# Where does palladium come from?

Source: Commodity Origins, https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/palladium/ — data JSON: https://commodityorigins.com/data/commodities/palladium.json — license CC BY 4.0 (upstream data keeps its license; see Sources below).

Palladium comes mainly from Russia, which produced 84 tonnes in 2025, 44% of the world's 191 tonnes (USGS MCS). South Africa (37%), Canada (8.4%) and Zimbabwe (7.8%) follow; the top five together supply 100%. The biggest exporter of unwrought palladium (HS 711021) is Russia (22% of world export value in 2024, CEPII BACI). The benchmark price, Palladium, spot, was $1,267/troy oz in July 2026, up 6% from a year earlier (IMF PCPS). Palladium comes from two orebodies mined for other reasons: Russia's Norilsk nickel-copper deposit, where it is a by-product, and South Africa's Bushveld reefs, where it accompanies platinum, so nobody has ever been able to mine more palladium simply because palladium was expensive.

*A precious metal used mainly in petrol-engine autocatalysts, mined with platinum and nickel.* Also called: Pd, palladium bullion, PGM, autocatalyst metal.

## Where does palladium come from?

| Rank | Country | Production 2025 (tonnes) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 84 | 44% |
| 2 | South Africa | 70 | 37% |
| 3 | Canada | 16 | 8.4% |
| 4 | Zimbabwe | 15 | 7.8% |
| 5 | United States | 6.2 | 3.2% |
| | Rest of world | 2.9 | <0.1% |
| | World | 191 | 100% |

Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026.

In 2025 Russia mined 84 tonnes of palladium, 44% of the world's 191 tonnes (USGS MCS). South Africa followed with 37%, then Canada (8.4%), Zimbabwe (7.8%) and United States (3.2%). Only 5 countries produce it. The same mines produced {{prod.Mine production: Platinum.world}} of platinum, led by {{prod.Mine production: Platinum.top1.name}} with {{prod.Mine production: Platinum.top1.share}} (USGS MCS). Reserves are reported for the platinum-group metals combined: South Africa holds 83% of the world's 76,200 tonnes (USGS MCS).

The ordering of the two metals is the interesting part. South Africa dominates platinum; Russia leads palladium. That is because the Bushveld reefs are platinum-rich while Norilsk is palladium-rich, and the ratio in each orebody is fixed by geology. Neither producer can respond to a palladium price spike by making more palladium and less platinum.

Production means mined metal content. Because both metals are recovered from the same concentrate through the same long refining sequence, refined output lags mine output by months, and a smelter outage affects both simultaneously.

World output changed -11% on the previous year. The long-run picture is one of essentially flat mine supply against demand that swung enormously with emissions regulation, which is why palladium has had one of the most dramatic price histories of any metal in the last decade.

## Who exports and imports palladium?

Russia's Norilsk and South Africa's Bushveld supply most primary palladium; the United Kingdom and Switzerland dominate the export table because they refine and trade rather than mine.

### Exporters of platinum-group metals (HS 7110), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | $15.2 billion | 32% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $5.2 billion | 11% |
| 3 | Russia | $4 billion | 8.5% |
| 4 | Germany | $3.2 billion | 6.9% |
| 5 | United States | $3.1 billion | 6.6% |
| 6 | Italy | $2.5 billion | 5.2% |
| 7 | Belgium | $2.4 billion | 5% |
| 8 | United Arab Emirates | $1.8 billion | 3.7% |
| 9 | Switzerland | $1.7 billion | 3.6% |
| 10 | Hong Kong | $1.5 billion | 3.2% |
| 11 | Japan | $1.5 billion | 3.1% |
| 12 | China | $625.5 million | 1.3% |
| 13 | France | $614.4 million | 1.3% |
| 14 | Thailand | $519.9 million | 1.1% |
| 15 | South Korea | $479.1 million | 1% |

### Importers of platinum-group metals (HS 7110), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $7.4 billion | 16% |
| 2 | China | $5.7 billion | 12% |
| 3 | Japan | $5.4 billion | 11% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | $4.9 billion | 10% |
| 5 | Germany | $4.6 billion | 9.9% |
| 6 | Hong Kong | $4 billion | 8.6% |
| 7 | Switzerland | $2.8 billion | 5.9% |
| 8 | India | $2.6 billion | 5.4% |
| 9 | Italy | $2.1 billion | 4.4% |
| 10 | South Korea | $1.3 billion | 2.7% |
| 11 | North Macedonia | $1 billion | 2.2% |
| 12 | Canada | $972.6 million | 2.1% |
| 13 | Brazil | $756.2 million | 1.6% |
| 14 | Belgium | $483.6 million | 1% |
| 15 | Poland | $429.9 million | 0.9% |

