held production in matte at 606,300 6E ounces in the year ended June 2026 after mining and milling improvements lifted concentrate output 5% to 660,400 ounces. The flat final output concealed a stronger operating year underground and at the concentrators, where tonnes milled rose 7.7% to 8.05 million tonnes while furnace maintenance left about 24,000 ounces in concentrate inventory awaiting processing.

The operation therefore produced more metal than it converted into matte. That gap should release additional processed volumes once the accumulated concentrate passes through the furnace, giving Zimplats a deferred production benefit entering FY2027. The result also establishes Zimplats as the strongest of Implats’ operations during the period. Mimosa’s production declined 6% to 239,100 ounces after power interruptions, oxidised ore and increasingly complex geology disrupted processing stability.

Zimplats has achieved the throughput growth while its 6E mill grade declined 2.3% to 3.29 grams per tonne. The operation processed 575,000 more tonnes to keep matte production unchanged. This is the central operating read from the update. Mine and concentrator capacity compensated for lower ore quality, preserving output into a stronger PGM price environment.

The mechanism carries a cost consequence. Lower grades require more ore to be mined, transported and processed for every ounce produced. Higher throughput can protect metal volumes while increasing electricity, equipment, labour and maintenance intensity. Zimplats can sustain this approach where milling capacity and recoveries continue improving. A further decline in grade would require another increase in throughput simply to keep production flat.

That pressure already appears in the group cost outlook. Implats expects unit costs to rise 8% to about R24,250 per 6E ounce, with higher energy prices, infrastructure maintenance and development expenditure absorbing part of the benefit from stronger refined volumes and the firmer rand. Zimplats also carried additional discretionary expenditure on maintenance and infrastructure during the year.

The price environment made this production profile significantly more valuable.

Implats’ 6E sales volumes increased 4% to 3.51 million ounces while sales revenue per ounce rose by more than 50% to approximately R38,100. The gain came from broad appreciation across precious and base metals, with rand strength providing only a limited offset. Group production increased just 0.5%, yet refined and saleable output rose 5.5% to 3.56 million ounces as processing plants reduced excess work in progress from 420,000 ounces to 300,000 ounces.

The group therefore entered the new earnings cycle with modest mine growth, stronger processing conversion and materially higher realised prices. Zimplats participated through stable matte production and higher concentrate generation, placing it to benefit again when the furnace inventory is released.

The global platinum balance supports the price recovery. The World Platinum Investment Council expects a fourth consecutive deficit in 2026 of about 297,000 ounces, reducing above ground stocks to less than three months of global demand. Investment demand for bars and coins is expected to rise 27%, while constrained mine supply continues limiting the market’s ability to rebuild inventories.

This creates a favourable revenue setting for Zimbabwe’s platinum producers. The country’s three large operations supply metal into a market where available stocks are declining and new mine supply remains difficult to add quickly. Zimplats has the largest production base, installed processing infrastructure and the clearest route to higher output through existing mine and concentrator investments.

The wider regional comparison places its performance in the middle of a sector recovery led by processing and selective operational gains.

Valterra Platinum maintained 2026 mined and refined production guidance of 3 million to 3.4 million ounces after first quarter refined output increased 78% and sales volumes rose 60%. The increase benefited from the timing of maintenance and the sequencing of refined production, illustrating the same processing effect visible at Implats. Metal reaching the refinery and the market has grown faster than underlying mine production across parts of the industry.

Northam reported a 3.7% increase in equivalent refined production from its own operations during the six months to December 2025. Its July update showed a sharper improvement at Eland, where higher underground production, better grades and improved recoveries lifted own production 25.9%. That performance came from several operating levers moving together, including tonnes, grade and recovery. Zimplats increased tonnes while grade weakened, leaving it more dependent on throughput and processing availability.

Zimbabwe’s own production split carries the same lesson. Mimosa milled 1.4% fewer tonnes and experienced a 1.9% decline in grade, leaving concentrate production 5.8% lower. Intermittent power interruptions added another operating constraint. Zimplats increased throughput strongly enough to absorb its grade decline. The divergence places power availability, geological complexity and processing stability at the centre of the local PGM outlook.

Unki remains the third major Zimbabwean comparator and carries a different competitive advantage through responsible mining certification. The mine retained an IRMA 75 assessment following surveillance, giving it a recognised standard for environmental and social performance that can strengthen access to customers placing greater weight on verified sourcing.

