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Investering i Iridium: Det sjældenste højteknologiske metal

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Det sjældenste sjældne metal

When people think about rare & precious metals, they tend to think of the most common ones, like guld or platin. Or maybe some of the more industrially useful rare metals, like wolfram, rhodium, gallium, even rhenium. (følg linkene for dedikerede investeringsrapporter om hvert af disse metaller).

Men der findes et endnu sjældnere mineral i platinmetalgruppen, faktisk et af de sjældenste grundstoffer i Jordens skorpe: iridium.

This ultra-rare metal, much more common in meteorites, is currently used in small amounts in many high-tech applications like aeronautics, medical imaging, and LED screens. It can also be used to generate green hydrogen, although the large-scale deployment of this technology has been hindered by the high price of iridium.

Hvad er Iridium?

Iridium is a very rare metal, in the same family as platinum, which is only formed in the most violent cosmic events like supermassive supernovae or the merger of neutron stars. So its relative rarity on Earth is also a reflection of its overall rarity in the whole Universe.

When purified, it appears as a silvery metal, although the ore and alloy can often display rainbow colors, from which it derived its name, inspired by Iris, the goddess of the rainbow in Rome.

Iridium is the second-densest naturally occurring metal, after osmium. It is also extremely resistant to corrosion, even at temperatures as high as 2,000 °C (3,630 °F), and has a melting point of 2,446 °C (4,434 °F).

This extreme density contributes to its rarity in the Earth’s crust, as it sank into the planet’s core during early planetary formation. It is quite more abundant in meteorites; as a result, an unusually higher concentration of iridium in the layer of rock dated -65 million years ago is considered a strong indication that dinosaurs’ extinction was due to a large meteor impact.

As a rare mineral, iridium is generally mined together with other slightly more common metals, especially platinum and palladium.

Kun 248.000 ounce, eller 7 ton iridium, er blevet produceret globalt i 2024.

Iridiums Anvendelser

Krukker

Because of its extreme heat and corrosion resistance, iridium is a perfect material for crucibles (frames/molds used in metallurgy and chemistry).

This is especially the case for the production process of large oxide single-crystal leveraging, a method known as the Czochralski method, developed by a Polish scientist in 1916.

Dette er en crucial technology for the production of many of the most modern technologies, largely reliant on iridium-based crucibles, especially:

  • Siliciumsemiconductorer bruges i computerhukommelse, faststoflasere og solpaneler.
  • Safirkrystal bruges til smartphone‑glas og andre skærme.
  • Yttriumaluminiumgranat (YAG), brugt i høj‑energi/høj‑effekt lasere
  • Galliumarsenidsemiconductorer bruges til at producere LED‑lys & lasere, medicinsk billeddannelse og tyndfilm‑solceller.

Kilde: AEM

Metallegeringer

When mixed with other metals, iridium gives the resulting alloy superior corrosion resistance. This is used in many specialized applications requiring high performance despite difficult environment mixing high temperature, corrosion, and wear/friction.

Fly

Most of the time, the iridium is used as a coating applied to the surface of the critical part, but it can also sometimes be a constitutive part of the whole part, for example:

Parts of aircraft engines are coated with iridium, including jet engine turbines. This not only increases the durability of the parts but also minimizes surface wear and friction; iridium-coated components can operate more smoothly, enhancing the overall efficacy and longevity of aircraft engines.

Luft- og Rumfart & Forsvar

For similar reasons, iridium coating is used in satellite thrusters, allowing them to be lighter and more durable. The Falcon 9 rocket engine also has an iridium alloy in its rocket engine exhaust.

Because iridium is very radiation resistant, it can be used to shield nuclear batteries and was notably used this way to keep the radiation of the plutonium-238 battery in NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 space probes contained.

Iridium is also used in missile guidance systems, notably in the tip of ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles).

Bilindustri & Motorer

The extreme resistance of iridium is leveraged in high-end iridium spark plugs for cars and other engines, often multiplying by 3x- 4x their durability. Iridium spark plugs are also commonly used in aviation.

Kilde: Niterra

Katalyse

When discussed for its uses in catalytic reaction, iridium is often mostly discussed in the context of hydrogen production, as this is a sector long-expected to boom from the demand for green hydrogen. However, iridium’s (and platinum’s) high costs have long limited the economic viability of green hydrogen produced with these metals.

Det bruges dog rutinemæssigt i mange andre vigtige kemiske processer, især omdannelsen af methanol til eddikesyre, produktionen af klor, samt specialkemikalier som for eksempel herbicidet Metolachlor, produceret af Syngenta.

Medicinsk Billeddannelse

A radioactive isotope of iridium, iridium-192, is used for medical applications. It is produced by exposing non-radioactive natural iridium to a neutron source.

Iridium-192 is used as a source of gamma radiation in cancer radiotherapies, especially for internal organ cancers.

