John Plassard, market expert at Mirabaud, told the AFP news agency that the metal that is more expensive than gold 'looks similar to silver' and 'is very hard and resistant to corrosion.' The expert also explained that 'there are no mines in the true sense' dedicated to this metal as it is, in fact, a byproduct of platinum and/or nickel extraction.
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Have you guessed what it is yet?
We won't keep you guessing for long: the most expensive metal in the world is rhodium, a white, silver-like metal. One ounce (28.3 grams) of the precious metal from the platinum family is worth 785 euros in August 2023. The date is important in that prices for metals change constantly.
More resistant than white gold
But then how come it is so expensive? Rhodium is a precious metal that is highly resistant to the harmful effects of oxygen. Moreover, its melting point, which is the temperature at which a solid becomes liquid, is nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius.
The extremely rare metal was discovered in 1803 by chemist William Hyde Wollaston and extracted from an extract of platinum ore in South America. An incredible discovery that came only a short time after the discovery of another platinum, palladium.
Did you know that the most rare and expensive metal on earth is rhodium?
— Prince Adetola (@Tol_z) August 20, 2023
It is a silver-white, durable, and corrosion-resistant transition metal. It is commonly obtained as a byproduct of mining for platinum or palladium and is rare and challenging to remove. pic.twitter.com/P8SYbLIQJI
Read more:Princess Charlotte set to inherit Princess Diana's treasured possession worth £400K
The use of rhodium
Its insane price also accounts for the fact that rhodium is used in the car industry, especially in the manufacture of catalytic converters. This, in fact, makes it possible to limit the emission of nitrogen oxides.
This article has been translated from Gentside DE
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Mining Technology: The five most expensive metals and where they are mined
