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Platinum Group Metals

Could Trump use wartime emergency law to boost Montana metals mining, curtail Russian imports? – by Mike Sunnucks (Fairfield Sun Times – May 12, 2025)

https://www.fairfieldsuntimes.com/

President Donald Trump invoked a wartime and emergency law in March to bolster critical materials and rare-earth metals mining production in the U.S.

“The Defense Production Act (DPA) will be used to expand domestic mineral production capacity,” reads the order, referring to the federal law that was established during the Korean War, invoked during the Cold War to help bolster U.S. aluminum and titanium industries, and most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase manufacturing of masks and ventilators.

Now, there could be an effort by Trump to use his emergency powers under the DPA to bolster platinum and palladium mining in Montana and curtail Russian imports of the precious metals. Montana is the only state where platinum and palladium (the latter used mostly in catalytic converters for cars and trucks) is mined.

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‘At Sudbury, we are nowhere near having found it all’ – by Stan Sudol (Sudbury Star – March 18, 2025)

https://www.thesudburystar.com/

Magna Mining’s critical mineral transformation in the Sudbury Basin to create new wealth, jobs

From American President Donald Trump’s desire to take over Greenland and perhaps Canada, and his recent confrontation with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as Premier Doug Ford’s determination to get Ring of Fire infrastructure built, the general public is now acutely aware of the strategic and geopolitical importance of critical minerals.

And yet, Canada’s largest critical mineral mining camp – the legendary Sudbury Basin, which has been in operation for slightly over 140 years and controlled by two of the world’s largest miners, Brazilian-based Vale and Swiss-owned Glencore – seems to have been largely ignored by the mainstream media.

Since both Vale and Glencore have historically controlled much of the land package in the region, few juniors have thrived.

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Long-term demand outlook for platinum is robust, ongoing question mark over supply – by Martin Creamer (Mining Weekly – December 13, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

The long-term outlook for platinum from a demand perspective is pretty robust. The question, once again, is whether supply will be adequate to meet it. “In terms of automotive demand, we can’t overlook that the drivetrain is going to continue to electrify.

“It’s just the pace of that electrification that is quite difficult to predict as things stand at the moment,” World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) research director Edward Sterck commented to Engineering News & Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview.

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Stillwater mine to cut production, lay off 700 workers as low metal prices drive losses – by Eric Dietrich (Montana Free Press – September 12, 2024)

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Sibanye Stillwater says it needs government support to compete with foreign producers that pay workers less and abide by looser environmental regulations.

Sibanye Stillwater, the South African company that operates the nation’s only major palladium mine in south-central Montana, said Thursday that it plans to lay off about 40% of its Montana workforce as it scales back its operation in an effort to offset losses caused by low metal prices.

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Marathon mine developer eyes 2025 construction start – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 4, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Generation Mining focusing on copper amid permitting delays, hunt to secure project financing

Generation Mining president-CEO Jamie Levy wants to assure all that the Marathon palladium-copper mine will get built. Ever since the Toronto junior miner first appeared on the north shore of Lake Superior in 2019, the company has been a press release-generating machine with its ambitious plans for an open-pit operation.

But in recent months, there’s been a lull in news flow that’s prompted a few concerned investors to ask Levy if the project is stalled.

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New platinum alloy to transform jewellery making – by Darren Parker (MiningWeekly.com – July 3, 2024)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) has highlighted the launch of a new platinum alloy named Inoveo Platinum, which it believes has the potential to transform platinum jewellery design and manufacturing.

Established by Platinum Guild International (PGI) USA, Inoveo Platinum was codeveloped by mining major Anglo American and materials designer and developer Alloyed following years of research and development.

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Platinum set for biggest deficit in a decade in 2024, says Johnson Matthey – by Brijesh Patel (Reuters – May 8, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

The platinum market faces its largest supply shortfall in 10 years in 2024 as shipments from Russia return to normal from last year’s highs and industrial demand stays firm, Johnson Matthey said in a report on Thursday. The autocatalyst maker added that it expected all platinum group metals (PGM) – platinum, palladium, and rhodium – to remain in deficit in 2024.

The three metals are used in autocatalysts that reduce emissions from vehicle engines, with platinum also used in other industry and for jewellery and investment.

