Grid Electricity for PGM Smelting (South Africa / Russia)

PJSC Mining and Metallurgical Company Norilsk Nickel (Moscow; MOEX: GMKN; ~$12B revenue) is the world's largest nickel and palladium producer and produces cobalt sulfate as a byproduct of nickel refining at its Kola Peninsula operations (Monchegorsk, Murmansk Oblast) and Norilsk complex (Krasnoyarsk Krai). Nornickel's Kola MMC refinery produces cobalt sulfate from cobalt-bearing matte generated at Norilsk nickel smelters. Pre-2022, Nornickel supplied cobalt sulfate to European and Asian battery manufacturers. Post-February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nornickel's cobalt sulfate has been largely excluded from Western supply chains due to sanctions and reputational risk — but continues supplying Chinese battery manufacturers (CATL, BYD, CALB) who are not bound by Western sanctions. Nornickel's ~3-4% global cobalt sulfate share is now effectively China-destined.

South African state-owned electric utility (HQ Sunninghill, Johannesburg; government-owned; ~ZAR 250B revenue); responsible for approximately 80% of South Africa's electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. Eskom operates a fleet of coal-fired power stations (most built in the 1970s-1990s) that have suffered from aging infrastructure, maintenance backlogs, corruption, load-following problems, and operational failures — resulting in severe 'load-shedding' (rolling blackouts) that has disrupted the entire South African economy since 2007 and reached crisis levels in 2022-2023. During Stage 6 load-shedding (the highest stage in 2022-2023), South African businesses faced 6+ hours of planned power outages daily. PGM smelters — which operate electric arc furnaces at continuous high temperatures — cannot simply shut down during load-shedding events; forced curtailment causes frozen tap-holes, equipment damage, and costly production loss. Eskom's failure to maintain and expand South Africa's power generation is simultaneously a national economic crisis and a global PGM supply chain vulnerability.