Palladium, platinum and rhodium (platinum group metals, or PGMs) are versatile and rare metals that are predominantly used to remove harmful emissions from exhausts, which is becoming increasingly important as automakers strive to meet tightening environmental standards. Future potential growth opportunities include the hydrogen value chain and the production of fuel cells as platinum is increasingly used in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
The Luanga Project may represent a future, lower risk, source of palladium, platinum and rhodium as ~79% of the 2021 global palladium supply, 85% of the 2021 global platinum supply and 91% of the 2021 global rhodium supply were sourced from Russia and South Africa with their attendant geopolitical risks (Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report May 2022). There is a paucity of new PGE discoveries and incentive pricing is required to bring on new and “safe” production.
The Luanga Project also contains gold and nickel. Total nickel demand is forecast to grow by ~167% by 2040, with electric vehicle nickel demand expected to increase 41-fold during the same time period (Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report May 2022). Like palladium, platinum and rhodium, there has been a paucity of new nickel sulphide discoveries, creating a material deficit in Class 1 sulphide nickel supply, a key component in the production of high-grade nickel batteries (IEA).