Industrielle Anvendelser

Titanium-iridium alloy is used for deep-water pipes because of its corrosion resistance. It is also used in extruders (spinnerets) to form fibers like viscose.

Kilde: Wikipedia

In non-medical uses, iridium-192 is the key component for gamma radiography (alongside cobalt-60), a method used to analyze metals without damaging them. This is done to check welds, pipes, pressure containers, tanks, etc., especially for demanding applications like defense production or aerospace, including rocket production.

Kilde: GammaBuana

Andre Anvendelser

Iridium was also commonly used in the past for reinforcing the tips of pens.

It is also the material chosen, due to its extreme durability from its resistance to corrosion even for extremely long period of time, as the base component together with platinum for the International Prototype Meter and kilogram mass, kept by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris, the physical reference for the measurement of a meter and a kilogram.

Kilde: Wikipedia

Iridiummarkedet & Produktion

Due to its small volumes, the iridium market is rather small, på $1,4 mia. om året i 2024, og forventes at vokse med 4,9 % CAGR indtil 2031.

This is also a very concentrated market, with South Africa producing 80% of the global supply, followed by Russia, and almost no other sources.

In Russia, iridium production is mostly the by-product of mining for palladium and nickel by the company Norilsk Nickel.

In South Africa, the largest producers are mostly platinum and palladium producers:

Iridium Virksomhed

Sibanye Stillwater

(SBSW )

Langt den største platin‑fokuserede virksomhed, Sibanye Stillwater, er en leder i sin branche.

Sydafrika producerer 80 % af verdens platin (og iridium), og Sibanye Stillwater er ansvarlig for en fjerdedel af denne produktion (Anglo‑American er en meget større, diversificeret miner med fokus på kobber og jern).

Den producerer alle medlemmer af platinmetalgruppen, såsom platin, palladium, rhodium, iridium, og ruthenium.

Siden overtagelsen af Lonmin, som på det tidspunkt selv producerede 12 % af verdens iridiumforsyning, og kombineret med sin egen produktion i sine platin‑ og palladiumminer, er Sibanye Stillwater også en vigtig aktør inden for dette niche‑metal.

Virksomheden diversificerer i øjeblikket for at komme ind på guld‑ og batterimetalmarkederne, især med et litiumminedriftsprojekt i Finland.

Sibanye Stillwater er også til stede i guld‑ og uranproduktion. Dens guldproduktion har for nylig overgået sine platinoperationer i EBITDA, på grund af rekordhøje guldpriser og platinpriser, der stadig er i en lav periode.

Uranaktiviteten på Beisa-minen er delvist overført til selskabet Neo Energy Metals (NEO.L) for $28 M og en 40 % andel i selskabet, samt royalty på al uran solgt fra Beisa‑projektet, hvor Neo Energy Metals ejer et andet uranprojekt (Henkries).

Da iridium kun udgør en lille del af hele forretningen, er forståelse af dynamikken i platin‑ og palladiummarkederne (og måske også guld) vigtig for potentielle investorer i virksomheden.

I september 2024 annoncerede Sibanye Stillwater, at de ville omstrukturere deres Montana Stillwater-mine, hvilket reducerer minedriftens produktion med 45 % for at sænke omkostningerne. Minen, som indeholder mere palladium end platin, har lidt under den vedvarende lave palladiumpris.

Dette førte til en massiv nedskrivningsomkostning på $435 M, hvilket fik virksomheden til at registrere et tab i første halvår 2024.

Det er også værd at bemærke, at de nuværende priser knapt dækker produktionsomkostningerne for de fleste platinrige regioner, hvilket gør det til en bundplateau for industrien før minedriftens lukning.

Investorer, der er interesserede i iridium, men bekymrede for den potentielle erstatning af metallet på katalysemarkedet, kan stadig være interesserede i Sibanye Stillwater.

Dette skyldes, at virksomheden har en løbende aftale med den tyske teknologigruppe Heraeus om den potentielle erstatning af iridium med ruthenium, et andet metal produceret af minedriftsselskabet, som er 3,5 gange mere udbredt end iridium.

Det resulterede i en 90 % reduktion i kapitaludgifter til katalytisk brintgenerering, hvilket gør brintproduktion mere gennemførlig.

Samlet set er Sibanye Stillwater en god aktie for investorer, der ønsker at udnytte de unikke egenskaber ved platinmetalgruppen som helhed, hvad enten det er iridium, ruthenium, palladium eller platin selv. Især da et eller andet af disse metaller er uundværlige for den hastigt voksende høj‑teknologiske anvendelser som grøn brintproduktion, jetmotorer, missiler, rumforskning, fremstilling af halvledere, strålebehandlinger osv.

Seneste om Sibanye Stillwater

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Jonathan er en tidligere biokemisk forsker, der har arbejdet med genetisk analyse og kliniske forsøg. Han er nu en aktieanalytiker og finansforfatter med fokus på innovation, markedscykler og geopolitik i sin publikation The Eurasian Century.