Market Nuggets:Platinum Use In Medical Field Is Projected to Grow-- Johnson Matthey's Duncan

14 September 2011, 5:36 p.m.

(Kitco News) - Platinum use for medical purposes is expected to grow because of its characteristics, according to an analyst from Johnson Matthey. Peter Duncan says platinum is neither rejected by nor causes unwanted reactions in the human body, so it is the ideal metal for medical implants such as pacemaker electrodes, aneurism coils and other devices. Duncan was speaking at the CPM Group's Platinum Group Metals Seminar in New York on the little known uses of platinum group metals. He says platinum is “radiopaque” meaning it does not allow X-rays or other radiation to penetrate. That is leading to its widespread use in angioplasty and other minimally invasive surgical procedures, he says. Rhodium is used in filters to screen out unwanted X-rays in mammography to detect breast cancers. Duncan says PGMs are also being used in chemotherapy, which was discovered accidently. PGMs inhibit cell replication with high success rates, notably in testicular and ovarian cancers. Their use in radiation treatment is growing. Some PGM isotopes exhibit high energy, but they have a short half-life. This is a useful combination for aggressive, localized treatment of tumors and they can be used for temporary or permanent implants, he says.

By Debbie Carlson of Kitco News; dcarlson@kitco.com

Market Nuggets: More Threats Emerge To Platinum Mine Supply Growth--CPM Analyst

14 September 2011, 5:11 p.m.

(Kitco News) - Threats to platinum mine supply growth are increasing as production costs grow, says an analyst with the CPM Group. These costs include electricity tariffs and wages, says CPM's Erica Rannestad. She says that production disruptions are also a factor, such as electricity outages and shutdowns for investigations after accidents at a mine. Rannestad was speaking at CPM's Platinum Metals Group Seminar in New York. She says secondary supply can help to relieve some of that tension, but the secondary market is sensitive to price and trends in auto scrapping. The average South African PGM cash cost in 2010 rose to just over $800 an ounce. Rannestad notes South Africa remains the biggest source of platinum mine supply, holding 78% of known supplies, with Russia the next largest at 12.9%. As for palladium, South Africa has 41.9% of mine supply, with 40.5% held in Russia. She also says exploration spending on the platinum group metals started to pick up in 2010, to about $160 million, but remains sharply under the spending seen at the peak of 2008, which was just south of $350 million.

By Debbie Carlson of Kitco News; dcarlson@kitco.com