RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: decent resultsDuluth Metals Limited ("Duluth Metals") (TSX: DM) (TSX: DM.U) is pleased to announce assay results for 28 holes on the Birch Lake Deposit within the Twin Metals Minnesota Project in northeasternMinnesota. The Birch Lake Deposit is one of three mineral resources in close proximity to one another within the Twin Metals Minnesota Project, these being the Maturi, Birch Lake and Spruce Road Deposits. All of the holes have significant length intercepts continuing to indicate a higher grade platinum+palladium+gold (TPM) content within the Birch Lake resource relative to other resources in the project. These additional holes will be incorporated into the final resource estimate to be issued by AMEC in earlyDecember 201
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(Corrects title and adds clarification on Norilsk Nickel USA in paragraph 2)
* Russian state stocks to dwindle to insignificant level
* No dramatic mining output increase seen in near future
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and nickel, expects the palladium market to remain in a deficit in the next several years largely due to a near depletion of Russian state supplies.
The lower Russian stockpile will be a key driver to palladium's deficit as producers cannot dramatically boost output any time soon, said Bob Lapple, vice president of Norilsk Nickel USA overseeing sales of platinum group metals, cobalt and nickel power. NN USA is a U.S. subsidiary of Russia's Norilsk Nickel.
"The palladium market will remain in deficit in the foreseeable future," Lapple told Reuters on the sidelines of an event held by ETF Securities.
"With supply staying relatively stable, the X factor will be the decrease in Russian state-stock sales," said Lapple.
He added that auto-sector demand will likely keep growing, led by 6 percent annual growth in China's huge gasoline car market.
Palladium is mainly used in making vehicle catalytic converters, to clean exhaust fumes from gasoline engines.
Earlier in November, respected platinum group metals specialist Johnson Matthey said it was expecting the palladium market would end 2012 in a slight deficit after posting a surplus in the previous year.
Norilsk, the world's largest nickel and palladium producer, is forecasting supplies from Russian state stocks to be around 400,000 ounces this year, Lapple said.
Supplies will keep decreasing year after year to 250,000 ounces in 2013, and to an even smaller number or none at all in 2014, Norilsk estimates.
"It will not be a significant figure in the whole scheme of things," Lapple said.
Johnson Matthey has estimated global palladium supply at 6.57 million ounces for 2012.
Russia does not disclose the size of its palladium stockpile held by Gokhran, the state precious metals and gems repository. Market speculation about any alleged Russian palladium shipment, or the lack of it, often leads to volatile price swings.
Palladium rose 1.5 percent to $682 an ounce on Thursday, sharply below a record of over $1,000 reached in 2001.
Year to date, it is up 4.5 percent after falling nearly 20 percent last year. The metal was among the top commodity performers in both 2009 and 2010. (Reporting By Frank Tang; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)