SA's PGM miners hang tight with hopes of better days ahead

South Africa's platinum group metals (PGM) miners, which represent the bulk of the world's production, are in the steely grip of a price downturn that has forced them to drive down costs and, in many cases, cut jobs.

But they are optimistic that, at the very least, things can't get much worse.

"I'm not expecting the price to decline any further from this point," Nico Muller, CEO of Impala Platinum, said when addressing the PGM Industry Day in Johannesburg on Wednesday.