Platinum Group Metals Ltd. reports that its majority-owned subsidiary, Lion Battery Technologies Inc., has completed the first phase of independent testing and scale-up of its platinum- and palladium-based lithium-sulfur battery technology. Independent testing by the Battery Innovation Center in Newberry, Indiana, validated Lion's proprietary electrode technology in prototype lithium-sulfur cells, with platinum group metal catalysts improving capacity and rate capability compared with non-catalysed cells and palladium-rich formulations delivering the strongest overall performance. Following completion of this phase, Platinum Group and Valterra Platinum Limited have approved funding for the next stage of Lion's development programme, which will focus on manufacturing and testing pouch-cell prototypes in several performance configurations, optimising catalyst formulations and evaluating performance in target applications including drones. Lion was established by Platinum Group and Valterra Platinum in 2019 to develop next-generation battery technologies using platinum and palladium, and under a sponsored research agreement with Florida International University it holds exclusive rights to the intellectual property developed through the programme. To date, the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted eight patents related to the technology, with additional applications pending.
Valterra Platinum co-owns Lion Battery and approved funding for the next stage of its platinum/palladium lithium-sulfur battery development after successful first-phase testing
Lion Battery completed first-phase independent testing validating its platinum- and palladium-based lithium-sulfur electrode technology, with palladium-rich formulations performing best
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Metals Focus forecasts gold price to hit record high in 2027
Precious metals consultancy Metals Focus said in its annual report that it expects gold prices to set a record high in 2027. It said persistent inflation, a widening U.S. fiscal deficit and policy uncertainty will drive the rise as investors seek alternatives to traditional dollar-denominated assets. The average gold price in 2027 is projected to reach $5,330 an ounce, about 22% above current levels, though the U.S. Federal Reserve could tighten monetary policy further to counter above-target inflation, which could pose short-term headwinds. Spot gold hit a record high of $5,594.82 in late January 2026, but has since fallen 25% amid soaring energy prices and Fed tightening, and is currently trading around $4,152.27. Metals Focus also expects silver to benefit from many of the same macroeconomic factors supporting gold and to rise over the next 12 to 18 months, with average prices climbing from $70 an ounce in the fourth quarter of 2026 to above $90 an ounce in the fourth quarter of 2027. For platinum, it expects the average price in 2027 to be $2,060 an ounce as tight physical supply eases but a continued supply deficit supports prices, marking a fifth consecutive annual supply shortfall.
GOLD · Monetary · Positive Metals Focus forecasts gold averaging $5,330/oz in 2027, a record high, driven by inflation, fiscal deficit and policy uncertainty.
PLATINUM · Supply · Positive Platinum forecast at $2,060/oz in 2027 as a continued supply deficit marks a fifth consecutive annual shortfall.
SILVER · Monetary · Positive Report expects silver to benefit from the same macro factors, rising from $70/oz in Q4 2026 to above $90/oz in Q4 2027.
Metals Focus · · Neutral Metals Focus is the author of the report; no market impact on the consultancy itself is described.
Valterra Platinum Fair Value Raised to ZAR 1,373.14 as Analysts Split
Simply Wall St's updated fair value estimate for Valterra Platinum has moved from ZAR 1,344.81 to ZAR 1,373.14, with the revision accompanied by split analyst commentary on the stock. On the bullish side, Berenberg keeps a Buy rating with a 7,500 GBp price target, RBC Capital maintains an Outperform rating with a 7,200 GBp target, and Jefferies starts coverage with a Hold rating and a ZAR 1,250 target, citing expectations for improving fundamentals and higher EBITDA while waiting for a better entry point. On the bearish side, Barclays cuts Valterra Platinum to Underweight from Equal Weight with a ZAR 1,260 target, pointing to valuation and limited upside to current volume guidance, while JPMorgan keeps an Underweight rating even after lifting its target to US$67. The model update also shows the projected ZAR revenue decline moderating from 4.92% to about 4.13%, the expected net profit margin easing from 20.56% to about 19.70%, the future P/E multiple shifting from 21.4x to about 22.4x, and the discount rate edging higher from 18.73% to about 18.84%.
VALT.LSE · Capital · Neutral Analysts are split on Valterra Platinum as its fair value estimate was raised to ZAR 1,373.14 amid mixed ratings and targets.
BARC.LSE · Capital · Neutral Barclays cuts Valterra Platinum to Underweight from Equal Weight with a ZAR 1,260 target.
JEF · Capital · Neutral Jefferies starts coverage on Valterra Platinum with a Hold rating and ZAR 1,250 target, an analyst action on the stock.
JPM · Capital · Neutral JPMorgan keeps an Underweight rating on Valterra Platinum while lifting its target to US$67.
RY · Capital · Neutral RBC Capital maintains an Outperform rating with a 7,200 GBp target on Valterra Platinum.
Johnson Matthey Fair Value Estimate Raised to £28.97 on Cormetech Execution Focus
Johnson Matthey's central fair value estimate has been lifted from about £23.87 to about £28.97, with analyst targets now clustered between £23.30 and £25.00. Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the London-listed company from £24.00 to £25.00, while Jefferies reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a £23.30 target, saying the focus following the Cormetech acquisition has shifted to execution rather than deal risk. Kepler Cheuvreux moved to Hold with a £24.50 price target, a more cautious stance on upside relative to the updated fair value. The revised valuation reflects a net profit margin change from about 9.83% to about 9.92%, a future P/E move from about 14.4x to 17.3x, and a discount rate adjustment from 8.62% to about 8.54%, while revenue growth assumptions remain at a decline of about 40.09%.
Greenland Mines Ltd announced the successful completion of its more than two-month 2026 field program at the Skaergaard Project in southeast Greenland, a campaign the company describes as one of the largest and most comprehensive modern multidisciplinary efforts undertaken at the site. The program completed 4,480 meters of diamond drilling across 17 holes, including the first large-diameter HQ core ever recovered at Skaergaard, and extracted more than 105 tons of bulk material from mapped and channel-sampled gold and palladium-platinum mineralized horizons, an unprecedented scale-up from the two approximately 800-kilogram historical mini-bulk samples. The company's July 2026 S-K 1300 Mineral Resource Estimate reported 15.00 million ounces PdEq in Indicated Mineral Resources and 17.49 million ounces PdEq in Inferred Mineral Resources, covering only approximately one-quarter to one-third of the intrusion hosting the defined precious-metal horizons. Greenland Mines said potential vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite, iron and gallium value streams are being evaluated alongside the palladium-platinum-gold flowsheet, with gallium occurring throughout Skaergaard's mineralized horizons, though no economic credit is currently assigned to these potential by-products. The campaign also delivered the first integrated mining-oriented geotechnical, structural, LiDAR, high-resolution aeromagnetic, ground-penetrating radar and environmental baseline programs across priority development areas, with the data intended to advance Skaergaard toward metallurgical flowsheet development, mine planning and an Initial Assessment, the S-K 1300 equivalent of a Preliminary Economic Assessment.