Anglo American Platinum

Anglo American Platinum extracts survival strategy from geology. The company produces platinum, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium—four platinum group metals (PGMs) from the same ore body in South Africa's Bushveld Complex. This isn't inefficiency; it's bet-hedging at geological scale. When palladium prices collapse 24% and rhodium crashes 30% (as they did in 2024), platinum rises 9% and ruthenium jumps 14%. The portfolio naturally counterbalances.

In 2024, this basket strategy cushioned brutal headwinds. EBITDA fell 19% to R19.8 billion as realized PGM prices dropped 13% in rand terms. But the company absorbed the shock through metabolic adjustment: refined production increased 3% to 3.9 million ounces (drawing down inventory) while costs plummeted. All-in sustaining costs declined 13% to $986 per 3E ounce through R12 billion in annual savings—exceeding the R10 billion target. This is classic resource reallocation: when revenue contracts, compress operating costs faster than the decline.

The biological discipline shows in crisis response. Q1 2025 flooding at Tumela mine cut production 8%, but the company maintained full-year guidance of 3.0–3.4 million ounces by reallocating output from other shafts. This is organismal homeostasis: kidney failure triggers liver compensation. The Bushveld Complex contains 80% of global PGM reserves—a geological moat—but extraction requires navigating 2-kilometer-deep shafts in seismically active rock. Operational resilience matters more than ore grade.

The June 2025 demerger from Anglo American (which retains 19.9% stake) represents controlled separation—Anglo American Platinum becomes independent organism after decades as subsidiary organ. The company must now regulate its own capital allocation, risk management, investor relations. This is reproductive fission: single cell becoming two viable organisms. Success requires each daughter cell maintaining complete metabolic pathways.