The value of precious metals has been known to mankind for millennia. However not all precious metals received their fair share of worth and value as for instance gold and silver.
Take for instance platinum, today people have realised it is one of the rearrest and most precious elements to form in earth’s crust. This wasn’t always the case though, if the Spanish conquistadors were still around, they would vouch for it. Platinum was first discovered in the mines of Central America by Spanish miners exploiting for silver in the fourteenth century. Back then, they viewed it as simple metal impurity which made silver mining a little harder, so platinum was extracted and removed, little that they know. Interestingly enough, the Spanish named this so called impurity ‘Platina’ which meant ‘little silver’. Fast forward half a millennium or so, and the value attached to platinum couldn’t be further from the one that the Spanish colonialists attached to it.
What makes platinum group metals (PGMs) so valuable? A number of things – first of all they are really scarce, meaning there are hardly any naturally formed amounts to be mined anywhere on Earth, second of all PGMs are really tricky and expensive to mine and extract – they require advanced technology, lots of manpower and hefty financial investments on behalf of mining corporations. Last but not least, PGMs have specific properties which are unique and not seen in any other naturally occurring metals or elements. The Platinum Group Metals are six metallic elements clustered together on the periodic table, namely they are ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, the mere names of these elements imply their uniqueness and underline the fact that they cannot be derived from metal rubbish removal and recycling of tin cans.
Industrially, the six PG metals are present in quarter of all products manufactured in the world today. They are highly sought after due to their extreme chemical attack resistance, thermo insulation or conduction properties also their steady electro conduction characteristics. In the last five years (since twenty ten) the demand for platinum alone has increased dramatically yet the increase in production is simply insignificant in terms of meeting that demand. During the same period of time however, recycling of platinum has established itself as one of the most profitable and important branches of the recycling industry as a whole.
With the advancement of recycling technologies, it is becoming more evident that other metals from the PG are also in high demand due to their properties. This opens a path toward new types of recycling. One of the biggest needers of platinum and similar metals of the same group is the automotive industry. Car makers are constructing more and more vehicles each year, especially the light passenger segment. The replacement of ‘outdated’ production materials in favour of new, stronger and better performing ones is also driving the need for PGMs and their recycling rate. Recovery of precious PGMs from the waste stream is expected to become a profitable and essentially important segment of alternative supply dotation.