The roughly 8 million ounce a year market will see a shortfall of 158,000 ounces in 2021, WPIC says.

The company's Oktyabrsky underground mine is back at its daily ore mining capacity of 14,100 tonnes after flooding.

Russian companies normally pay a 20% profit tax, of which 3% goes to the federal budget and 17% to regional ones.

In December, the government announced a multibillion-dollar project that would hold some of the nation’s most valuable gold, platinum, chrome and nickel mines.

High prices for metals extracted by Sibanye, including gold, platinum, palladium and rhodium, have boosted profits.

The gold market is discounting Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's prior remarks about needing rate increases.

The platinum miner said group production in the nine months to March 31 rose by 11% to 17.38 million tonnes.

Expectations of a deeper deficit have pushed up prices 20% since mid-March, with palladium touching a new all-time peak of $2,891.20 on Wednesday.