Better Platinum
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Introduction
Platinum Group Metals are highly sought after resources that support various end markets including automotive, green energy and jewelry. Supply of PGM is spotty because there are only a few producers in the world. We have developed a refining technology that is more cost efficient and we plan to source and refine PGMs in China.
Problem
Platinum group metals (“PGMs”) are valuable and highly sought after resources that support various end markets including automotive and green energy generation. For example, PGM catalysts are used in electrolyzer and fuel cells to generate green hydrogen energy. The supply of PGMs is spotty because there are only a few suppliers worldwide and 70% of them are in South Africa. Today there are no PGM refining businesses in China even though the country consumes ~50% of the world supply each year. PGM minerals can be found in various iron and copper mines in China. Due to the low concentration level, Chinese PGM resources are not currently being refined and utilized. We have developed a more cost-efficient refining process that makes the Chinese PGMs worth refining. There are various stakeholders that would benefit from our venture including PGM end users worldwide who would enjoy a more stable supply, large PGM mining companies would be able to purchase a higher quality PGM concentrate from us, and Chinese iron and copper mining companies would be able to sell their ores byproducts to us at a premium.
Opportunity
In partnership with a research lab in China, Better Platinum has created a more cost-efficient method of refining PGMs and aims to increase the supply of sustainably sourced PGMs by tapping into the untouched Chinese ore supply. Today the Better Platinum team can produce 40% purity PGM concentrates in our research lab and continues to improve our product purity every day. We aim to source ores and byproducts that contain traces of PGM from local mining companies in China, refine it, and sell the high purity PGM concentrate to large PGM mining companies who can further refine the concentrate into full purity PGM that they can sell to the end users. Our value proposition is two-fold; first, with our proprietary refining technology we can produce PGM concentrate at a lower price and second, we will be the first PGM concentrate refinery in China allowing our customers to diversify their supply chains. Better Platinum aims to improve the strength of the global PGM supply chain.