where can palladium be found
Natural abundance. Palladium has been found uncombined in nature, in Brazil, but most is found in sulfide minerals such as braggite. It is extracted commercially as a by-product of nickel refining. It is also extracted as a by-product of copper and zinc refining.
Palladium is usually found with platinum and other members of the noble metal group. Palladium alloys are commonly used in surgical instruments, such as those used here in open-heart surgery. Russia and South Africa produce about 93 percent of the palladium mined in the world.