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Second Roundtable Summary

PGM MINING INDUSTRY:
IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY, IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY

1. The participants agreed that it is highly valuable to discuss the different situation in the different major mining countries ( South Africa , Russia , US/Canada) and their different paths towards sustainable production. They also agreed that differences in development should not primarily be used for pinpointing at weaknesses at certain production sites but rather as a starting point for mutual learning and exchange of ideas between the different mining companies.
2. It was agreed that it is important to develop a set of simple environmental and social indicators that allow for comparison and benchmarking. They will function as a common reference for improving sustainability in the PGM mining  industry. In addition, they will help the mining industry communicate their sustainability achievements along the supply chain.
3. The question was asked, who should be responsible for formulating the sustainability indicators. Certainly the PGM producing companies, coordinated by their association IPA, should play a major role. By providing a multi-stakeholder input, the PGM Roundtable could substantially contribute to their credibility.
4. Most participants felt the need for making the PGM mining industry’s sustainability transparent through the entire supply chain and that this would require a certain level of traceability. No concrete models were discussed, but it was acknowledged that this is not an easy task.
5. Roundtable participants expressed the need for improving corporate reporting on the mining companies’ sustainability issues. There appear to exist too many disparities between company reports and realities on the ground. Third party verification should play a more prominent role in the future. 

 

RECYCLING CATALYTIC CONVERTERS:
‘MINE THE CARS’, DEVELOP INFRASTRUCTURE

6. The information brought to the Roundtable convincingly showed that incomplete recycling of PGMs in cars is the largest single contributor to leakage from the PGM cycle. PGM increasingly contained in car electronics is adding to PGM contained in the catalytic converter and is even more difficult to recycle. There are good reasons for the Roundtable to continue focusing on the car industry.
7. PGM contained in electronics is the second most important source of PGM loss as a result of an extremely low recycling rate. Quantitatively it is far less important than the leakage from incomplete car recycling, however. Possibly, the Roundtable could address PGM in electronics at a later point of time.
8. There was agreement that used catalytic converters should be regarded as a PGM resource in the first place and not as waste. Catalytic converter scrap has a much higher PGM content than PGM containing ores. Recycling PGM not only helps to save scarce natural resources. It is also much more energy efficient than PGM production from ores.
9. In the near future, the quantity of PGM potentially available from decommissioned cars will rapidly increase. Roundtable participants emphasised the huge opportunity for ‘mining’ PGM from these cars, provided that the logistical infrastructure is in place and end-of-life (EOL) cars and catalysts are effectively fed into an appropriate industrial recycling chain.. Given the high economic value of PGM, there is a strong business case for developing this infrastructure on a global scale as soon as possible. Creating more transparency on material flows of used and EOL cars and catalysts and the actors involved is a crucial requirement in this context

 

CAR MANUFACTURERS:
LOOK AT PGM AS STRATEGIC MATERIALS, REQUIRE SUSTAINABILITY INFORMATION

10. It was recognised that a centrally important issue for car manufacturers will be the secure supply of PGM (among many other natural resources). Especially when new technological developments, either within the car industry (e.g. fuel cells) or in other sectors (e.g. electronics) require large quantities of PGM, supply security and price volatility can present serious problems.
11. There was no agreement on the precise role car manufacturers could play in promoting sustainable PGM mining. Although it was recognised that they cannot possibly assume a direct responsibility for mining issues, many felt that (at least for primary PGM supplies) car manufacturers should require from their PGM and/or catalytic converter suppliers basic information about the identity of PGM producers and their sustainability performance.
12. There was no agreement either on the role car manufacturers could or should play in taking responsibility for PGM recycling at the end of their cars’ life. Ideas about changed ownership structures (lease instead of ownership) were brought forward, there was no agreement on how desirable and effective these could be in practice. The car manufacturers stressed the need for global solutions.

 

GOVERNMENT (INCLUDING EU AND UNEP):
PGM ROUNDTABLE HIGHLY RELEVANT WITHIN CURRENT POLICIES

13. Different existing and developing EU policies (in the framework of the EU’s sustainable development strategy and the 6th Environmental Action Programme) are focusing on waste prevention, recycling and sustainable product design, for example:
1. The thematic Strategy on Waste Prevention and Recycling,
2. The thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources,
3. The Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan.
14. It was recognised, also by the EU/government participants, that, in the PGM value added chain, the PGM Roundtable can make an important contribution to realising resource efficiency and waste prevention and recycling goals as put forward by these policies.
15. It was emphasised that, in many if not most areas, optimisation of sustainability of the production and use of PGM is beyond the legislative power of the EU and member countries. However, more needs to be done in terms of enforcement of legislation, e.g. in the field of securing ELV-directive compliant recycling plants or preventing illegal exports of scrap cars out of the EU. The Roundtable’s approach, based on a voluntary agreement between stakeholders rather than legislation, was welcomed as an alternative or in any case as complementary to the efforts of EU and national policies.
16. At the roundtable meeting, government representatives expressed their (non-binding) willingness to support the roundtable’s initiative in the near future.

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