The gasoline-engine catalyst metal: more than 80% of it comes from two countries.
Palladium is the other main metal of the platinum group. Its largest use is in catalytic converters for gasoline vehicles, where it has long been used instead of platinum because of its lower price. It is also used in electronics (multilayer ceramic capacitors and connectors), chemical catalysts, dental alloys and jewellery. Palladium is mined together with platinum, and with nickel and copper in Russia, so its supply is tied to those industries. Because demand is concentrated in vehicle exhaust control, palladium is highly exposed to changes in vehicle technology and emissions rules, and between 2021 and 2025 its average price fell by more than half, from about $2,419 per ounce to about $1,100.
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Designations are indicative equivalents. Always confirm the exact standard, edition and temper or form on the purchase order and the mill certificate.
Russia, the world's leading palladium miner, produces about 44% of the total and South Africa about 37%. Russian output fell about 6% in 2025 (lower ore grades and recovery, uncertainty tied to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the introduction of new mining equipment at one operation), and world output fell from about 217,000 kg to about 190,000 kg. US output fell about 40% as one operation stayed on care-and-maintenance. Other countries add about 2,900 kg. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
Reserves are reported for the platinum-group metals as a group: more than 76,000 t in total, with South Africa holding about 63,000 t and Russia about 11,000 t. Russia's Norilsk deposits are unusually palladium-rich, so Russia's share of palladium supply (about 44%) is higher than its share of PGM reserves (about 14%). Because palladium is produced as part of a group, a change in platinum or nickel economics can change palladium supply even if palladium demand is unchanged.
Palladium is separated in the same refining chain as platinum. In Russia it is also a by-product of nickel-copper smelting, while South African palladium comes from the same mines as platinum. Because two countries supply about 81% of the metal, a disruption at one producer can remove a large share of supply, which makes palladium more exposed to supply-chain risk than most metals.
Recycling is large for palladium. USGS estimates about 140,000 kg of palladium and platinum were recovered globally from new and old scrap in 2025. In the United States about 50,000 kg of palladium was recovered from catalytic converters, against 8,600 kg of platinum, and that palladium alone is equal to roughly 38% of US apparent consumption (130,000 kg). Recycling follows the vehicle fleet and the price: when the price rises, more spent converters are collected and processed.
Russia is the world's leading palladium miner, with about 84,000 kg in 2025 (about 44% of the total), and the metal is a by-product of the nickel-copper operations at Norilsk. In 2021-24 the United States sourced 36% of its palladium imports from Russia and 37% from South Africa. USGS notes that Russian output fell in 2025 because of lower ore grades and recovery, geopolitical and investor uncertainty related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and new mining equipment at one operation. For buyers, palladium sourcing is as much a question of which supply chain the metal passed through as of price: sanctions, trade restrictions and customer policies on Russian-origin metal can all apply, so origin documentation is a commercial requirement.
Palladium is priced per troy ounce. The LBMA/LPPM palladium price is set twice daily in London, with futures on NYMEX, and the market is thin, so prices can be volatile. USGS reports the 2025 average at about $1,100 per ounce, up 11% from about $995 in 2024 but well below the 2021 average of about $2,419. Platinum's average of about $1,200 is above palladium's again, and USGS notes that platinum is being substituted for palladium in some automobile catalysts, with about 25% of palladium routinely substitutable by platinum in diesel catalytic converters and up to 50% in some applications.
Industrial buyers purchase palladium as sponge, powder, wire, paste or alloy, and supply contracts between producers or refiners and automotive customers are common. Scrap and spent catalysts are priced on assay of palladium, platinum and rhodium content, less the refiner's processing charge. As with platinum, the assay method and treatment terms deserve as much attention as the headline price.
For palladium, specify purity and form, buy on contained troy ounces against a clearly stated price reference, and ask for the origin of the metal and for the refiner's accreditation. Because platinum can substitute for palladium in many catalysts, a buyer's real price risk is the platinum-palladium price gap as well as the palladium price itself.
Talk to a SpecialistProduction and reserve figures are USGS estimates for 2025 unless stated. Figures are rounded and change with each annual revision.