Western governments should provide price guarantees for critical minerals miners if they are to compete with Chinese rivals who receive huge state support, the boss of leading platinum producer Sibanye-Stillwater has said.

The comments by Neal Froneman come as industrialised nations have become alarmed by China’s dominance in the production and processing of critical minerals — but have stopped short of setting prices for raw materials or creating a joint buying programme.

“They have to level the playing field for us as mining companies,” Froneman, chief executive of the Johannesburg-listed platinum and battery metals producer, told the Financial Times. “If we mine for the US or even Europe, we should be guaranteed certain prices so that we get the right returns.”