Stillwater Mining Secures 5 Year Refining and Sales Agreement

Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC,TSX:SWC.U) has agreed to a five-year platinum group metal refining and sales contract with Johnson Matthey (LSE:JMAT). Johnson Matthey is a leading manufacturer of auto catalysts and precious metals refiner.

As quoted in the press release:

• Johnson Matthey will purchase all of Stillwater’s mined palladium and a significant share of their mined platinum based on an annual pricing mechanism linked to various industry benchmarks, with Stillwater retaining the ability to opt out of the metal sales agreement under certain terms and the payment of a nominal fee
• Stillwater will utilize Johnson Matthey’s refining services for all of its mined production and recycling material at competitive terms
• Stillwater will realize a one-time working capital release in the range of $17 million to $22 million because of the timing of the new sales agreement
• Stillwater and Johnson Matthey agree to cooperate, where appropriate, to secure material for Stillwater’s recycling business
• Johnson Matthey will provide its proprietary PGM market analysis services to Stillwater
• Stillwater and Johnson Matthey agree to actively collaborate on technical items in an effort to optimize the PGM smelting and refining process

Stillwater CEO, Mick McMullen, said:

We are very pleased to further develop our long-standing partnership with Johnson Matthey, one of the leading manufacturers of catalytic converters in the world. We believe that this agreement provides numerous benefits to both parties at a time in the PGM industry when supplies are constrained and demand for our products continue to grow. For Stillwater, we secure favorable long-term pricing for our mined metal, competitive refining terms, and an excellent partner to help us grow our recycling business which we have identified as being a core business. We look forward to working more closely with Johnson Matthey and believe this an excellent opportunity for both organizations.

Click here to read the Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC) press release