Combined partial oxidation and dry reforming of methane (PO-DRM) to synthesis gas at 850 degreesC over noble metals, supported on Mg-Al mixed oxide, has been studied. Ruthenium, rhodium, and platinum catalysts were prepared from layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors, synthesized by a reconstruction reaction of Mg-Al mixed oxide. Due to a "memory effect" of a calcined hydrotalcite, a layered structure of catalyst precursors was recreated upon exposure of the mixed oxide to an aqueous solution of noble metals, which were pre-chelated with ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) to anionic species. Among the three metals tested, ruthenium revealed the most attractive catalytic performance toward PO-DRM reaction. It was shown that amount of metal could be lowered from 2.0 to 0.1% of the weight of support without any decrease in catalytic activity or in selectivity to syngas product. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.