World’s 10 Most Precious Metals

The precious metal always reminds us of gold, silver, and the stuff related to money, but if you think gold or silver is the most expensive metal in the world, you’re wrong.

What is Precious Metal?

La soi-disant métal précieuxIl s'agit d'un métal à faible teneur dans la croûte terrestre, difficile à explorer, à extraire et à raffiner. La plupart des métaux précieux ont de belles couleurs et sont assez résistants aux produits chimiques. En raison de leurs propriétés physiques et chimiques uniques, ils sont irremplaçables par d'autres matériaux métalliques et jouent un rôle clé dans certaines applications.

What is the most expensive metal? Join us to explore the world’s top 10 precious metals.

Among all precious metals, gold is one of the rarest and most valued metals, and silver is the same. We can often see them in ornaments, instruments, and electronic products.

But does not know that some platinum group metals (platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, palladium, iridium, osmium) are not well known to us, also within the precious metal group.

10 Most Precious Metals in The World

Rhodium is a silver-white, hard metal with high reflectivity; it usually doesn’t form oxides. Even atmospheric oxygen is absorbed by heated rhodium, but it is released during solidification. Rhodium is insoluble in most acids, completely insoluble in nitric acid, and slightly soluble in aqua regia.
The content of rhodium elements in the earth’s crust is only one part per billion, scattered in various ores, and is definitely the most expensive metal.

Dernier prix2 175,00 USD par once de Troie
Principaux producteurs: South Africa, Russia, Canada, and other countries.
Application: Rhodium is corrosion-resistant and has good luster. It is mainly used in the electroplating industry. Electroplate it on other metal surfaces, the coating color is firm, not easy to wear, and has good reflectivity.

Platine is thirty times rarer than gold and can only be mined in very few parts of the world. If all the platinum in the world is poured into an Olympic standard swimming pool, its depth is not enough to cover the instep, and gold can fill at least three swimming pools.
Application: Platinum is very stable in nature and will not deteriorate or fade due to wear. It is a good choice for jewelry. It has been regarded as the most expensive metal in the 2000-year history of human use of platinum, and is sought after by the royal family. Besides, platinum is not soluble in any acid or alkali except aqua regia, and can be used to make corrosion-resistant chemical equipment. In medicine, it can be used as an anticancer drug.
Principaux producteurs: Afrique du Sud, Russie, Canada
Dernier prixLe prix d'une once de Troie : 845,00 USD par once de Troie

Because of its luster and durability, l'or is the easiest identified precious metal and remains a popular investment option.
L'or est généralement extrait des roches et du sable placérien par équipement d'extraction de l'or et une série d'activités de traitement des minerais telles que broyage, lavage, flottationet gold refining.

Application: Gold has excellent ductility and corrosion resistance; it can be used not only as an ornament, but also in instrument manufacturing and the electronics industry.
Main gold producers: South Africa, America, Australia, and China
Dernier prix: 1 451,85 USD par once de Troie

Ruthénium, a member of the platinum group, is one of the rarest metals, found in the earth’s crust at only one part per billion. Ruthenium is stable in nature, resistant to corrosion, and popular for its ability to increase hardness and resistance.

Application: Ruthenium is widely used in jewelry, electronics, chemicals, and other industries.
Principaux producteurs: Russie, Amérique du Nord et du Sud
Dernier prix255,00 UDS par once troy

Iridium is one of the densest metals in the world, has a very high melting point, and excellent corrosion resistance. Iridium is processed from platinum ore and is one of the by-products of nickel.

Application: Mainly used in the manufacture of scientific instruments, thermocouples, resistors, etc. High hardness iron – Iridium alloy and iridium – platinum alloys are commonly used to make nibs and platinum jewelry. Due to its extremely high melting point and superior corrosion resistance, iridium is widely used in high-level technology fields such as aerospace technology, pharmaceuticals, and the automotive industry.
Principal producteur: Afrique du Sud
Dernier prix: 520,00 USD par once de Troie

Osmium is the densest metal known, which can be used to make super-hard alloys.
Adding a little osmium to platinum can make a hard and sharp osmium-platinum alloy scalpel. Osmium – iridium alloy is hard and wear-resistant, can be used to make bearings for clocks and important instruments, and greatly prolongs the service life.

Principaux producteurs: Amérique du Nord et du Sud, Russie
Dernier prix: 400,00 USD par once de Troie

Palladium is one of the richest and most widely used platinum metals. It is the trading variety of international precious metals spot and futures with platinum, gold, and silver.
Palladium is a rare non-renewable resource that is an indispensable key material in the high-tech fields of aerospace, aviation, navigation, weapons, and nuclear energy, as well as the automobile manufacturing industry.

Applications: Industrie pétrochimique, construction automobile, industrie chimique, galvanoplastie, bijouterie, etc.
Principaux producteurs: Russia, the United States, and Canada
Dernier prix: 1400,00 USD par once de Troie

Rhénium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust, and one of the elements with the highest melting and boiling points. Rhenium is the only refractory material that does not form carbide. Since 1925, it has been actively used in the chemical and electronic industries.

Application: Le rhénium peut être utilisé dans les moteurs à réaction et les moteurs-fusées à haut rendement, ce qui constitue la plus grande application pratique du rhénium, suivie par le catalyseur dans l'industrie chimique.
Principaux producteurs: Kazakhstan, Chile, and America
Dernier prix: 1290,00 USD par once de Troie

Argent, like gold, is a precious metal with a long history of application. It is a beautiful metal with good ductility and has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity among all metals.

Applications: Silver is often used to make highly sensitive physical instrument components used in various automation devices, rockets, submarines, computers, nuclear devices, and communication systems. Also used for jewelry, circuits, batteries, coins, etc.
Main producers: Peru, China, Mexico, and Chile
Dernier prix：16,55 USD par once troy

Indium is a silver-white, bluish-tinged metal, so soft it can be scratched with a fingernail. Indium has high ductility and malleability, which is mainly used in the manufacture of ITO material (in the liquid crystal display and flat screen), alloy, semiconductor, electric light source, and so on.

Principaux producteurs： China, South Korea, and Japan
Dernier prix：250.00 USD par once troy

The preciousness of precious metals is not only because of their scarce reserves in nature, but more importantly because of their unique physical and chemical properties, such as corrosion resistance, mechanical properties, catalytic properties, and high-temperature resistance. Precious metals are used in areas such as national defense, financial reserves, energy, electronics, and aerospace. In addition, in the medical field, precious metals also have important uses, especially in the treatment of cancer. For example, oxaliplatin has significant inhibitory effects on various animal and human tumor cell lines, such as colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer.