South Africa’s Catalytic Converter Industry Faring Poorly

Mining Weekly reported that although South Africa is rich in platinum, which is used to make make catalytic converters, the country’s catalytic converter industry is not thriving. In fact, according to Robert Houdet, executive director of the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM), it is dying.

As quoted in the market news:

[Houdet said,] ‘[t]he APDP [Automotive Production and Development Programme] cannot ensure its sustainability. We need to take it out of the APDP and go the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to try and set up a programme for catalytic converter manufacturers, where they can benefit from the fact that they beneficiate PGMs.’

Former Naacam executive director Roger Pitot said in 2012 that the benefits offered to local component manufacturers would be lower under the APDP than under the MIDP, noting that some global vehicle manufacturers had not renewed their contracts for the supply of catalytic converters from South Africa.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.