Stillwater Mining Company
Encyclopedia
Stillwater Mining Company is a palladium
and platinum
mining
company
with headquarters located at Billings, Montana
, United States
. It is the only palladium and platinum producer in the USA. The only other North America
based palladium/platinum producer is North American Palladium
, located in Canada. The current Chief Operating Officer is Francis R. McAllister.
In December 2010, the Company acquired Marathon PGM Corporation. It was renamed Stillwater Canada.
in south central Montana known as the J-M Reef and from the recycling of spent catalytic converter
s. The J-M Reef is the only known significant source of platinum group metals inside the United States and one of the significant resources outside South Africa and Russia. Associated by-product metals at the Company’s operations include minor amounts of gold, silver, nickel and copper. The J-M Reef is a narrow but extensive mineralized zone containing PGMs, which has been traced over a strike length of approximately 28 miles (45.1 km).
The company conducts mining operations at the Stillwater Mine near Nye, Montana
and at the East Boulder Mine near Big Timber, Montana
. Both mines are located on the J-M Reef. The company operates concentrating plants at each mining operation to upgrade mined production to a concentrate
form. The company operates a smelter and base metal refinery at Columbus, Montana
at which it further purifies the mined production to a PGM-rich filter cake
. The filter cake is shipped to third-party custom refiners for final refining before being sold.
The company recycles spent catalyst
material to recover PGMs at the smelter and refinery. The company has a longterm catalyst sourcing agreement and spot contracts with other suppliers who ship spent catalysts to the company for processing to recover PGMs. The company smelts and refines the spent catalysts by the same process as the mined production is purified.
In 2006, a group of shareholders won a $2.6 million settlement against the company for "misleading statements about the company's financial performance" and its ore reserves.
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired...
and platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
with headquarters located at Billings, Montana
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the only palladium and platinum producer in the USA. The only other North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
based palladium/platinum producer is North American Palladium
North American Palladium
North American Palladium Ltd. , founded in 1968 as Madeleine Mines Ltd., is a mining company with headquarters located at Toronto, Canada. Renamed to its current title in June 1993, the company primarily mines and explores for palladium but also for gold. Platinum, silver, nickel, and copper are...
, located in Canada. The current Chief Operating Officer is Francis R. McAllister.
In December 2010, the Company acquired Marathon PGM Corporation. It was renamed Stillwater Canada.
Processing Mined Material
Stillwater Mining Company is engaged in the development, extraction, processing, refining and marketing of palladium, platinum and associated metals (platinum group metals or PGMs) from a geological formation in the Stillwater igneous complexStillwater igneous complex
The Stillwater igneous complex is a large layered intrusion located in southern Montana in Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Park Counties. The complex is exposed across 30 miles of the north flank of the Beartooth Mountain Range. The complex has extensive reserves of chromium ore and has a history of...
in south central Montana known as the J-M Reef and from the recycling of spent catalytic converter
Catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is a device used to convert toxic exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine into non-toxic substances. Inside a catalytic converter, a catalyst stimulates a chemical reaction in which noxious byproducts of combustion are converted to less toxic substances by dint...
s. The J-M Reef is the only known significant source of platinum group metals inside the United States and one of the significant resources outside South Africa and Russia. Associated by-product metals at the Company’s operations include minor amounts of gold, silver, nickel and copper. The J-M Reef is a narrow but extensive mineralized zone containing PGMs, which has been traced over a strike length of approximately 28 miles (45.1 km).
The company conducts mining operations at the Stillwater Mine near Nye, Montana
Nye, Montana
Nye is an unincorporated community in Stillwater County, Montana, United States....
and at the East Boulder Mine near Big Timber, Montana
Big Timber, Montana
Big Timber is a city in and the county seat of Sweet Grass County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Big Timber is located at ....
. Both mines are located on the J-M Reef. The company operates concentrating plants at each mining operation to upgrade mined production to a concentrate
Concentrate
A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice...
form. The company operates a smelter and base metal refinery at Columbus, Montana
Columbus, Montana
Columbus is a town in and the county seat of Stillwater County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,748 at the 2000 census.-History:The community originated as a stagecoach station on the Yellowstone River....
at which it further purifies the mined production to a PGM-rich filter cake
Filter cake
A filter cake is formed by the substances that are retained on a filter. The filter cake grows in the course of filtration, becomes "thicker" as particulate matter is being retained. With increasing layer thickness the flow resistance of the filter cake increases. After a certain time of use the...
. The filter cake is shipped to third-party custom refiners for final refining before being sold.
The company recycles spent catalyst
Catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is a device used to convert toxic exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine into non-toxic substances. Inside a catalytic converter, a catalyst stimulates a chemical reaction in which noxious byproducts of combustion are converted to less toxic substances by dint...
material to recover PGMs at the smelter and refinery. The company has a longterm catalyst sourcing agreement and spot contracts with other suppliers who ship spent catalysts to the company for processing to recover PGMs. The company smelts and refines the spent catalysts by the same process as the mined production is purified.
Business
The company has long-term sales agreements with several auto companies. One of these agreements expired in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the remaining ones will expire by the end of 2010. The company also had sales agreements under which it sold palladium from the stock collected in the 2003 Norilsk Nickel transaction. This sales program ended in 2006 when the company sold the remainder of its palladium stores by the first quarter of 2006. Norilsk Nickel had bought a 51% stake in Stillwater in 2003, but in November 2010 Norilsk Nickel announced plans to sell this stake.In 2006, a group of shareholders won a $2.6 million settlement against the company for "misleading statements about the company's financial performance" and its ore reserves.