Current:Home > FinanceMontana miner to lay off hundreds due to declining palladium prices-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Montana miner to lay off hundreds due to declining palladium prices
View Date:2024-12-23 19:59:04
NYE, Mont. (AP) — The owner of the only platinum and palladium mines in the U.S. announced Thursday it plans to lay off hundreds of employees in Montana due to declining prices for palladium, which is used in catalytic converters.
The price of the precious metal was about $2,300 an ounce two years ago and has dipped below $1,000 an ounce over the past three months, Sibanye-Stillwater Executive Vice President Kevin Robertson said in a letter to employees explaining the estimated 700 layoffs expected later this year.
“We believe Russian dumping is a cause of this sharp price dislocation,” he wrote. “Russia produces over 40% of the global palladium supply, and rising imports of palladium have inundated the U.S. market over the last several years.”
Sibanye-Stillwater gave employees a 60-day notice of the layoffs, which is required by federal law.
Montana U.S. Sens. Steve Daines, a Republican, and Jon Tester, a Democrat, said Thursday they will introduce legislation to prohibit the U.S. from importing critical minerals from Russia, including platinum and palladium. Daines’ bill would end the import ban one year after Russia ends its war with Ukraine.
The south-central Montana mine complex includes the Stillwater West and Stillwater East operations near Nye, and the East Boulder operation south of Big Timber. It has lost more than $350 million since the beginning of 2023, Robertson said, despite reducing production costs.
The company is putting the Stillwater West operations on pause. It is also reducing operations at East Boulder and at a smelting facility and metal refinery in Columbus. Leadership will work to improve efficiencies that could allow the Stillwater West mine to reopen, Robertson said.
The layoffs would come a year after the company stopped work on an expansion project, laid off 100 workers, left another 30 jobs unfilled and reduced the amount of work available for contractors due to declining palladium prices.
veryGood! (9428)
Related
- A herniated disc is painful, debilitating. How to get relief.
- 'I ejected': Pilot of crashed F-35 jet in South Carolina pleads for help in phone call
- Tears of joy after Brazil’s Supreme Court makes milestone ruling on Indigenous lands
- It's a kayak with a grenade launcher. And it could be game-changer in Ukraine.
- Michelle Obama Is Diving Back into the Dating World—But It’s Not What You Think
- UAW widening strike against GM and Stellantis
- Singer Sufjan Stevens relearning to walk after Guillain-Barré syndrome diagnosis
- A Chinese dissident in transit at a Taiwan airport pleads for help in seeking asylum
- Lost luggage? This new Apple feature will let you tell the airline exactly where it is.
- Team USA shuts out Europe in foursomes for first time in Solheim Cup history
Ranking
- 'Squid Game' creator lost '8 or 9' teeth making Season 1, explains Season 2 twist
- It's a love story, baby just say yes: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the couple we need
- What has made some GOP senators furious this week? Find out in the news quiz
- Back at old job, Anthony Mackie lends star power to New Orleans’ post-Ida roof repair effort
- Indiana man is found guilty of murder in the 2017 killings of 2 teenage girls
- What does 'irl' mean? Help distinguish reality from fiction with this text term.
- State Rep. Tedder wins Democratic nomination for open South Carolina Senate seat by 11 votes
- Statue of late German Cardinal Franz Hengsbach will be removed after allegations of sexual abuse
Recommendation
-
The Stanley x LoveShackFancy Collaboration That Sold Out in Minutes Is Back for Part 2—Don’t Miss Out!
-
Former FBI top official pleads guilty to concealing payment from foreign official
-
Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir free a key Muslim cleric after years of house arrest
-
Judge overseeing case to remove Trump from ballot agrees to order banning threats and intimidation
-
Statue of the late US Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, is unveiled in his native Alabama
-
High-speed trains begin making trip between Orlando and Miami
-
5 ways Deion Sanders' Colorado team can shock Oregon and move to 4-0
-
Lawn mowers and equipment valued at $100,000 stolen from parking lot at Soldier Field