In a development that will send shock waves through the automotive and platinum mining industry in South Africa, Johnson Matthey has decided to close its manufacturing plant in Germiston, Gauteng as of the end of October 2023. Although there has been no official announcement it is believed employees were already advised in March/April this year.
A Johnson Matthey spokesperson said:
“As part of our strategy to simplify our business and service our customers better and more efficiently, we have explored all options for the site in Germiston, South Africa. Due to changes in demand and significant increases in manufacturing and operating costs, we will be closing the site and all business operations, in Germiston, South Africa by 31st October 2023.”
“We are working closely with our employees, customers, and suppliers to ensure the smooth transition of our operations to our other JM plants during 2023.”
The company, which makes catalytic converters for vehicles and refines platinum group of metals (PGMs) used chiefly by automotive manufacturers.
Johnson Matthey South Africa Holdings Limited (the company) is the holding company of certain South African investments of the Johnson Matthey group.
The company’s wholly owned subsidiary undertakings are Johnson Matthey (Proprietary) Limited (manufacturing catalytic systems for automotive exhaust emission control), Johnson Matthey Salts (Proprietary) Limited (manufacturing PGM Salts for automotive exhaust emission control) and Johnson Matthey Research South Africa (Proprietary) Limited (technology centre). All three entities are incorporated in South Africa with their registered office address at Corner Henderson and Premier Roads, Germiston South Ext 7, Gauteng, South Africa.
The Johnson Matthey platinum refinery at Wadeville was opened officially in October 1969. Previously the entire output of partially refined material treated by Matte Smelters (Pty) Ltd at Rustenburg had been sent to England for final refining. The new refinery at the time, in which Rustenburg Platinum Mines was a partner at the time, was part of the implementation of the joint policy of Rustenburg and Johnson Matthey to assure industry throughout the world of adequate and continuing supplies of platinum metals. Rustenburg Platinum Mines, is the world’s largest platinum producer, is now owned by Sibanye Rustenburg Platinum Mines Proprietary Limited, which in turn is in the Sibanye-Stillwater Group. It was previously owned by the Anglo American Group.
On the 26th March, 1992 Johnson Matthey’s latest Autocatalyst Plant was officially opened by the British Ambassador to South Africa, Sir Anthony Reeve, K.C.M.G., bringing to five the number of autocatalyst plants operated by Johnson Matthey worldwide at the time. The facility is situated in Germiston South, some 20km from Johannesburg and a mere 7km from Wadeville where Johnson Matthey first began operations in South Africa almost 40 years ago.
Johnson Matthey’s facility consists of 10 000m² of covered area, a third of which is occupied by the autocatalyst plant. It also houses the Chemical Salts Production Unit, which primarily supplies the requirements of the autocatalyst facility, and Johnson Matthey’s Noble Metals business. This produces and refines rhodium-platinum catalyst gauze for the nitric acid industry, Johnson Matthey thereby playing a strategic role in the mining and agricultural industries of South Africa. The local requirements for platinum apparatus are also satisfied by this unit.
In an extract written by J. Todd Bruce, Marketing and Planning Director, Anglo American Platinum Corporation Limited (https://technology.matthey.com/article/40/1/2-7/), in 1996 he gives a synopsis of Johnson Matthey’s history in South Africa.
Johnson Matthey’s links to the South African platinum mining industry stretch back to the discovery of platinum-bearing deposits in the Bushveld Igneous Complex in 1924. The subsequent founding of Rustenburg Platinum Mines in 1931 to exploit the Merensky Reef marked the start of an enduring relationship between Rustenburg, the largest platinum producer in the world, and Johnson Matthey as agent, customer and refiner of the platinum group metals and base metals produced from the mining operations at Rustenburg.
The fledgling South African platinum industry suffered a severe blow in 1932 with the depression-induced collapse of the platinum price on international markets. As a result, mining operations at Rustenburg were suspended until the end of 1933 when they were recommenced on the advice of Johnson Matthey. In 1938 Rustenburg’s first major expansion programme, to 20 000 tons per month, was completed and the first smelter furnace and converter unit were commissioned. At this point the material delivered to Johnson Matthey changed from platinum group metal concentrates to the less bulky converter matte.
