By William Clowes, Bloomberg.
Sibanye Stillwater, which owns the US’s only operating palladium mines, has asked President Donald Trump’s administration to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of the metal from Russia.
The Johannesburg-listed company filed petitions with the Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission on July 30 to request the relief, alleging that palladium shipped from Russia is sold in the US “at less than fair value.” Moscow-based MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC is the largest producer of the metal, accounting for more than 40% of global output.
Sibanye’s Stillwater mines in Montana have struggled in recent years as low palladium prices forced the company to cut costs, slash production targets and write down the value of the assets. Palladium is used mainly by the automotive industry to reduce harmful emissions from gasoline vehicles.
The petition alleges that the Russian state provides various forms of financial support to its palladium miners, including “grants, export financing, tax incentives, below-market mining rights, preferential loans, regional subsidies, and lax environmental controls.” Nornickel’s press service declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg.
Exports of palladium from Russia to the US grew 42% year-on-year in the first five months of the year, to more than 500 000 ounces, analysts at Hereaus Precious Metals said in a note on August 4. Applying duties on Russian metal “could result in the rerouting of global physical metal flows, leading to price volatility, “according to Hereaus.
Founded in 2013, Sibanye has diversified away from its original dependence on gold mining in South Africa into platinum-group metals in its home country and the US, as well as lithium and nickel.
A final determination on the petition – which Sibanye submitted with the United Steelworkers union – is expected within 13 months, according to the company.