COLUMBUS — U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., toured the Sibanye Stillwater metallurgical complex Friday, after a newly imposed federal tariff on Russian palladium could be a turning point for a mine still recovering from steep layoffs over a year ago.
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The visit comes weeks after the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a preliminary tariff of 132.83% on Russian palladium imports, following a trade petition filed by the company in July of last year. Federal officials found Russian producers had been dumping cheap palladium into the U.S. market, driving prices down sharply.
Related: Stillwater officials hope new tariff on Russian palladium will boost mine
"It's critical for economic security, critical for national security, and these are good, high-paying jobs right here in Montana," Daines said during the tour.
The mine, located in Stillwater County, is North America’s only producer of palladium and platinum. Mining takes place at the original Stillwater Mine, which began operating in 1986 near Nye, and the East Boulder complex near Big Timber.
In 2024, the company laid off nearly 700 workers, about 40% of its workforce, as palladium prices fell from roughly $2,000 an ounce to less than $1,000. Operations at the Nye site were significantly reduced and put into care and maintenance mode. The company now employs about 1,050 people across its Montana facilities.
Daines attributed the downturn to Russian metals flooding the market.
"We fought on behalf of Montana miners in the prior administration, and President Biden and his administration were not real receptive to taking this fight to the Russians," said Daines. “Vladimir Putin is dumping palladium into this market. We're essentially funding Putin's war in Ukraine, and at the same time, you had Montana miners losing their jobs.”
Related: Stillwater Mine families facing uncertain times, leaving Montana for work
Company leaders said prices have since rebounded more than 50% over the past year. Heather McDowell, senior vice president and general counsel for Sibanye Stillwater, said palladium was hovering around $1,800 an ounce this week, which is above the company’s 2025 all-in sustaining cost in 2025 of $1,365 per ounce.
“A year ago, they were under $1,000, and so really in September of 2025, the prices started to rebound," said McDowell. "This morning they were hovering around $1,800 an ounce, and that's a price that is very sustainable for these operations.”
If upheld after a final hearing in April, the tariff would remain in place for five years, potentially giving the company longer-term price stability. Daines said he hopes the move will protect existing jobs and allow some laid-off miners to return to work.
"I think there's room to actually increase that 133%, but we'll wait and see what the Commerce Department comes up with,” said Daines. “We hope now that there's a chance to protect those jobs and perhaps bring some of these miners back to work.”
McDowell said the company is also working to lower costs, including shifting to more mechanized underground mining, which could make reopening parts of the older west side of the Stillwater Mine more feasible in the coming years.
“Really, we need to get the cost down, and the prices need to stay up, and when both of those things have happened, then I think that's when we'll look at getting back to the west side of the Stillwater Mine," said McDowell.
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court striking down large portions of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy last week, Daines stated that tariffs like those put on Russian palladium will help benefit American jobs and producers, especially in Montana.
"There's been a lot of high tariffs with other countries that have put American producers at a disadvantage. (Trump) uses this as negotiation leverage to reduce tariffs overseas against American producers and non-tariff barriers," said Daines. "These are critical supply chains we want right here in America and not overseas.”
For now, officials say sustained higher prices, combined with federal trade protections, will determine whether the mine can expand production and rebuild its workforce.
"These higher prices are really the magic elixir that we need to keep moving to the next phase,” said McDowell.
