North American Palladium Ltd, Canada's only primary producer of pgms, has announced details of its performance during the third quarter of this year, which show production rising in the region.

In total, the company's mill processed 1,307,822 tonnes of ore, or an average of 14,215 tonnes a day, with a palladium head grade of 2.47 grams per tonne.

More than 76,000 ounces of palladium were produced, with a recovery rate of 74.0 per cent. In addition, 5,887 ounces of platinum were also extracted.

However, while production was greater than in the second quarter, it was slightly less efficient. Then, the mill processed 1,154,965 tonnes of ore (12,692 a day), producing a final palladium total of 59,069 ounces at a recovery rate of 76.6 per cent.

According to the firm operations were still being affected by the failure of the mill's crusher this time last year. That stage of processing was carried out on a contract basis, which caused a dip in production.

With the commissioning of a new crusher in June 2003, results picked up, although electrical storms affected throughput throughout the quarter.