Key trends in the resource sustainability of platinum group elements

Platinum group elements (PGEs) are increasingly used in a variety of environmentally-related technologies, such as chemical process catalysts, catalytic converters for vehicle exhaust control, hydrogen fuel cells, electronic components, and a variety of specialty medical uses, amongst others - almost all of which have strong expected growth to meet environmental and technological challenges this century. Economic geologists have been arguing on the case of abundant geologic resources of PGEs for some time while others still raise concerns about long-term supply - yet there remains no detailed analysis of formally reported mineral resources and key trends in the PGEs sector. This paper presents such a detailed review of the PGEs sector, including detailed mine production statistics and mineral resources by principal ore types, providing an authoritative case study on the resource sustainability for a group of elements which are uniquely concentrated in a select few regions of the earth. The methodology, compiled data sets and trends provide strong assurance on the contribution that PGEs can make to the key sustainability and technology challenges of the 21st century such as energy and pollution control. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.