Language selection

Search

Platinum facts

The platinum group metals (PGMs) are six metallic elements that have similar physical and chemical properties and that tend to occur together in the same mineral deposits. They are:

  • platinum
  • palladium
  • rhodium
  • ruthenium
  • osmium
  • iridium

Key facts

  • Canada is a significant global producer of PGMs, ranking third in palladium production and fourth in platinum production.
  • Canada’s PGM mine production was approximately 700,000 troy ounces of PGMs in 2021 and is concentrated in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.
  • Recycling of materials made with PGMs accounts for 28% of the global supply.

Learn more about platinum group metals

Uses

PGMs have strong catalytic properties – meaning they can accelerate or trigger a chemical process without themselves being permanently changed or consumed. Manufacturing of catalytic converters for use in exhaust systems in internal combustion vehicles is the largest use of these metals.

Both platinum and palladium are used in autocatalysts to reduce tailpipe emissions from light vehicles, buses, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks – helping to improve air quality. Platinum and palladium are also used for investment, to a limited extent.

Industrial uses of platinum include chemicals, glass, electronics, medical and biomedical, petroleum refining, and jewelry. The end uses of palladium are predominately industrial uses such as chemicals, electronics and dental.

Rhodium is added to three-way (platinum-palladium-rhodium) catalysts for light-duty gasoline vehicles to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Iridium and ruthenium end uses include chemical, electronic and electrochemical uses. Iridium and ruthenium use is expected to grow in hydrogen production and fuel cells.

Platinum group metals, global uses, 2021

circular chart
Text version

This circular chart shows the major industrial uses of PGMs in 2021. The largest use was for automotive (61%) followed by chemical (10%), jewellery (8%), electronics (7%), glass (5%) medical (2%), pollution control (2%) and other uses (5%).

Production

Canadian mines shipped 714,000 troy ounces of PGMs and produced 699,000 troy ounces of PGMs in 2021. The majority of the production occurred in Ontario (73%), with the remainder of production occurring in Quebec, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Canada has one dedicated PGM mine located in western Ontario near Thunder Bay. However, PGMs are also recovered as co-products at many Canadian primary nickel mines. There are currently 2 advanced exploration projects in northern Ontario that are focused on PGMs as the primary commodities.

Consult a map of producing Canadian mines

Canadian mine production of platinum group metals, 2012–2021 (p)

bar graph
Text version

This bar graph shows Canada's annual mine production of PGMs from 2012 to 2021. Production was at 723,000 troy ounces in 2012. Production then increased toward a peak of 1.07 million troy ounces in 2015 before declining to 879,000 troy ounces in 2017. Production increased to 1.06 million troy ounces in 2019 and then decreased to 626,000 troy ounces in 2020, increasing 12% in 2021 to 699,000 troy ounces.

North American mine production of platinum group metals, by element, 2021 (p)

circular chart
Text version

This circular chart shows North America's mine production of PGMs by percentage by element in 2021: palladium (75%), platinum (24%), and rhodium (1%).

International context

Canada is the fourth-largest producer of mined PGMs in the world, accounting for approximately 5.1% of global production. An estimated 19.1 million troy ounces of PGMs were supplied globally in 2021, 72% of which was from mined sources, and the balance was from recycling and scrap sources.

World mine production of platinum group metals, by region, 2021 (p)

bar graph
Text version

This bar graph shows the world's estimated production in thousands of troy ounces of platinum, palladium and rhodium, by country, in 2021. The leading producer was South Africa (platinum, 4,611,000 oz.; palladium, 2,652,000 oz.; rhodium, 646,000 oz.), followed by Russia (platinum, 638,000 oz.; palladium, 2,689,000 oz.; rhodium, 53,000 oz.). Next were North America (platinum, 276,000 oz.; palladium, 874,000 oz.; rhodium, 17,000 oz.), Zimbabwe (platinum, 465,000 oz.; palladium, 392,000 oz.; rhodium, 42,000 oz.) and other countries (platinum, 207,000 oz.; palladium, 187,000 oz.; rhodium, 6,000 oz.).