During the Second World War years, 1939 to 1945, mine production remained steady at around 25 000 tons per month, but as a result of improvements in Johnson Matthey’s processing and refining technology, production of refined platinum increased to some 40 000 ounces per annum. After the war an upsurge in platinum demand, initially from the chemical industry and later from other industrial sectors, resulted, over the next 30 years, in an ongoing series of expansions in production at Rustenburg. Platinum output at Rustenburg doubled between 1947 and 1949, in part by the acquisition in 1949 of the operations of the Union Platinum Mining Co. Ltd. A decision to double the output again was taken in 1951 (at which time Rustenburg was producing ore at a rate of about 70 000 tons per month). At the same time agreement was reached with Johnson Matthey to form a jointly held company, Matte Smelters (Pty) Ltd, to erect and operate a plant in South Africa to produce saleable nickel and copper and a high-grade platinum group metals refinery feed from a portion of the matte produced by Rustenburg. The balance of the Rustenburg matte continued to be exported to Johnson Matthey in the United Kingdom for processing. The Matte Smelters plant was commissioned during 1954/1955.
In 1969 a platinum group metals refinery, financed 80 per cent by Johnson Matthey and 20 per cent by Rustenburg, was commissioned at Wadeville in South Africa to treat a portion of Rustenburg’s platinum group metal output from the Matte Smelters plant. The balance of the Rustenburg material continued to be refined by Johnson Matthey at Royston in the UK. In 1972 Rustenburg and Johnson Matthey formed a jointly held company, Matthey Rustenburg Refiners (Pty) Ltd, “MRR”, to acquire and operate the platinum group metals processing facilities owned and operated by Johnson Matthey and Rustenburg. Accordingly, MRR acquired the Wadeville platinum group metals refinery, Matte Smelters and Johnson Matthey’s smelting and refining operations at Brimsdown and Royston in the UK.
The platinum market slumped severely in 1971 causing Rustenburg to cut production by almost 50 per cent to some 550 000 ounces per annum. Fortunately, the successful development of auto-catalyst technology by Johnson Matthey and Engelhard during the early 1970s represented the beginning of a major new application for platinum in 1975. In 1972, to meet this challenge, Rustenburg decided to expand production beyond the previous 1 million ounces per annum level, by developing its Amandelbuit Section, some 120km north of the Rustenburg mining operations.
Rustenburg’s production capacity was further increased in 1977, when the company acquired the mining operations of Atok Platinum Mines (Pty) Ltd, situated on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex. Due to the expansion in Rustenburg’s platinum output during the 1970s, Rustenburg and Johnson Matthey decided to replace the 23-year-old Matte Smelters plant with a new MRR base metals refinery which would process Rustenburg’s entire matte output into saleable nickel, copper, cobalt and a high-grade platinum group metals refinery feed. The new base metals refinery became operational in 1981/82.
Extraction Technology
In 1980 Johnson Matthey concluded the successful testing of a pilot platinum group metals extraction plant based on Johnson Matthey’s proprietary new solvent extraction, “Solvex”, technology. The success of the pilot plant prompted Johnson Matthey and Rustenburg to build a pre-production scale Solvex plant at Royston. Construction began in 1981 and the plant was commissioned in 1983. In 1984 it was agreed by Johnson Matthey and Rustenburg that Rustenburg should take over sole responsibility for the crucial stages of processing and refining. Accordingly, Rustenburg purchased the Wadeville platinum group metals refinery and the new base metals refinery from MRR. Rustenburg contracted MRR to manage the Wadeville refinery and MRR continued to own and operate the platinum group metals refinery in Royston. Rustenburg decided in 1986 to erect a new platinum metals refinery in South Africa at Rustenburg Section using Johnson Matthey’s Solvex technology. In 1987 Rustenburg acquired a controlling share in MRR and contracted MRR to manage the new refinery upon completion.
In 1988 Johnson Matthey purchased the Royston platinum group metals refinery from MRR. The new platinum group metals refinery, apart from employing the state-of-the-art Solvex refining technology, also provided Rustenburg with the necessary increased capacity to refine the additional platinum group metals sourced from two additional expansion projects begun in the late 1980s. These were the Amandelbult expansion project and the development of Potgietersrust Platinums Limited, the only open-cast platinum mining venture in South Africa. The new platinum group metals refinery was commissioned in May 1989 and the refining of Rustenburg’s platinum group metals at Wadeville and Royston ceased during the latter half of that year. Over the 65 years that Rustenburg and Johnson Matthey have been associated, the business relationship between the two companies has been governed by numerous Marketing and Refining Agreements. An important milestone in the relationship was reached in 1992, when the 1972 Marketing Agreement was renegotiated and supplemented by a new Principal Sales Agreement. The term of these two agreements ensures the continuation of the Rustenburg/Johnson Matthey relationship (including the two other producers in the Amplats stable) well into the future.
In addition to the purchase of services provided by Johnson Matthey under the Marketing Agreement (Market Research for example) Rustenburg also jointly funded certain research and development programmes for technical applications with Johnson Matthey. These activities are performed at the various Johnson Matthey Technology Centres.
Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies, has a long association with South Africa, which makes it all the more concerning that they have decided to close the Germiston plant.
