Articles

The catalytic converter recycling industry is not always the honest and transparent marketplace that we would all wish to see. This can be particularly tough for the scrap catalyst collector who wants to obtain the best possible price for his goods. Many misconceptions and misunderstandings have grown up over the years that have created difficulties for the scrap metal collector, and with so many potential buyers around, it’s not always easy to find the best deal. In this article, we look at som ...

Exactly one year ago (and before COVID-19’s full impact on the industrial world had manifested itself) we reported that the price of rhodium had reached an all-time high of over $10,000 per ounce, at the time around 6 times the value of gold! Last February, we believed that this was a bit of a one-off, caused by power shortages in South Africa which threatened a reduction in the output from the world’s main producer of mined rhodium (with over 80% market share). In fact, though, its price rose f ...

At Eco Cat News, we have frequently noted the importance of catalytic converter recyclers in determining the exact quantities of platinum, palladium, and rhodium in any given batch of catalysts. Over the past two decades, new technologies have helped ensure that the industry has become increasingly transparent and honest, with probably the most important aspect being that of assaying. The ability to quickly and accurately analyze a representative sample of the crushed de-canned catalyst has made ...

We all know that catalytic converters have good scrap value, primarily due to their platinum, palladium, and rhodium content, but also because of the complexity in the recycling process. The spent catalyst must go through de-canning, grinding, smelting, and a multi-stage chemical separation before the 3 precious metals can be extracted in a pure form, a process necessarily carried out by specialists who have the appropriate recycling and safety equipment. There are 3 factors that determine th ...

For many years, particularly since the mid-1970’s up until 2011, platinum was nicknamed the “rich person’s gold” as its price was typically around 25% higher than that of gold. Since then, however, the price of platinum has plummeted and it now trades at approximately half that of gold. A similar story exists when comparing platinum and palladium, a saga we are very familiar with in the catalyst recovery industry. Even with the uncertainty in stock markets this year as a result of the COVID ...

Those in the catalytic converter recycling business are continuously discussing and debating the financial aspects of the market - the demand for and value of new and used vehicles, the fluctuations in the price of platinum, palladium, and rhodium, the costs of the recycling process, and so on. There is, though, another important aspect of the business that should never be overlooked, and that is the environmental and ecological benefits that this industry brings, and we will be taking a look at ...

For the last few months, Eco Cat news has focused on the impact that coronavirus COVID-19 has had on the supply, demand, and prices of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). Whilst numerous COVID-19 “hotspots” remain around the globe, lockdown seems to be generally easing now and a semblance of normality is returning to the world of business. source: Post Corona: The Supply of PGMs? Like most industries, the scrap catalytic converter market has suffered severely since March and its partici ...

    Following our recent article on The Platinum Group Metal demand situation, we now take a look at the current position on the availability of these metals as many countries ease back on their COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.   Primary Market (Mining)     The mining of PGMs is confined to just a few countries:-  As this map shows, COVID-19 has been impacting severely on the availability of mined platinum, with the main supplier, South Af ...

Even though easing of lockdown restrictions are now underway, The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major global impact on lives, on businesses, and economies. The virus is not only a tragic health pandemic but is also causing the steepest, deepest economic contraction in living memory, with collapses in both the supply and demand sides of the economy. So we make no apologies for revisiting the subject for a further look at how it continues to affect the catalytic converter industry There ...

    Just 2 months ago we penned our first article about the impact of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 on Platinum Group Metals. As well as the tragic loss of life, the spread of the virus continues to disrupt economies across the globe, resulting in unemployment, business closures, and market volatility. Certainly, much has already changed in the space of 2 months… Demand Back in March, we noted significant falls in the prices of palladium and platinum caused primarily by m ...