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Question
Category: Mining and Geology
Subject: Palladium by volume
Q1. How much palladium exists in the earth's crust?
Q2. How much of this has been supplied?
Q3. How much is supplied (on average) annually?
Q4. If one stacked all the palladium that has been supplied, what volume would it fill - a small room, a swimming pool?
Answer
The answers here are based mainly on published Johnson Matthey data, after 1980. The sources of other data are quoted.
A1. Reserves of palladium:
| Bushveld Igneous Complex*, South Africa | |
|---|---|
| Proven and probable reserves | 116.1 million troy oz Pd |
| Total inferred reserves | 711 million troy oz Pd |
| Other Sources | |
| Sudbury**, Canada | Reserves: 3.6 million troy oz Pd |
| Norilsk**, U.S.S.R. | Reserves: 142 million troy oz Pd |
| Stillwater**, U.S.A. | Reserves: 23 million troy oz Pd |
*Estimates of palladium reserves and resources in the Bushveld Igneous Complex
*R. G. Cawthorn, S. Afr. J. Sci., 1999, 95, 481–489; the figures quoted are taken from Professor Cawthorn's paper.
** Platinum 1985, page 19
You can do the sums for yourself!
A2. Data on the palladium supply from 1980 to 2004:
Between 1980 to 2004 121,590,000 oz Pd were supplied***.
***http://www.platinum.matthey.com/uploaded_files/Pt 2004 Int/Pd 80 to 94.pdf and
http://www.platinum.matthey.com/uploaded_files/Pt 2005/Pd 95 to 04.pdf
A3. Annual Figures:
The two PDF files above give figures for the supply of palladium for each year from 1980 to 2004. The latest published figure is for 2004, and the palladium supplied in that year was 7.62 million oz.
A4. To find the physical volume of all the palladium supplied to-date:
121,590,000 troy oz, or in kilograms, 3,781,449 kg have been supplied to-date.
(1 troy ounce ~ 0.0311 kilogram)
The density of palladium is 12023 kg m–3, meaning that a volume of 1 cubic metre would contain 12023 kg of Pd.
Therefore the total palladium supplied (~ 3,781,449 kg) will occupy ~ 315 m3 – a nice sized swimming pool!
Answer posted 24 May 2005
Submitted by: Ms Liz Kennedy
Affiliation: Public Relations, Jewelry.com
Answered by: Jeremy Coombes
Affiliation: Johnson Matthey, Precious Metals Division