### Exporters of palladium, unwrought or in powder form (HS 711021), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | $2.9 billion | 22% |
| 2 | South Africa | $2.8 billion | 21% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | $1.4 billion | 11% |
| 4 | United States | $1.4 billion | 10% |
| 5 | Italy | $972.4 million | 7.4% |
| 6 | Germany | $930.9 million | 7.1% |
| 7 | Belgium | $733.9 million | 5.6% |
| 8 | France | $479.7 million | 3.7% |
| 9 | Armenia | $264.4 million | 2% |
| 10 | Switzerland | $239.2 million | 1.8% |
| 11 | Norway | $229.8 million | 1.8% |
| 12 | Hong Kong | $209.3 million | 1.6% |
| 13 | South Korea | $196.5 million | 1.5% |
| 14 | Japan | $168.8 million | 1.3% |
| 15 | Austria | $49.1 million | 0.4% |

### Importers of palladium, unwrought or in powder form (HS 711021), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $1.9 billion | 15% |
| 2 | Germany | $1.8 billion | 14% |
| 3 | Switzerland | $1.6 billion | 12% |
| 4 | Japan | $1.4 billion | 10% |
| 5 | United Kingdom | $956.1 million | 7.3% |
| 6 | China | $873.2 million | 6.7% |
| 7 | Italy | $702.5 million | 5.4% |
| 8 | Hong Kong | $694.5 million | 5.3% |
| 9 | Canada | $573.3 million | 4.4% |
| 10 | North Macedonia | $569.2 million | 4.3% |
| 11 | South Korea | $483.3 million | 3.7% |
| 12 | Brazil | $428.1 million | 3.3% |
| 13 | Armenia | $252.9 million | 1.9% |
| 14 | Poland | $201 million | 1.5% |
| 15 | India | $106.8 million | 0.8% |

Source: CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601).

Russia was the largest exporter of unwrought palladium (HS 711021) in 2024 with 22% of world export value, ahead of South Africa (21%), on world trade of $13.1 billion (CEPII BACI). United States was the largest importer with 15%.

As with the other precious metals, the export table mixes producers with refining and vaulting hubs. The United Kingdom and Switzerland appear because they refine and trade metal mined elsewhere, and metal moving in and out of exchange warehouses crosses borders repeatedly. Since 2022 the Russian share of the visible trade has become harder to read, as material has moved through different intermediaries and destinations without necessarily changing in volume.

## What does palladium cost?

- Palladium, spot: $1,267/troy oz in July 2026; 12-month change +6%; 10-year change +96%; all-time high $2,873/troy oz in May 2021; real high (2024 US$) $3,358/troy oz in May 2021 (IMF PCPS).

Prices are monthly benchmark averages that lag the market; not investment advice.

### How it is priced

The series shown is Palladium, spot, which was $1,267/troy oz in July 2026, up 6% from a year earlier (IMF PCPS). The nominal high was $2,873/troy oz in May 2021, and the real high $3,358/troy oz in May 2021. Note the World Bank Pink Sheet carries platinum but not palladium, so this page uses the IMF series.

Palladium trades in troy ounces with a twice-daily reference price set by electronic auction under the London Platinum and Palladium Market, and NYMEX futures used for hedging. The physical market is small: annual supply is measured in low hundreds of tonnes, so the metal is genuinely illiquid compared with gold or silver, and lease rates can spike violently when metal is short in a particular location.

Two features make palladium pricing unusual. First, supply is inelastic in the strict sense: it is a by-product of nickel and platinum mining, so it does not increase when the price rises. Second, its main demand can substitute with platinum over a design cycle of a year or two. Between 2017 and 2022 palladium traded far above platinum, which prompted exactly that substitution, and the subsequent normalisation of the spread is the main reason the price fell back. Anyone reading a palladium price should read the platinum price next to it.

## What moves the price of palladium?

### Gasoline vehicle production

Palladium's dominant use is in catalytic converters for petrol engines, so it tracks gasoline vehicle output rather than total vehicle output. Every battery electric vehicle sold instead of a petrol one removes several grams of palladium demand permanently, which is the structural pressure on the metal.

### Emissions standards

Tightening limits raise the loading of precious metal per vehicle, which can offset falling vehicle numbers. China's transition to stricter standards raised palladium loadings substantially and was a major source of the demand growth behind the price spike.

### Substitution with platinum

Catalyst makers can reformulate toward platinum when palladium is expensive, and did so at scale after the 2018 to 2022 price divergence. The substitution takes a year or two to reach production and does not reverse quickly, so a price spike permanently destroys some demand.

