Stillwater: GM Not Reconsidering Metals Contract

COLUMBUS, Mont. (AP) — Stillwater Mining Co. said company officials have failed to persuade General Motors Co. to reinstate a canceled metals supply contract.

GM canceled its precious metals contract with Stillwater in July as part of the carmaker's government-funded bankruptcy reorganization. The Montana mines supplied the automaker with platinum and palladium, which are used in catalytic converters to control vehicle exhaust.

Chairman and CEO Frank McAllister met with GM officials in Detroit on Aug. 13, but "the brief meeting did not yield any positive results for our company, its employees and other stakeholders or the communities in which we operate," McAllister said in a statement.

"At issue is the termination of the Stillwater contract while at the same time GM continues to purchase palladium from foreign suppliers in Russia and South Africa, funded with U.S. tax payers' dollars," McAllister said.

The mining company said the meeting focused on changes to price guarantees for the precious metals. It added that GM officials "did not exclude the possibility of a future competitive supply relationship."

Shares of Stillwater closed Tuesday at $6.36.