Unlock your converters’ true value with assay

PMR is your strategic ally, ensuring the highest value for your material.

“Getting paid on assay is the only way to get the true and refined value for your catalyst material,” says Alexandre Benoit, laboratory manager and chemist at PMR, Boisbriand, Quebec.

At PMR, we use science to maximize your precious metal returns. Our goal is to help you reach your full potential as a catalytic converter recycler by getting the most value out of your material, so you can surpass last year’s achievements.

When it comes to your precious metal returns, we don’t cut corners

When you partner with PMR, you choose top-tier analysis technology to assay your material and determine its precious metals composition. With converter counts, troy ounce returns, parts per million (PPM) and more, PMR provides you with a clear understanding of your material and helps you pinpoint exactly where you’re making profits.

But, most importantly, you get paid based on the composition of platinum, palladium and rhodium—platinum group metals (PGMs)—in your converters. This ensures you get the precise value for your hard-earned material, not just an estimation.

How can PMR bring you to new heights of success with assay?

Status quo is never an option here. We adopt a progressive and forward-thinking mentality that helps you reach your goals and go way beyond. We are engineers, chemists and entrepreneurs who care about helping you unlock your potential.

As the very first processor to get ISO certified, we have the cutting-edge analysis technology and the state-of-the-art assay process needed to unlock the power of your material’s true value.

Benoit, PMR’s in-house chemist, says relying on someone’s estimate for your converters means you might be missing out on profit gains. Converters live very different lives, and even units with the same serial numbers will have a different price after they’ve been analyzed.

An assay analyzes the precious metal composition of your lot and gives you refined and precise results. Benoit stresses that it’s the only way to get your material’s true value and understand what you hold in terms of material type as well.

To get an accurate assay, Benoit and his team follow three main pillars with utmost care:

Sample preparation

The most important step in any laboratory analysis is sample preparation. Without a homogenous powder and the correct particle size, assay results are not representative of your converters lot.

PMR’s top-tier commingling process crushes and grinds the entirety of your lot and then blends it. This way, your entire lot becomes a homogenous powder and every particle within has an equal chance of being analyzed.

Once a lot is properly commingled, multiple samples are taken before they arrive at the lab, where Benoit and his team register the samples into the internal system. This helps keep track of the samples’ progression and data throughout the analysis process.

On with the analysis

When the samples are ready, Benoit and his team measure carbon content and humidity levels to ensure the PGM analysis isn’t skewed by these components. Next, they calibrate the XRF (X-ray fluorescence) and ICP (inductively coupled plasma) machines according to the material type and proceed with the analysis.

Results are in

Remember the multiple samples? Once the results of the analysis are ready, Benoit and his team counter-verify the samples to ensure identical results. This way, if one sample has different results, they can go back to the drawing board and identify why the samples differ.

In addition, the results are counter-verified with grading to ensure everything coincides. Once the results are verified and approved, an assay sheet is compiled and sent to the supplier.

At PMR, we believe in providing comprehensive assay sheets that give you all the necessary information to understand your material. Our ISO-certified lab ensures that we never cut corners. Our assay sheets include details such as gross/net weights, PPMs, converter counts, metal return percentages and troy ounce returns. To keep you informed about the precious metal market prices, we also provide information on live and/or hedged ounces, units paid by the piece and interest rates.

What does this information do for you?

A thorough assay not only gives you the true returns for your material but also valuable insights into your operations, enabling you to maximize profits by material type, buyer and location.

Assay isn’t just about the science; it’s about getting the true and precise value for your hard-earned material and about giving you the information and returns you need to understand, elevate and grow your business.

That’s why we want you to get paid on assay. We want you to have access to the precise value of your material, to get the information needed to elevate your business and maximize profits. Our goal is to help you become a successful industry leader because when you succeed, we succeed.

When you partner with PMR, you gain a strategic ally that makes you better. With an ISO-certified in-house laboratory, cutting-edge machinery and technology and forward-thinking people who care about your business, you have everything you need to succeed.