It is considered the most expensive precious metal in the world and its incredible value has led to many mineral explorers to resample their assays – and even led criminals to target specific car parts.
Incredibly rare Rhodium’s price has been stable at around US$15,300.00/oz recently, making it almost nine times more expensive than gold.
A silvery-white platinum group metal (PGM) resistant to corrosion and highly reflective, about 88% of the global rhodium produced is used for making catalysts that reduce the release of harmful substances from vehicle exhausts.
Currently, global production is dominated by South Africa with smaller contributions from Russia, Zimbabwe, and Canada.
It’s rarity and potential value to the rapidly growing electric vehicle sector has seen Rhodium included in the U.S.’s critical minerals list.
Galileo Mining’s success
Rhodium’s rarity and extreme value is also currently having an impact on global share markets. ASX-listed Galileo Mining (ASX: GAL) received a major share price kick when it recently announced that rhodium has been found in a re-sampling of assays from its exciting Callisto discovery in Western Australia. The discovery of rhodium, along with platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, and gold at Callisto, saw Galileo’s shares soar more than 700% in recent months.
Galileo Mining identified valuable rhodium mineralization after electing to re-test assays from the first four RC holes of its second RC drill programme at theCallisto palladium-platinum-gold-copper-nickel discovery within the company’s 100% owned Norseman project in Western Australia.
“The latest rhodium assays from our Callisto discovery confirm the presence of rhodium at consistent grades across all the drill holes analysed to date,” Managing Director, Brad Underwood, said, in announcing the highly valuable results.
“The extensive continuity of mineralization intercepted is remarkable and strengthens our belief that there is more to be found.
“Rhodium is a very rare metal that is predominantly used in automotive catalysts for pollution control as well as for jewellery, and other uses. It is almost always produced as a by-product of platinum, palladium, copper, or nickel mining.
“The occurrence of rhodium at Callisto has considerable potential to add value to the overall project. We are also encouraged by the metal suite contained at Callisto which is very similar as that found in South Africa’s Platreef deposits. And with the same disseminated sulphide style as seen at Platreef, we are building a geological model which supports the opportunity for further discoveries in the area.”
Podium Minerals
Another ASX-listed junior, Podium Minerals Limited (ASX: POD), also recently confirmed rhodium mineralization at its 100% owned Parks Reef PGM Project in Western Australia through initial results from the re-assay of historic 3E PGM intercepts.
Assay results from an initial 31 historic holes (700 samples) identified several intercepts showing high-grade Rh within the Parks Reef orebody including:
- 4m at 1.92g/t 3E PGM, 0.14g/t Rh and 0.08g/t Iridium (Ir) for a total of 2.14g/t 5E PGM from 28m (PRRC021)
- 1m at 2.64g/t 3E PGM, 0.21g/t Rh and 0.10g/t Ir for a total of 2.95g/t 5E PGM from 29m
- 4m at 2.09g/t 3E PGM, 0.13g/t Rh and 0.07g/t Ir for a total of 2.29g/t 5E PGM from 49m (PRRC014)
“Today’s announcement is a significant step forward for Podium. We are starting to see exciting results on the back of strategic value addition activities that commenced at the start of 2022,” Podium’s CEO, Sam Rodda, said.
“Re-assaying historic drill holes allows us to build on Parks Reef as a 5E PGM orebody, adding significant metal value to the project. The rhodium and iridium assay results are in line with our expectations and together with historic assays they provide confidence of their existence throughout the orebody.”
Caspin Resources
Earlier this year Caspin Resources Limited (ASX: CPN) revealed it had received exciting rhodium results from further PGE assaying from drill hole YARC0022 at the XC-22 Prospect at the company’s Yarawindah Brook PGE-Ni-Cu Project in Western Australia.
Following initial significant results in YARC0022, the company elected to analyse the lower PGE-rich mineralized zone for the full six PGE suite of elements, which consist of rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), osmium (Os) and ruthenium (Ru), as well as platinum, and palladium.
This analysis returned significant grades of rhodium associated with the already recognized platinum and palladium mineralization, with a peak value of 465ppb Rh. Grades greater than 100ppb, or 0.1g/t, are considered highly significant.
“This is an interesting new development for XC-22 and indeed our entire Yarawindah Brook Project,” CEO, Greg Miles, said.
“It’s a pleasant surprise given this is the first time we’ve ever assayed for rhodium and bodes well for the discovery of more mineralization.
“Because of its value, small amounts as low as 100ppb can make a significant contribution to the economics of PGE deposits.
“We’ve now got an extensive assaying programme ahead of us and if we can demonstrate that rhodium mineralization occurs consistently with platinum and palladium at XC-22, then we could be another step closer to an economic discovery.”
Mr Mile said that despite the value of rhodium, routine analysis is rarely undertaken because of the scarcity of the metal and significant additional cost to assay the full 6-PGE suite. Prior to Caspin’s involvement in the project, only five samples had ever been assayed for rhodium as part of a metallurgical sighter programme in 2006. Therefore, the potential for rhodium mineralization had never been evaluated.
Mr Mile said the company is extremely encouraged that its first-ever assaying of rhodium had returned such significant results.
Kingsrose Mining
Another ASX-listed company, Kingsrose Mining Limited (ASX: KRM), has also had success with resampling for rhodium – this time in Norway.
Kingrose elected to send 328 samples back to the lab cut from historical drill core from the Porsvann and Karenhaugen intrusions at its 100% owned Porsanger PGE-Copper-Nickel project in Finnmark County, Norway. The resampling programme included the analysis of rhodium, gold, and nickel sulphide which were not analysed historically.
Notably, the re-testing provided a newly discovered presence of anomalous rhodium concentrations, with the highest-grade rhodium interval from Porsvann returning three metres at 0.17g/t Rh.
Rhodium a major new target for car thieves
It was recently reported that U.S. police have seized US$22M in stolen catalytic converters – with suggestions thieves had targeted the car part because of the incredible value of some of its components, particularly rhodium and platinum.
An investigation by U.S. police uncovered a crime ring responsible for the theft of more than 44,000 catalytic converters throughout 2021, with thieves focusing on the anti-pollution exhaust filters.
In Arizona alone, there were approximately 26,000 catalytic converter thefts, a 34% increase, between January and April 2022, Police across Australia have also started issuing warnings over an increase in the theft of the modern car exhaust system.
