Metallix purchased by South African precious metals firm

Johannesburg, South Africa-based precious metals mining and production firm Sibanye-Stillwater Group says it has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Metallix Refining Inc., Shrewsbury, New Jersey, for $82 million.

Metallix is described by the South African firm as a producer recycled precious metals, including gold, silver and platinum group metals (PGMs), “primarily from industrial waste streams.”

The company operates two processing and recycling operations in Greenville, North Carolina, and just last month publicized a new type of furnace technology it has deployed.

In addition to serving customers in the United States from North Carolina, Sibanye-Stillwater describes Metallix as having a global customer base that it serves from facilities in the United Kingdom and South Korea.

For the South African firm, which acquired Abington Reldan Metals LLC, a precious metals recycling business based in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, in early 2024, the transaction does not mark its entry into the U.S. market. The company has been operating in the U.S. since 2017, when it purchased Stillwater Mining Co., which operated a metallurgical and platinum group metals (PGM) recycling complex in Montana. The Columbus metallurgical complex is one of America’s largest recyclers of PGMs derived from spent catalytic converters and other industrial sources along with processing PGMs extracted from its underground mines.

“Metallix complements Sibanye-Stillwater’s U.S. recycling operations in Montana and Pennsylvania, adding processing capacity, proprietary technology and extensive knowledge and experience,” according to the company.

Metallix has been operating for more than 60 years and in 2024, processed about 4.2 million pounds of inbound precious metals-bearing materials to produce approximately 21,000 ounces of gold, 874,000 ounces of silver, 48,000 ounces of palladium, 48,000 ounces of platinum, 4,000 ounces of rhodium, 3,000 ounces of iridium and 263,000 pounds (131.5 tons) of copper.

“The acquisition enhances the Group’s global recycling reach and internal logistics capabilities, increasing its ability to source materials from multiple regions [and] facilitating the delivery of end-to-end solutions to customers,” says Sibanye-Stillwater of the combination.

Sibanye-Stillwater refers to Metallix as having recorded positive earnings and cash flow recently and says the acquired firm is “expected to contribute positively to the Sibanye-Stillwater Group earnings and cash flow immediately.”

“We are excited to be adding Metallix to our existing recycling footprint; the scale, technology and know-how adds positively to our existing recycling operations and advances our urban mining strategy,” says Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman.

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

“We expect significant value uplift through the large number of synergies with our existing recycling operations,” he adds.

Sibanye-Stillwater describes itself as a multinational mining and metals processing group with operations that include projects and investments on five continents, including recycling and mine tailings treatment operations.

The transaction, which the South African firm says it has chosen to disclose even though Metallix is a privately held firm, is expected to close during this year’s third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals, adds Sibanye-Stillwater.