Apr 3 2002
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Platinum (Pt), a very rare substance, is very less abundant than gold. It exists in very few commercially viable deposits on earth. Most of the platinum mining is carried out in three leading producing regions in South Africa, Russia, and North America.
To date, the largest producer of platinum is South Africa, producing about two-thirds of the total production across the world. The next largest producer is Russia, producing about one-quarter of world production. The remaining supply of platinum comes from North America and a few other small producers.
South Africa
South Africa has some of the world’s richest mineral deposits that generate huge quantities of gems, precious metals, and industrial minerals. Bushveld Igneous Complex is an area in South Africa where platinum deposits are mainly concentrated.
It is one of the largest metal-bearing intrusions in the world. Platinum group metals (PGM) are also extracted from the Merensky reef extending along the whole eastern length of the Bushveld. Impala Platinum, Lonmin Platinum, and Anglo Platinum are some of the largest mining firms that extract ores from this area.
Russia
Platinum has been produced in Russia right from the 19th century when alluvial deposits were largely mined from the Ural Mountains. Although most of these historical deposits are currently depleted, new and richer sources have been identified in northern Siberia. The production of Siberian PGM is more prevalent in the Noril'sk-Tainakh complex. This complex includes a network of underground veins that form part of enormous copper-nickel deposits.
The production of platinum in Russia was hampered during the transition period, before and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Fresh investments on modern equipment and plant could drastically increase the output, perhaps more than South Africa. When it comes to the supply of platinum, Russia is a wildcard.
North America
North America hosts three enormous PGM ore deposits. The only commercially viable PGM deposit within the United States is found in the Stillwater Complex in southern Montana. The high-grade ore is produced by the JM-Reef formation of the Stillwater complex. Extraction at the Stillwater deposit started in 1987. Stillwater Mining Company is the stakeholder of a majority of the richest properties.
Ontario in Canada hosts the other two North American deposits. PGMs are produced as a by-product of nickel mining in the Sudbury Mine in southern Ontario. The Lac des Iles region north of Thunder Bay generates mainly PGM, together with certain base metals. The entire North American PGM deposits are predominantly sources of palladium, where only a small percentage of platinum is produced.
Other Regions
Geological surveys across the world show that there are several untapped platinum resources. Australia, Chile, Zambia, Indonesia, and Zimbabwe are potential regions for new exploration. Moreover, the increase in base metal production often results in higher PGM production. This is because several base metal deposits consist of extractable amounts of platinum group and other rare metals. Hence, higher metal prices could promote exploration of these regions, thus considerably boosting worldwide production of platinum.