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With the surge in commodity prices in recent years, the contribution of nickel produced as a by-product on platinum mines accounted for 13% of group sales.

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South Africa is the world's leading platinum producer, supplying approximately 70% of total global supply, of which in turn Implats supplies close on 25%. South Africa's production is sourced entirely from the Bushveld Complex, the largest known PGM-resource in the world. Many of the unique physical and chemical characteristics of PGMs make them indispensable to modern technology and industry.

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Catalytic converters are honeycomb-like structures made of either metal or ceramic material consisting of hundreds of minuscule channels coated with platinum and/or palladium as well as rhodium. The honeycomb-like structure enables the maximum volume of exhaust gas produced by the engine to be exposed to the catalyst, which in turn acts to remove noxious pollutants from the exhaust gas. Demand for PGMs for use in autocatalytic convertors is a significant.

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The platinum group metals have a multitude of uses in industry; in the chemical industry they are used in platinum-based catalysts and in the commercial production of nitric acid, an essential ingredient in nitrogen fertiliser. Other major sources of demand, for palladium especially, are in dental applications and in the coatings in multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC).

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Jewellery has been a key driver of overall platinum demand in the past decade. Given platinum's high degree of purity, the jewellery does not fade or tarnish and it is non-allergenic. The platinum jewellery market first took off in Japan and has in recent years become increasingly significant in China. More recently, there has been an increase in demand for palladium for jewellery purposes.

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Platinum salts

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Palladium salts

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Rhodium salts