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To: TobagoJack who wrote (54582)	10/21/2004 7:49:21 AM
From: jrhana	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Not your cup of tea <g> but for an extremely speculative exposure to PGMs outside of the Rand sphere, there is ITF.V The Union Bay project is interesting They also have a nice joint venture type arrangement on an Alaskan gold project with MDG freegoldventures.com

To: TobagoJack who wrote (54582)	10/21/2004 8:01:26 AM
From: Taikun	Respond to of 74559

<in the tail pipe of diesel systems> I just found this out today, before emailing you the first time-which prompted my question. Apparently, Palladium was used more extensively in the past, Russia withheld supply, prices went to $1000/oz, mfgs switched to Platinum, Palladium price drops. I wonder if Mahendra is onto something. I wonder if Platinum demand from China could trigger switching back? Palladium is cheap enough, and Chinese love Platinum wedding bands. *** Belgium’s Umicore announced the introduction of new catalyst technology that will enable the use of palladium (Pd) in diesel emission control systems for passenger cars. Until now, platinum (Pt) has been the only precious metal used in catalysts for Euro 3/4 passenger cars. The new technology can provide automobile manufacturers with flexibility in their choice of catalyst materials for diesel engines. The new catalyst has been developed by Umicore’s Automotive Catalyst division (formerly OMG). dieselnet.com The further weakening of the palladium price in 2002 has changed automakers’ plans for PGM use. There is now a clear trend towards substituting platinum for palladium. While this switch is economically justified and technically feasible, given the current price differential between platinum and palladium, it is occurring at a relatively slow rate as automotive companies are mindful of historical palladium prices of around $1 000 per ounce and of the behaviour of the Russians in withholding supplies from the market. implats.co.za David