Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) are vital industrial metals valued for their durability, corrosion resistance and catalytic properties.
PGMs, consist of platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium.
The automotive industry is the world's largest consumer of PGMs, which are used in catalytic converters for vehicle exhaust systems. Other drivers of demand are jewellery, industrial uses and investment. Of late, the hydrogen economy has gained significantly more prominence. PGMs will play a vital role in furthering this opportunity for using PGMs in various applications, such as fuel cells for mobility and electricity generation.
RUTHENIUM
44
Ru
RHODIUM
45
Rh
PALLADIUM
46
Pd
OSMIUM
76
Os
IRIDIUM
77
Ir
PLATINUM
78
Pt
Numbers denote periodic table atomic numbers.
- South Africa produces between 70 and 80% of the world’s PGMs, extracted from the Bushveld complex.
- Zimbabwe is currently the 3rd largest producer of PGMs, with annual production from the Great Dyke of approximately 500 000 ounces in 2022, and a plan to increase production three‑fold by 2030.
Figure 1: Illustrative location of the Karo Platinum Project
