While Inco is best known as the number one producer of nickel metal, we also produce a number of less well known metals. One of these is platinum, a precious metal of industrial, strategic and environmental importance. Platinum is referred to as a noble metal because, like gold, it resists corrosion. But its applications go far beyond its surface beauty.
Pure platinum is used in a wide range of diverse applications.
These include serving as a catalyst in petroleum refining, where platinum catalyses high octane fuel and in making nitrogen-based fertilizers, which use platinum to convert ammonia to nitric acid. If you own an automobile, you probably own some platinum, as the best-known industrial application of platinum is found hidden within your vehicle's catalytic converter, where platinum converts the engine exhaust gases into harmless constituents before they pass out the tail pipe. While the presence of platinum in Sudbury ores has been known for more than 100 years, commercial production of the precious metal by Inco didn't start until early in the 20th century when Inco's Clydach refinery in Wales, U.K., came into operation resulting in enough platinum to make commercial recovery possible. A small refinery was set up in 1919 in the Southwark section of London and, in 1924, a larger refinery was built in Acton. Expanded over the years, Acton is the site for all of Inco's refining of the platinum-group metals, which also include palladium and rhodium.