World mine production of platinum and palladium, by country, 2021 (p)
Rank Country Palladium (kg) Platinum (kg) Total
1 South Africa 80,000 130,000 210,000
2 Russia 74,000 19,000 93,000
3 Zimbabwe 13,000 15,000 28,000
4 Canada 15,800 5,600 21,400
5 United States 14,000 4,200 18,200
- Other countries 2,800 4,300 7,100
  World total 199,600 178,100 377,700

World production of platinum group metals, including recycling, 2012–2021 (p)

bar graph
Text version

This bar graph shows the world's annual production of PGMs from 2012 to 2021 (preliminary) consisting of platinum, palladium and rhodium. Production was 17.5 million troy ounces in 2012 and fluctuated between 17.0 and 18.0 million ounces until 2017. In 2018, production increased to 19.5 million troy ounces and reached a peak of 19.7 million troy ounces in 2019. Production declined to 16.9 million troy ounces in 2020 because of supply chain disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Production increased 13% in 2021 to 19.1 million troy ounces.

In 2021, estimates of the total proven world reserves of PGMs were 69,910 tonnes or 2.2 billion troy ounces and are located mostly in South Africa. Canada ranks in fifth place for known PGM reserves globally at 310 tonnes or approximately 9.6 million troy ounces.

World reserves of platinum group metals, by country, 2021 (p)
Ranking Country Tonnes Percentage of total
1 South Africa 63,000 90.1%
2 Russia 4,500 6.4%
3 Zimbabwe 1,200 1.7%
4 United States 900 1.3%
5 Canada 310 0.4%
- Other countries N/A N/A
Total   69,910 100.0%

Trade

Exports

Domestic exports of PGM smelting and refining products (Stage 2) and semi-fabricated products (Stage 3) totaled 7,253 kg worth $653 million, which is a 4% increase in value and a 4% decrease in volume from 2020. Of those products, 94% were palladium-based, 6% were platinum-based, and 0.2% were rhodium-based.

  • Products destined for the United States accounted for 75% of the total domestic exports of unwrought, powder or semi-manufactured PGMs. Switzerland accounted for 25% of the other domestic exports and nine other countries imported the remainder.
  • Quebec exported 92% of the value of all Canadian domestic exports of these products, worth $601 million, and Ontario exported 8% of domestic exports, worth $52 million.

Imports

Imports of PGM smelting and refining products (Stage 2) and semi-fabricated products (Stage 3) totaled 20,400 kg worth $2.7 billion, which is a 60% increase in value and a 47% increase in volume from 2020. Of those products, 72.1% were palladium-based, 21.0% were platinum-based, 6.5% were rhodium-based, and the remaining were 0.4% iridium-, osmium- and ruthenium-based, measured by volume.

  • The majority of imports came from South Africa (33%), the United States (20%), Italy (13%), Belgium (12%) and Russia (9%).
  • All of the imported unwrought or powder form of iridium, osmium and ruthenium came from the United States, and 86% the semi-manufactured products of iridium, osmium and ruthenium came from Germany and South Africa.

Prices

Platinum prices experienced a moderate increase in the first half of 2021, peaking at an average of $US1,214 per troy ounce in May 2021. The price then decreased to US$945 per troy ounce by December 2021, which was lower than the price of $US1,091 per troy ounce in January 2021.

Demand for platinum and other PGMs was higher than supply in the first half of 2021 because of to backlogs in South African processing plants. Worldwide semi-conductor shortages caused by supply chain issues caused volatility in all of the PGM markets.

Palladium prices experienced volatility in 2021. The price increased to a peak of $US2,873 by May 2021, then dropped to a low of $US1,789 by December 2021. The price fluctuations are attributed to supply chain issues and COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns that led to less predictable demand in the automotive sector. Autocatalysts (manufacturing of catalytic converters) accounted for 83% of global demand for palladium.

The other PGMs also saw some record high prices in April and May 2021. Rhodium reached a high of $US30,000 per troy ounce. Iridium peaked at $US6,300 per troy ounce before decreasing to about $US4,000 per troy ounce at the end of the year. Ruthenium reached a 14-year high of $US800 per troy ounce in May 2021. In these cases, the high prices decreased demand.