### Russian supply and sanctions

One Russian producer supplies a large share of world palladium. Payment, shipping, insurance and listing restrictions after 2022 complicated that flow even where the metal itself was not sanctioned, adding a persistent risk premium and rerouting trade.

### By-product economics

Palladium output depends on nickel economics at Norilsk and on platinum economics in the Bushveld. A South African power crisis or a nickel price collapse changes palladium supply for reasons entirely unrelated to palladium.

### Recycling of autocatalysts

Spent converters return substantial quantities of palladium, and scrap flows respond to price within months. High prices accelerate scrappage and collection, which caps rallies; low prices slow them, which cushions falls.

### Investment and lease rates

Because the physical market is small, movements of metal into and out of exchange warehouses and investor holdings have outsized effects. Acute local shortages have produced extreme lease rates and backwardation without any change in mine supply.

## How is palladium produced?

Palladium is never the reason a mine is dug. At Norilsk, nickel-copper sulfide ore is mined underground, concentrated by flotation and smelted; the platinum-group metals report to the converter matte along with the nickel and copper and are recovered at the far end of the base-metal refinery. In the Bushveld, narrow reef ore is mined, floated, smelted and converted, and the precious metals are separated after the base metals have been removed.

The precious-metal refinery is where palladium is finally isolated, through a sequence of dissolutions, precipitations and solvent-extraction steps that separate the six platinum-group elements from one another and from gold. The pipeline holds several months of production, which is why refined supply can diverge from mine supply for a quarter or more and why a refinery outage matters as much as a mine outage.

Recycling follows a compressed version of the same route. Spent autocatalysts are collected, the ceramic substrate is milled, and the metal-bearing powder is smelted and refined alongside primary material. Because a converter contains platinum, palladium and rhodium together, recycling returns the whole basket, which is one reason the three metals' prices are linked.

Everything on this page is measured as metal content, in tonnes. World mine supply of palladium is measured in low hundreds of tonnes a year, which puts the entire market's annual output at a volume that would fit in a single room.

## What is palladium used for?

Autocatalysts dominate. In a petrol engine's three-way catalytic converter, palladium oxidises carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons and helps reduce nitrogen oxides, and it has been the preferred metal for that job for decades because it performed better than platinum at the temperatures petrol engines run.

Electronics is the second use: palladium in multilayer ceramic capacitors, which appear in the billions in every kind of device, and in connector plating and soldering. Dentistry uses palladium alloys for crowns and bridges, though less than it once did. Chemical catalysis uses it in hydrogenation, in purified terephthalic acid production for polyester, and in the coupling reactions that underpin much of modern pharmaceutical synthesis.

Jewellery is a small use, mostly as the whitening element in white gold and occasionally as palladium jewellery in its own right. Investment demand exists through bars, coins and exchange-traded funds but is far smaller than for gold or silver.

The use that would matter most for the metal's future is hydrogen: palladium membranes purify hydrogen and palladium absorbs it readily. Whether that becomes a large market depends on how hydrogen infrastructure develops, and it is far from certain.

## Supply chain and chokepoints

The chain has the same shape as platinum's but with the country weights reversed and an additional geopolitical complication. Norilsk supplies a large share of world palladium from a single Arctic industrial complex, reached by rail to Dudinka and then by sea along the Northern Sea Route or by air. Restrictions and self-sanctioning by Western buyers after 2022 did not stop the metal moving but changed who handled it and where it went, and added a persistent premium for guaranteed non-Russian material.

South African supply carries the electricity and labor risks described on the platinum page: deep mines, a strained grid, and a history of long wage strikes. Because palladium comes out of the same shafts, those risks apply to both metals simultaneously.

Refining is the third narrow point, concentrated in a small number of facilities in South Africa, Russia, Britain, Germany, Japan and the United States. The months-long pipeline through those refineries means the market cannot respond quickly to a shortage even when mines are running normally.

The structural risk is demand rather than supply. Palladium's dominant use is a technology being replaced: every gasoline vehicle not built is palladium demand that does not return, and the substitution toward platinum triggered by the price spike removed more. Recycling volumes will keep growing as the existing petrol fleet is scrapped, which means secondary supply rises exactly as primary demand falls. That is an unusual and uncomfortable position for a producer.

