Chalice Mining Ltd found what could be Australia’s first major palladium resource on the fringes of Perth, the nation’s mining hub. The mining company has seen its shares rise more than eightfold since confirming the Julimar discovery just over 12 months ago, reports mining.com.
“It’s a fascinating bit of serendipity. It is quite amazing that it wasn’t found in the 1960s or 70s to be honest,” Alex Dorsch, managing director of Chalice Mining is reported to have said. The mining company whose shareholders include mining magnate Robert Friedland and Blackrock Inc., plans to add supply to a palladium market that’s been in deficit for years due to high demand for the metal.
Palladium is used in catalytic converters to curb emissions in gasoline-powered vehicles. Prices surged to record highs this year and UBS Group AG has raised its forecasts on expectations of the largest deficit since 2014.
Julimar, just 70 kilometres northeast of Perth, a city of two million people could be big enough to support a large open-pit operation producing around 340,000 ounces of palladium a year over a 12-year lifespan. That compares to a market where annual demand runs close to 10 million ounces.
So far, all the drilling suggests this thing could be significantly bigger than what they’ve already identified. The find also contains platinum, copper, nickel and cobalt deposits. To put a time frame on when Julimar might be brought into production, the industry standard of between four and eight years is a reasonable range.
While demand for the metal is expected to remain robust as auto production picks up alongside the global economic recovery from the pandemic, the longer-term outlook is clouded by the shift to electric vehicles.
Meanwhile, palladium and platinum also are key components in the fuel cells that are an essential part of green hydrogen production with growth potential as that clean energy technology gains traction. Julimar’s other minerals were a useful hedge against any emerging softness in the palladium market. Those metals might take on growing significance as the company continues to explore the resource.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
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