Abstract
Platinum group elements (PGEs) are an important resource for many applications, such as automotive catalytic converters for vehicles, jewelry, electrical devices and as catalysts in the chemical and petroleum industries. At present, the greatest share of global PGE supply is extracted from the South African Bushveld Complex and from the Zimbabwean Great Dyke. In this context, this article provides a comprehensive summary of detailed mining data between 2010 and 2015 and discusses these in regard to the global PGE market. On the supply side, the data reveal that the production volumes as well as the ore grades fluctuated in recent years, while the mining and processing of economically less favorable Upper Group 2 (UG2) ore increased. The average head grade from 2010 to 2015 was 3.58 g 6E/t. In the long term, the ore grades decreased. On the market side, PGE prices and increasing (primary) production costs can be observed. On the market side, the demand for vehicles is expected to grow globally resulting in an increase in PGE demand. At the same time, secondary production is expected to increase and will eventually compete with primary production. These findings indicate challenging conditions for the Southern African PGE industry.
Highlights
Several distinctive properties of platinum group elements (PGE) make them crucial to numerous industrial applications [1]
Production in Southern Africa In Southern Africa, a complex industry manages the extraction of ore and the production of refined PGEs
The facilities can be differentiated into primary PGE mines, chromite tailings recovery and PGE tailings recovery, depending on the primary product being mined or produced
Summary
Several distinctive properties of platinum group elements (PGE) make them crucial to numerous industrial applications [1] They are used in a broad variety of chemical processes and industrial products, including catalytic converters, jewelry, electrical devices and as catalysts in the chemical and petroleum industries. The denominations 3E PGE, 4E PGE and 6E PGE refer to Pt + Pd + Au, Pt, Pd, Rh + Au and Pt + Pd + Rh + Ru + Ir + Au, respectively). These metals share several useful characteristics including their ability to catalyze chemical reactions, to resist corrosion, and their high conductivity, density and melting point [2]. PGEs are used in multiple applications in: the automotive industry as catalytic converters (for flue gas treatment to meet the given emission standards) and in fuel cells; the chemical industry as catalysts for the production of silicones, fertilizers, explosives, and nitric acid, etc.; Minerals 2017, 7, 224; doi:10.3390/min7110224 www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals the petrochemical industry as catalysts; the electronics industry as components in hard disk drives, liquid-crystal and flat-panel displays, etc.; the glass manufacturing industry for the production of fiberglass, etc.; for the production of jewelry and many other products [1]
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