## Key companies

- Norilsk Nickel: miner and refiner, Russia, listed (GMKN)
- Anglo American Platinum (Valterra Platinum): miner and refiner, South Africa, listed (VAL)
- Impala Platinum (Implats): miner and refiner, South Africa, listed (IMP)
- Sibanye-Stillwater: miner and recycler, South Africa, listed (SSW)
- Johnson Matthey: refiner and catalyst maker, United Kingdom, listed (JMAT)
- BASF: catalyst maker and recycler, Germany, listed (BAS)

## Timeline

- 1803: Palladium is identified as a new element. Isolated from crude platinum ore, it remained a laboratory curiosity for a century and a half until catalysis and electronics gave it industrial uses. (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-commodity-summaries)
- 1935: Norilsk begins production. Development of the Arctic nickel-copper deposit created the source that still supplies a large share of world palladium as a by-product of nickel. (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-commodity-summaries)
- 1975: Catalytic converters become compulsory in the United States. Emissions rules created the demand that would eventually consume most of world palladium production and tied the metal's fortunes to the internal combustion engine. (https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/evolution-clean-air-act)
- 2000-01: A supply scare drives palladium above platinum. Uncertainty over Russian export licenses and heavy carmaker stockpiling sent palladium to a then-record and prompted the first wave of substitution back toward platinum. (https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:PCPS)
- 2008-01: South African power cuts hit platinum-group supply. A national electricity emergency stopped deep-level mining and constrained the Bushveld's contribution to palladium supply alongside platinum. (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-commodity-summaries)
- 2014-01: A five-month South African strike removes supply. The longest wage strike in the country's history stopped the three largest platinum-group producers for half a year and tightened the palladium market along with platinum. (https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/2014-south-african-platinum-strike-longest-wage-strike-south-africa)
- 2015-09: The diesel emissions scandal shifts demand to petrol. Consumers and regulators turned away from diesel toward petrol engines, moving catalyst demand from platinum toward palladium and beginning the divergence between the two metals. (https://www.epa.gov/vw)
- 2018-01: Palladium overtakes gold. Sustained deficits and rising Chinese emissions standards took palladium above the gold price, a level it held for years and which triggered systematic substitution work by catalyst makers. (https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:PCPS)
- 2022-03: Restrictions complicate Russian supply. Payment, shipping and listing measures after the invasion of Ukraine disrupted the largest single source of palladium, and the price spiked to its record before falling back. (https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:PCPS)
- 2024-01: Substitution and electrification pull the price down. Catalyst reformulation toward platinum, combined with battery electric vehicle share growth, cut palladium demand and returned the price to a discount against platinum. (https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:PCPS)

## Frequently asked questions

### which country produces the most palladium

Russia mined 84 tonnes in 2025, 44% of the world's 191 tonnes (USGS MCS). South Africa was second with 37%. Only 5 countries produce it, and in all of them it is a by-product of nickel or platinum mining.

### why is palladium so expensive

Because supply is a by-product that does not increase when the price rises, while demand rose sharply as emissions standards tightened and buyers moved from diesel to petrol engines. Its nominal high was $2,873/troy oz in May 2021 (IMF PCPS); substitution toward platinum has since reduced demand.

### what is palladium used for

Mainly catalytic converters for petrol engines. Other uses are multilayer ceramic capacitors and connector plating in electronics, dental alloys, chemical catalysts for hydrogenation and pharmaceutical synthesis, white gold jewellery, and hydrogen purification membranes.

### what is the difference between platinum and palladium

They do similar work in a catalytic converter and come from the same orebodies, but in different ratios: the Bushveld is platinum-rich and Norilsk is palladium-rich. Historically platinum suited diesel and palladium suited petrol, and catalyst makers substitute between them over a design cycle of a year or two.

### is palladium demand falling

Its dominant use is petrol-engine catalysts, so every battery electric vehicle sold instead of a petrol one removes demand permanently. Substitution toward platinum after the price spike removed more. Meanwhile recycling of the existing petrol fleet raises secondary supply, which compounds the pressure.

### where is palladium refined

In a small number of facilities in South Africa, Russia, Britain, Germany, Japan and the United States, at the end of a separation sequence that also produces platinum, rhodium and the other platinum-group metals. The pipeline holds several months of production, so refined supply lags mine output.

### how much palladium is there

World mine supply is 191 tonnes a year (2025, USGS MCS), measured in tonnes rather than millions of tonnes. Reserves are reported for the platinum-group metals together, with South Africa holding 83% of 76,200 tonnes.

## Sources

- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026, fetched 6 September 2026. License: Public domain (US Government work). https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-commodity-summaries
- CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601), BACI HS22 V202601, fetched 6 September 2026. License: Etalab Open Licence 2.0. https://www.cepii.fr/CEPII/en/bdd_modele/bdd_modele_item.asp?id=37
- IMF Primary Commodity Price System (PCPS), 2026-08-06, fetched 6 September 2026. License: © International Monetary Fund. All rights reserved (IMF terms of use). https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.RES:PCPS

Text last reviewed 2026-09-05. Cite as: Commodity Origins, "Where does palladium come from?", https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/palladium/.