Heraeus Opens PGM Refinery in South Africa


Dr. Roland Gerner, managing director of
W. C. Heraeus, casts the first platinum bar
in the company's new PGM refinery in Port
Elizabeth, South Africa.
W. C. Heraeus started up a new platinum group metals refinery in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in early February 2007. Built in cooperation with Northam Platinum and the South African Department of Minerals and Energy, the refinery will process Northam metals production. It is the first PGM refinery in South Africa capable of integrated fabrication of added-value products required for the manufacture of catalytic converters for the automobile industry. South Africa’s automobile industry is centered on Port Elizabeth and will be a key customer of the new plant. The current plant is the first phase of a planned three-stage development program that targets eventual production capacity of 400,000 oz/y of refined PGMs. The timing of future expansions will be based on the availability of additional plant feed from Northam and anticipated feed from new PGM mine projects currently being developed by junior companies in South Africa. The operating company for the new refinery is Heraeus Refinery S.A. (Pty.) Ltd., a subsidiary of W. C. Heraeus. W. C. Heraeus is a precious metals and technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany. Northam and Heraeus have had a working relationship for more than 20 years, during which time Heraeus has refined concentrates from Northam in Hanau.