World-Wide Platinum Market

Platinum is by far the most rare of the precious metals. On an annualized basis if you compare tonnage of the three primary precious metals, one finds production of silver at 15,000 tons, gold at 1,800 tons and platinum at only 120 tons.

Unlike gold, platinum is a primary industrial and strategic metal. It is estimated that platinum or one of the platinum group metals is involved directly and/or indirectly in 20% of all comsumer products. Industrial demand for platinum has increased 57.6% since 1985; however, last year alone the demand jumped 15%.

The following is a brief list of some of the usages of platinum and the PGMs:

• Its primary usage is in pollution devices, (ie, catalytic converters, industrial smoke stack scrubbers, etc.)
• It is widely used in the jewelry industry. This is probably the second largest usage of the metal.
• It is used in the manufacturing of explosives like TNT.
• It is a key element in the processing of nitric acids.
• It is used in the manufacturing of nitrogen based fertilizers.
• It is used to make aqua regis, a powerful acid used in the chemical and scientific community.
• The platinum metals are used in the processing of eyeglasses.
• Platinum is the element used to tint the glass used in office buildings.
• It is one of the key catalysts used in the petrochemical industry, in processing of unleaded gasoline and jet fuel.
• Petrochemical usages include the manufacturing of plastics and polyester.
• It's used to make colored paints.
• The platinum metals are used extensively in the pharmaceutical industry in the development of anti-cancer and many other drugs.
• Rhodium, the rarest of the PGMs, is the key catalyst in the processing of Tylanol.
• It's used to manufacture other medical devices like endoscopes and catheters.
• Because of it's unmatched and stable electrical conductivity, it is used extensively in the manufacturing of pacemakers.
• It is a key component of jet and rocket engines.
• It is used in extremely sensitive scientific devices like light and oxygen sensors.
• It is part of the coating process for hard drives and other high density computer data storage devices.
• It is an integral part of the communications network like the telephone and internet fiber optics system.
• It is the key component in the manufacturing of LCD (liquid crystal displays) used in lap top computer and other small display electronic devices.
• The use of platinum in the computer industry increased 1000% in 1994.

80% of these metals come from South Africa and the balance from the former Soviet Union.

You hear about the unstable situations in these countries almost weekly on the network evening news programs.

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