Tip of the Week — Are Spark Plugs the Next PGM Opportunity?

With platinum and iridium prices trending upward — and long-term demand expected to grow — recyclers may want to look beyond traditional feedstocks and focus on metals that are even rarer than gold.

Automotive spark plugs are a good example. Many high-performance and long-life plugs contain measurable quantities of PGMs. Individually the value is modest, but at scale the economics can become very attractive.

We recently conducted practical tests and found that collecting the PGM-bearing tips is relatively simple. The real bottleneck is elsewhere: building an organized, repeatable collection system. Success in this niche depends on creating the right infrastructure — structured sourcing, agreements with garages, and consistent material flow.

Early movers are already active. Companies such as Noble 6 in the U.S. have demonstrated that with the right operational model, this stream can evolve from overlooked scrap into a strategic source of critical metals.

Strategic insight:
In the coming years, competitive advantage in recycling will likely favor those who secure supply chains early — not those who wait for material to become widely traded.

Think about it:
Is this a side stream worth positioning for today, before it becomes crowded tomorrow?