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South Africa’s Platinum Miners Brace for More Pain This Year – by William Clowes (Bloomberg News – March 6, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s platinum producers are in crisis, as slumping metal prices force jobs cuts and erode profits. The nation’s platinum sector — which accounts for about 70% of global output — has been a key export industry and generates jobs for hundreds of thousands of people in a country with one of the world’s highest unemployment rates.

Over the past two weeks, the four biggest producers — Sibanye Stillwater Ltd., Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. and Northam Platinum Ltd. — have all released sobering earnings reports. Those results have helped us learn the following:

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Palladium price drops below platinum for first time in five years – by Staff (Mining.com – February 8, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

The palladium price fell on Thursday below the platinum price for the first time since April 2018, as growing demand concerns and bets on stable supply weighed on the metal.

Palladium retreated 2.8% to $869.6 per troy ounce, its lowest in five years, while platinum stood at $874.5.Palladium fell by 39% in 2023 after rising prices from 2018 to 2022 caused the auto sector, accounting for 80% of demand, to start replacing it with cheaper platinum in autocatalysts.

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Slowdown in financing affords opportunity for Thunder Bay mining company to gain ground – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – January 31, 2024)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Clean Air Metals on the hunt for ‘distressed’ mineral projects in northwestern Ontario

It’s a lousy financing environment in junior mining, but Thunder Bay’s Clean Air Metals sees a strategic opportunity to go big. The owners and mine developers of the Thunder Bay North palladium-platinum project are out to enlarge its mineral holdings and are scanning the North for acquisition targets and partnership deals.

Northwestern Ontario is the place to be, the company said in a recent news release. Given the significant nickel, copper and palladium group metals showings, it “remains one of the best places in the world to explore for this suite of metals.”

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Nornickel expects palladium and platinum shortage to widen this year – by Vladimir Basov (Kitco News – December 4, 2023)

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – In its recent research report released today, Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, said that it has revised the 2023 palladium market deficit from -0.2 Moz to -0.9 Moz.

The company added it has reviewed the secondary supply of palladium from +9% growth down to 15% fall, while slightly lower than expected primary production from North America will be offset by weaker electronics demand. As for the platinum market, Nornickel expects it to flip into the fundamental deficit this year.

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UK Sanctions on Russian Plant Send Jitters Through Palladium – Eddie Spence (Bloomberg News – November 10, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The cost of borrowing palladium has climbed since the UK imposed sanctions on a key Russian refiner earlier this week, reflecting bets that it may lead to supply disruptions.

Britain on Wednesday announced sanctions on Krastsvetmet JSC, which is the main refinery used by top palladium producer MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC. If Western companies seek to avoid products processed at the refinery in response to the sanctions, Norilsk — which accounts for about 40% of global output — may struggle to find a more palatable alternative.

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How the wheels came off for SA’s platinum group metal miners – by David McKay (MiningMX – September 27, 2023)

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We didn’t see it coming” are not the words investors typically want to hear. But it was a refreshingly honest take from Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne, when asked about the decline in platinum group metal (PGM) prices that led to his company calling off its 18-month pursuit of Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat).

Tearing up the tarmac one day, wheel-less the next. So often that’s the story of commodities. But in PGMs — a niche, yet critically important family of metals that supply the global car industry — the past three years have been quite the ride. To be clear, Dunne’s dismay wasn’t about a market correction. That much was anticipated — rather, it was the speed and extent of that correction.

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The Drift: Smaller is greener and cheaper for Sturgeon Falls-area palladium mine developer – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – July 5, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

New Age Metals rolls out revised economic assessment for its River Valley PGM project

The company that once hawked its River Valley project, east of Sudbury, as the “largest undeveloped primary PGM resource in North America” has come back with a revised mine plan.

Inflation and a number of other uncertainties forced New Age Metals to go back to the drawing board last spring to sketch out new plans for a potential platinum group metals mine in the West Nipissing-Sturgeon Falls area.

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Generation Mining primed to go ‘full bore’ on Marathon pit project – by Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – April 6, 2023)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Company lining up financing for $1.1-billion three-pit operation on Superior’s north shore

Generation Mining is hoping to tap into federal ‘green’ tax credits to help finance the construction of a $1.1 billion palladium and copper mine near the north shore of Lake Superior.

In a webcast this week, company management briefed shareholders on the updated feasibility study for its Marathon open-pit development and explained the path to production. The study revealed the project pricetag to build and outfit the predominately palladium mine and mill operation has increased by 25 per cent to $1.1 billion.

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