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But a tapering in growth of EV sales, and a surge in demand for hybrid cars that need catalytic converters to curb pollution, have given PGMs a new lease of life that could put a floor under prices and keep some mines open for longer.

The Senate is currently considering amendments to the proposed "Preventing Auto Recycling Theft Act" (PART Act), which could restrict the recycling of platinum, palladium, and rhodium—three critical precious metals used in catalytic converters to reduce harmful emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.

On September 5, 2024, the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI) and the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), leading trade organizations in the precious metals recycling sector, formally expressed their opposition to Senate Amendment 2422, part of the proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025. In a letter addressed to key members of the Senate, including ...

“It’s a confluence of things but the market is very illiquid so our production cut at Stillwater is significant,” said James Wellsted, head of corporate affairs at Sibanye-Stillwater.
“There’s an element of Stillwater in this,” said Arnold van Graan, an analyst at Nedbank Securities. “We said previously that to be bullish on the palladium market you would need catalysts including selling more ...

Aschaffenburg, September 6th, 2024 – Hensel Recycling GmbH, an expert in the recycling of end-of-life PGM materials and Mastermelt Ltd, a leader in the refining of complex PGM materials are pleased to announce a strategic collaboration aimed at advancing the recycling and processing of PGM-based fuel cell and electrolyser materials in Europe.

“It is highly improbable we will see new investment in new prospects especially if they don’t have processing capacity. New projects are highly improbable,” he said.
Dunne said a base seemed to have formed at around R33,000 per ounce for the metals the firm produced. While now stable, he said his price level would have “significant consequences for the world’s PGM industry.” He leavened his ...

S. Africa’s platinum mining industry has entered a phase of irreversible decline as producers struggle with low prices and demand suffers from the rise of BEVs, Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne said on Friday.

So far this year, gold has surged by about 22%, surpassing $2,500 an ounce, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut. In comparison, the S&P 500 has risen by around 18.5% during the same period. Over the past year, the difference is even more noticeable, with the S&P 500 gaining nearly 31% and gold close to 27%.

PGMs are currently mainly used in the catalytic converters of internal combustion engine vehicles, which consume over 70% of supply. The group comprises six white-silver coloured metals including platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium.

The price of a bar of gold is worth a million dollars for the first time, thanks to soaring prices for the precious metal. The price of spot gold reached more than $2,500 per troy ounce Friday, hitting a record high. The average gold bar weighs 400 troy ounces – which, when you do the math, hits a million dollars.

Sublime Systems employed an electrochemical process to break down calcium silicate rocks at ambient temperature. Abundant raw materials were used to create reactive calcium and silicates that were dried and blended into cement. This system exhibited the same final strength and hardened phases as Portland cement.

This slump was largely driven by profit-taking and holders of gold liquidating their positions to cover losses elsewhere in the market. Still, expectations of a U.S. interest-rate cut in September continue to support gold fundamentally, ING analysts said in a note.

South African PGM miners have announced cuts of 500,000 toz production over the next five years.
Wilma Swarts, PGM research director for Metals Focus says the production cuts could end up being much higher — three times higher, in fact.

Technological Breakthroughs Raise Standards in Metal Refining

One of Australia’s top mining journalists Kristie Batten joins Stockhead in her new column placing a closer eye on the movers and shakers of the small cap resources scene.

The gold market has seen significant profit-taking after hitting all-time highs above $2,480 an ounce at the start of the week. While prices may continue to move lower, one bank is warning investors against betting against the precious metal.

Over the course of April and May, an inflow of more than half a million ounces of platinum poured into exchange traded funds (ETF) holdings in the UK, the biggest since South Africa’s ETF initial public offering (IPO) on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange nearly a quarter century ago.

Sibanye Stillwater would be forced to shutter its Montana palladium mine if prices fail to rebound soon, CEO Neal Froneman said Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. "The future of Stillwater remains in the balance," the CEO said when asked at a London conference about the outlook for the Montana mine. "If there's no correction in the price soon, as strategic as it is, we will have to put it on care ...

Heraeus has acquired McCol Metals, a Canadian recycler that specializes in recovering iridium from spent mixed metal oxide electrodes. McCol Metals will continue its recycling operations in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The site will be operated by Heraeus Precious Metals, the precious metals division of the Heraeus Group.

Simulations at imec showed that using ruthenium vias for the first four layers of the interconnect stack reduces overall resistance by as much as 60%.

Four leaders in the North American catalytic converter recycling industry, PGM of Texas, Legend Smelting and Recycling, Daniel Ball Converter Recycling, and Maryland Core, have rebranded as Elemental North America. Announced June 19th, the new name signals the evolution of these companies from the collection and processing of used catalytic converters to a new stage of recovering and refining ...