Global changes in environmental legislation positive for North American Palladium
World’s only pure play palladium producer bullish as marques need commodity to make Greener cars
The growing automotive industry is constantly looking for new solutions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the palladium market is feeling the pressure. North American Palladium (NAP)
provides a steady supply of palladium essential for the manufacturing of catalytic converters, which function as emissions control devices.
“The bullish outlook for palladium is based on current and projected supply deficits driven by growing global auto sales, tougher emissions standards and a move away from diesel engines to gasoline engines, which use more palladium in their catalytic converters. The imbalance in market fundamentals is behind the palladium price increase that has occurred in 2017,” says president and CEO Jim Gallagher.
The imbalance in market fundamentals is behind the palladium price increase that has occurred in 2017
Recapitalised by Brookfield Asset Management in 2015, NAP has overhauled its operations and advanced its exploration strategy to maximise profit and demonstrate the full value of its mine site. The Lac des Iles (LDI) mine located in Ontario, Canada, has underground and open pit operations, which can yield 38 million tonnes of palladium ore over its predicted lifespan. LDI has a 9.5-year mine life, averaging approximately 12,000 tonnes a day and 214,400 payable ounces of palladium annually.
As part of its operational turnaround, NAP’s underground mine utilises sub level shrinkage mining method, which increases production and lowers operating costs. With process improvements in place, NAP’s average mining rate from underground is 6,250 tonnes per day (tpd) and 5,420 tpd from surface ore.
Aside from LDI, NAP also has an extensive exploration portfolio consisting of 43,000 hectares of greenfield properties within 50 km of LDI.
“As the world’s only pure play palladium producer, we see a positive long-term future for the company with the excellent exploration potential at our LDI property and on our greenfield properties,” Gallagher says.
