# Platinum

Platinum is a dense, unreactive catalyst metal for diesel exhausts, chemicals and glass, mined mostly from South Africa's Bushveld Complex.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/

Precious metals · No. 23

- EU strategic
- EU critical 2023
- US critical 2025
- India critical 2023
- HHI 5,193 · highly concentrated
 Precious metals · Foundation · Matter

One Bushveld mine hauls up 200,000 tons of rock a month to win just four to seven grams of platinum per ton.

Chart: Illustration: Platinum

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Platinum lies in thin reefs within layered igneous rocks, above all South Africa's Bushveld Complex and Zimbabwe's Great Dyke, often mined deep underground.

##### Three things to know

1. In real 2010 dollars platinum's price nearly halved, from $1,610 in 2010 to $830 in 2024, as diesel cars lost ground.
2. South Africa holds 63 of the world's 76 million kg of platinum-group metal reserves.
3. Recycled platinum carries a footprint of about 477 t CO2e per tonne, a tiny fraction of mined metal.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Reef ore**A few grams per ton, deep underground
2. 2 **Concentrate**Crushed and floated
3. 3 **Smelting**Melted into nickel-copper matte
4. 4 **Refining**Base and precious metals separated
5. 5 **End uses**Catalysts, glass, jewellery, fuel cells
 Covered in [What makes something a commodityCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/what-is-a-commodity/)[From ground to marketCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/from-ground-to-market/)[Supply, demand and the cost curveCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/supply-demand-costs/)[Prices and cyclesCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/prices-and-cycles/)[How commodities tradeCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/how-commodities-trade/)[Criticality and geopoliticsCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/criticality-and-geopolitics/)and 5 more

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/links/index.md)