PGM ore is mined underground and less usually in open-cast pits. It is blasted out of the ground before being crushed and milled into smaller rock particles which are mixed with water and reagents and pumped through with air to form a "froth flotation".
PGM-rich particles adhere to the bubbles created by this process. They are then removed at the surface and the remaining material is put through the process a second time.

When dried, the flotation concentrate is smelted at temperatures that may be over 1500 °C and a mixture of the metals is separated from unwanted minerals such as iron and sulphur by air being blown through.

Nickel, copper and cobalt are separated and refined using electrolytic techniques leaving rich residues which require the separation and purification of the remaining PGMs, gold and silver. This part of the process is an intricate combination of solvent extraction, distillation and ion-exchange techniques.

Finally, the soluble metals, which dissolve in hydrochloric acid and chlorine gas, are obtained: first gold and then palladium and platinum. The insoluble PGMs (rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium) are the last to be extracted.