South Africa is the world's top platinum-mining country and a major producer of palladium. It holds the largest-known reserves of PGMs globally at 63 million kilograms.
Palladium is often used in cell phone and laptop components, and it's also found in ceramic capacitors having multiple layers. Due to the metal's high level of conductivity, manufacturers commonly include it in the connector plates of a variety of electronic products.
Industrial and precious metals explorer Midas Minerals (ASX: MM1) has uncovered a likely find of platinum and palladium (PGE) deposits at its Challa Project near Mt Magnet, Western Australia.
Palladium is used in catalytic converters for automobiles, in fuel cells to generate power, in jewelry, dental fillings, and electronic components. Catalytic converters convert the toxic gases from automobiles into less harmful substances.
Russia and South Africa supply about 40% of the world's palladium, making them the highest producers each year. Palladium in naturally found alloyed with gold and other platinum grouped metals (PGMs).
You can find palladium scrap in many different items. A couple places to look include: Palladium alloys used for manufacturing: Look out for palladium sponges, palladium flakes, palladium sputter and sputtering targets. Palladium jewelry items: This can include rings, chains, bracelets, jewelry scrap.
Natural abundance
Palladium has been found uncombined in nature, in Brazil, but most is found in sulfide minerals such as braggite. It is extracted commercially as a by-product of nickel refining. It is also extracted as a by-product of copper and zinc refining.
Currently palladium is the metal used in petrol vehicle catalytic converters, with about 2-7 grams per unit, depending on the vehicle in question.
Palladium is contained in most microprocessors and printed circuit boards. Platinum is used to make fiberglass, liquid-crystal display (LCD) glass and flat-panel displays, and cathode ray tubes.
Shape, Size, & Color
With palladium sheets, the color is more like a gray powder than shiny silver. However, palladium coins, rings, earrings, and bars have a soft silver-white color. The silvery-white hue of palladium makes it very attractive and popular with buyers. It's typically whiter than platinum.
Use of technology
Galileo Mining Ltd (ASX:GAL) has received the highest palladium and platinum results to date from its 100%-owned Norseman project in Western Australia. Palladium and platinum drill results extend over nine kilometres of strike length along a well-defined geological trend.
The Gonneville deposit is estimated to contain 10 million ounces of palladium, platinum and gold – collectively called 3E (three elements) – plus more than 900,000 tonnes of base metals.
Palladium is generally found only in pure form, and along with platinum is found in sulfide concentrations in mafic igneous rocks It is mined in Russia, the USA(Montana), Zimbabwe, Australia, Canada and Finland.
In terms of abundance in the Earth's crust, the rarest metals are: gold, platinum, osmium, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, tellurium and rhenium.
Platinum has often been used in cigarette boxes, lighter cases, cigarette and cigar holders, cigar cutters, and other smoking accessories. Now that smoking is becoming less popular, a number of these items are “washing back” onto the marketplace.
Of the two metals, platinum is stronger than palladium, but again both metals are strong enough to be used for engagement rings or wedding rings that are worn daily.
003 parts per billion (ppb). The rest of the metals have a ranking from highest to lowest in terms of abundance. Rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, osmium, gold, palladium and silver are the order this comes in. The most valuable of all precious metals is rhodium.
Rhodium is used for several different things, such as automobiles, jewelry, searchlights, electronics and mirrors.
However, typically, a catalytic converter contains between 3 to 7 grams of palladium. It's important to note that catalytic converters also contain other precious metals such as platinum and rhodium, which are used as catalysts to reduce emissions.
In 2022, the global supply of palladium was forecast to be 7.12 million ounces. In 2021, the total supply of palladium amounted to seven million ounces worldwide.
Although they are paramagnetic, the platinum metals, especially platinum, palladium, and rhodium, are capable of interacting in alloys with other metals to form ferromagnetic or very nearly ferromagnetic materials.
South Africa is the world's top platinum-mining country and a major producer of palladium. It holds the largest-known reserves of PGMs globally at 63 million kilograms.
The largest use of palladium today is in catalytic converters. Palladium is also used in jewelry, dentistry, watch making, blood sugar test strips, aircraft spark plugs, surgical instruments, and electrical contacts. Palladium is also used to make professional transverse (concert or classical) flutes.