Palladium belongs to the platinum group metals, is a silver-white in colour and like platinum cannot be easily substituted. It is used as a catalyst, in dental and other alloys, electronics, industrial products and in new technologies like fuel cells. Almost half of the world's supply is produced by a Russian mining company. More than three-quarters of the world’s reserves of palladium occur in Southern Africa, mainly South Africa but also Zimbabwe. Palladium is ductile and malleable, harder, more dense and fuses more easily than platinum. Palladium has the lowest melting point of all the platinum group metals.