The operational comparison leaves Zimplats with the strongest scale advantage and the largest exposure to the PGM price recovery. Its 606,300 ounces of matte production are more than two and a half times Mimosa’s concentrate output. This scale spreads fixed infrastructure across a larger production base and gives furnace performance a larger effect on annual group volumes.

It also concentrates execution risk. The 24,000 ounces held in concentrate during furnace maintenance represent deferred output, not lost production, provided the material is processed on schedule. Repeated maintenance delays would shift the issue from timing into capacity availability. Zimplats’ recent investments in mine replacement, concentrator capacity, smelting and sulphur dioxide abatement were designed to support higher and more sustainable production. The operation now needs those assets to convert rising mined volumes into saleable metal without recurring inventory accumulation.

Implats’ capital expenditure came in at about R7.2 billion, below the guided R8 billion to R9 billion. The shortfall arose partly from delayed fleet expenditure at Zimplats. Lower capital spending supports near term cash generation, though timing delays can create a later catch up requirement and place pressure on equipment availability where fleet replacement is deferred.

This distinction will matter when Implats releases audited results around 3 September 2026. The production update already points to a substantial earnings improvement. A realised revenue rate near R38,100 per ounce against expected unit costs of R24,250 creates a wide operating spread before corporate costs, royalties, tax and capital expenditure. The spread is supported by price appreciation, higher refined production and the reduction in processing inventory.

Its durability depends on metal prices holding above the cost inflation moving through the operations.

Platinum’s market deficit provides support. Palladium carries a different medium term outlook as recycling and changing automotive demand move the market towards eventual surplus. WPIC expects platinum deficits to persist through the forecast period, while palladium deficits are expected to give way to surpluses later in the decade. The composition of each producer’s basket will therefore influence how much of the current price recovery survives beyond the near term.

Zimplats benefits from a diversified 6E basket and associated base metals. Implats reported refined and saleable nickel production growth of 17.6% to 18,456 tonnes, adding another revenue source alongside platinum, palladium and rhodium. Higher nickel output strengthens the economics of processing where base metal prices remain supportive.

Mimosa’s production decline provides the immediate warning. Power interruptions and complex ore reduced output during a year in which every lost ounce carried a materially higher realised price. The opportunity cost of unreliable power rises when commodity prices rise. Energy security therefore becomes an earnings issue for the miners and a foreign currency issue for Zimbabwe.

Zimplats’ own grade trend deserves equal attention. The 7.7% increase in tonnes milled generated 5% more concentrate as grade fell 2.3%. The operation retained positive production leverage, with output still rising after the lower ore quality. The margin between throughput growth and concentrate growth will narrow if grades weaken further or recoveries deteriorate.

Management should use the FY2026 results to set out the expected grade profile, furnace recovery plan and fleet expenditure carried into FY2027. The production outlook should separate additional ounces expected from processing the 24,000 ounce concentrate inventory from growth generated by mining and milling. This will prevent a one time inventory release from being read as a permanent increase in the production run rate.

The Zimplats board should also define the operating threshold at which higher throughput ceases to compensate economically for lower grades. The relevant measure is the cost per ounce after energy, maintenance and fleet requirements, not tonnes milled in isolation. A higher volume strategy creates value while unit costs remain below the realised basket price by a margin sufficient to fund replacement capital and shareholder returns.

Mimosa’s shareholders should prioritise power resilience and ore blending through the next production period. Its decline came from several constraints moving in the same direction, including lower throughput, lower grade, unstable processing and difficult geology. Restoring one measure will leave the operation exposed if the others remain weak.

For Zimbabwe’s mining policy, the immediate gain lies in protecting existing PGM output during a favourable pricing cycle. New beneficiation requirements and processing ambitions need dependable electricity, efficient approvals and access to capital. The country already has large installed mining and processing assets. Keeping those assets operating at full availability will generate foreign currency faster than policies whose capacity takes several years to commission.

Zimplats held its final output while the underlying mine produced more concentrate, the group cleared processing inventory and PGM prices lifted revenue per ounce by more than half. The operation enters FY2027 with a furnace inventory available for conversion and a global platinum market still in deficit.

The next phase will be judged through the quality of that conversion. Stable grades are unavailable as an assumption, costs are rising and deferred fleet expenditure still needs to be executed. Zimplats has the scale and processing base to capture the PGM upcycle. Its return from that cycle will depend on how efficiently higher tonnes become refined and saleable ounces.

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