SIBANYE, IMPLATS, BASF MAKE TRIMETAL CATALYST

SIBANYE-Stillwater said yesterday that along with Impala Platinum (Implats) and chemical company BASF it had successfully developed a new trimetal auto catalyst allowing the partial substitution of palladium with platinum. The news sent spot platinum 2.5 percent higher at $883 per ounce while palladium eased 0.8 percent to $2 469 by 3pm. Earlier, palladium fell as low as $2 399. The research by BASF, which was funded by Sibanye and Implats, had successfully developed and tested the catalyst that would enable higher-priced palladium to be partially replaced with lower-priced platinum in light-duty petrol vehicles. “We are proud to have contributed to a solution which will normalise longerterm demand with supply and benefit all members of the value chain – from miners, to refiners, fabricators and OEMs,” said Implats chief executive Nico Muller. Prices of palladium and rhodium, widely used in vehicle exhausts to reduce harmful emissions, have climbed as tighter environmental regulations force carmakers to buy more of the precious metals for catalytic converters. This could be the reprieve platinum miners have been waiting for as their main metal remains in a surplus partly due to shrinking demand, particularly since Volkswagen’s “dieselgate” scandal in 2015 which saw prices plunge. Demand for platinum, used in the catalytic converters on vehicles with diesel engines, has been depressed since the scandal, down nearly 60 percent since a 2008 peak of $2 290 per ounce. This has hurt miners in South Africa, the world’s top platinum-producing country. | Reuters