Platinum, monthly average prices, 2012–2021

line graph
Text version

This line graph shows the monthly average price in US dollars per troy ounce of platinum from 2012 to 2021. The average annual price of platinum was $1,551 per troy ounce in 2012. Prices fluctuated between 2012 and 2016 but experienced an overall decrease in that time. Between 2016 and 2020, prices flattened, moving between $700 per troy ounce to just over $1,000 per troy ounce. In 2020, the average annual price was $883 per troy ounce of platinum. Prices increased in the first half of 2021, and slowly decreased in the second half of 2021. The annual average was higher than the previous six years at $1,091 per troy ounce for 2021.

Palladium, monthly average prices, 2012–2021

line graph
Text version

This line graph shows the monthly average price in US dollars per troy ounce of palladium from 2012 to 2021. The average annual price of palladium was $644 per troy ounce in 2012. Prices were relatively stable but experienced some fluctuation from 2012 to 2016. The average monthly price for 2016 was $611 per troy ounce.

Palladium prices began increasing overall after 2016, with average monthly prices per troy ounce of $US869 in 2017, $US1,036 in 2018 and $US1,572 in 2019. In 2020, the price peaked at $US2,525 early in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, then dropped to a low of $US1,902 by May 2020. The price recovered in the last half of 2020 and was $US2,376 per troy ounce by January 2021, where it peaked at $US2,873 per troy ounce by May 2021.

In June 2021, the price began to decrease and decreased significantly in September 2021 to $US2,112 per troy ounce, ending the year at $US1,789 per troy ounce. The average price of palladium was $US2,396 per troy ounce in 2021.

Recycling

Mining accounts for approximately 72% of the world's supply of PGMs, while about 28% comes from the recycling of products such as autocatalytic converters, old jewellery and electrical scrap. Scrap and recycling contributed 5.4 million troy ounces to the global supply of PGMs in 2021. The high values of PGMs and their greater concentration in recyclable material compared to mined ore has contributed to the high level of recycling of PGMs.

World supply of platinum group metals, by source, 2021

pie chart
Text version

This pie chart shows the world supply of platinum group metals as a percentage, by source in 2021. The largest source was mine production (72%), followed by recycling sources including autocatalyst scrap (23%), old jewellery scrap (2%) and electrical scrap (3%). Recycled sources together accounted for 28% of production.

Notes and sources

(p) preliminary

Totals may be different because of rounding.

All dollars are Canadian unless otherwise indicated.

Uses

  • Platinum group metals, global uses, 2021
    • Johnson Matthey, PGM Market Report 2022, May 2022

Production

  • Canadian mine production of platinum group metals, 2012–2021 (p)
    • Natural Resources Canada
  • North American mine production of platinum group metals, by element, 2021 (p)
    • Johnson Matthey, PGM Market Report 2022, May 2022
    • United States Geological Survey; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022

International context

  • World mine production of platinum group metals, by region, 2021 (p)
    • Johnson Matthey, PGM Market Report 2022, May 2022
  • World mine production of platinum and palladium, by country, 2021 (p)
    • United States Geological Survey; Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022
  • World production of platinum group metals, including recycling, 2012–2021 (p)
    • Johnson Matthey, PGM Market Report 2022, May 2022
  • World reserves of platinum group metals, by country, 2021 (p)
    • U.S. Geological Survey

Trade

  • Natural Resources Canada; Statistics Canada
    • Mineral trade includes unwrought, powders, and semi -fabricated mineral products (HS codes: 711011, 711019, 711021, 711029, 711031, 711039, 711041, 711049)

Prices

  • Johnson Matthey, PGM Market Report 2022, May 2022
  • Platinum, monthly average prices, 2012–2021
    • World Bank
  • Palladium, monthly average prices, 2012–2021
    • London Metal Exchange

Recycling

  • World supply of platinum group metals, by source, 2021
    • Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report 2022, May 2022
Report a problem on this page
Please select all that apply:

Thank you for your help!

You will not receive a reply. For enquiries, contact us.

Date modified: