HELENA – President Barack Obama has signed legislation that calls for the U.S. mint to produce palladium coins if there is sufficient market demand.
The resolution was sponsored by Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg and pushed by him along with Democratic Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus.
It requires an independent marketing study to conclude there is adequate market demand to ensure that the coins could be minted and issued at no net cost to taxpayers.
The resolution says that if the coins are produced, they must be made with metal that comes from natural deposits in the United States.
The nation’s only palladium mining operation is in Stillwater Mining Co.’s two eastern Montana mines.