Platinum Group Metals Vital to Manufactured Goods; International Platinum Group Metals Association Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
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BILLINGS, MT -- (Marketwire) -- 11/09/12 -- STILLWATER MINING COMPANY (NYSE: SWC) (TSX: SWC.U) has posted on its website at (http://www.stillwatermining.com/market.html) a report entitled "25 Prominent and Promising Applications Using Platinum Group Metals" just released by the International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA). Stillwater Mining Company is a member of the IPA which is celebrating its 25th anniversary since its founding in 1987.
The IPA report, also available at (http://www.ipa-news.com/en/files/25_applications_of_pgms.pdf), highlights the vital role platinum group metals (PGMs) play in everyday living, observing that one in four goods manufactured today either contains PGMs or uses them in its manufacturing process.
The most significant use of PGMs is in automotive catalytic converters. Essentially all motor vehicles produced today are equipped with catalytic converters which sharply reduce the harmful emissions from gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines. In 2011, approximately 67% of palladium and 41% of platinum supplied to the market was used in catalytic converters. Other important PGM applications include jewelry, electronics, dentistry, petroleum refining, and chemical processing.
Stillwater Mining Company is one of fifteen members of the IPA which is based in Munich, Germany. The IPA represents leading mining, production and fabrication companies within the global PGM industry. The objectives of the IPA include generating and promoting factual information about PGMs, assisting in the healthy, safe and environmentally sound production and processing of PGMs and defining and communicating the industry's views related to PGM production, use and recycling.
Commenting on the IPA report, Frank McAllister, Chairman and CEO of Stillwater Mining Company stated, "We commend the IPA for twenty-five years of effective representation of its membership, and for bringing attention on this occasion to twenty-five of the many PGM uses critical to society in such diverse applications as environmental protection, petroleum production, health care, medicines, and manufacturing, among many others."
About Stillwater Mining Company
Stillwater Mining Company is the only U.S. producer of palladium and platinum and is the largest primary producer of platinum group metals outside of South Africa and the Russian Federation. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWC and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SWC.U. Information on Stillwater Mining can be found at its website: www.stillwatermining.com.