Russia’s Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel), the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel, expects the palladium market to continue to be in a deficit of about 500 000 oz this year, driven by the continuing increase in loadings in autocatalysts.
Underpinning the company’s market forecast for palladium is the rolling out of the China 6 vehicle emissions standard and the introduction of real driving emissions (RDE) tests in Europe to measure pollutants.
The miner states that palladium’s substitution with platinum will be limited in 2020, as an “effective technical solution is not available”.