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A slower-than-expected rollout of electric vehicles will help keep platinum-group metals in supply shortfalls over the coming years, according to the chief executive officer of major miner Valterra Platinum Ltd.
The EV boom had long weighed on platinum and sister metal palladium, as a large chunk of production is used in catalytic converters to curb pollution from internal combustion engine vehicles. Still, a slower-than-expected adoption of EVs in some markets has helped boost sentiment around the metals
In December, the European Union in December eased requirements that would have halted sales of new gasoline and diesel-fueled cars starting in 2035.
PGMs “will continue to be in a supply-demand deficit for a number of years,” Valterra CEO Craig Miller said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. The pace of the transition to EVs has not been “as dramatic as some of the forecasts were,” he said.
Platinum — which has been in a deficit for the last few years — spiked to a record last month. While prices have since pulled back about 28%, they remain historically high.
Aside from supply-and-demand fundamentals, platinum and palladium have also seen a wave of speculative buying over the past year, rocketing higher alongside gold and silver as investors sought precious metals as a haven.
Valterra in January said its profit likely more than doubled last year as a result of the rally. The former subsidiary of Anglo American Plc became an independent company in the middle of last year – around the time PGM prices began to recover following a lengthy downturn.
(By Jack Ryan and Jennifer Zabasajja)