Have you ever wondered what precious metals are worth the most, and what their value is on the market?
It is common to find gold and silver among precious metals because they are both highly valuable.
The value of some precious metals, however, is much higher and they are highly desired.
Here are some precious metals you might be able to score a bargain on before you go buying gold and silver everywhere!
Here’s a list of the 20 most expensive precious metals in the world.
The 20 Most Expensive Precious Metals in the World
Various sources around the web, including 911 Metallurgist & Gold Investments, are used to compile the list of precious metals with high prices and figures.
01. Rhodium
ISO currency code: XRH
Annual production: 30 tonnes
Major producers: South Africa, Russia, USA, Canada,Zimbabwe
Price Per kg: $244,345.67
Uses: automobile, jewelry, chemical and electrical trades
Discovered: 1803
Color: vibrant silvery-white
As a precious metal, Rhodium holds the record for the most expensive.
Silver-white, hard, corrosion-resistant, and extremely rare, this precious metal is one of the most valuable metals on earth.
Due to the rose color of one of its chlorine compounds, rhodium is one of the platinum group metals and a noble metal.
Along with other platinum group metals, it is found in platinum and nickel ores.
Around 80% of global Rhodium production is used in automobile three-way catalyst converters, just like Palladium, the world’s second most expensive precious metal.
Rhodium is the world’s most expensive precious metal, with a price of $260.42 per gram in 2020.
02. Palladium
ISO currency code: XPD
Annual production: 210 metric tons
Major producers: South Africa, Russia, Canada
Price Per kg: $49,896.80
Uses: catalytic converters for automobiles, in fuel cells to generate power, in jewelry, dental fillings, and electronic components.
Discovered: 1803
Color: soft silver-white
Among the precious metals, palladium ranks second in price.
Identified by its atomic number 46 and symbol Pd, palladium is an element with a chemical formula of Pd.
In 1803, the asteroid Pallas was named after Palladium, the first metal discovered by English chemist William Hyde Wollaston.
The most dense metal from the Platinum Group is Palladium, which has the lowest melting point and greatest density. Platinum, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Iridium, and Osmium all belong to the Platinum Group.
Approximately 90% of all harmful gases in automobile exhausts can be converted into less toxic gases by Palladium Catalytic Converters.
Electronics, groundwater treatment, hydrogen purification, dentistry, and medicine all use it, along with some of the world’s most expensive jewelry.
One gram of Palladium will set you back $72.13, so you might want to have deep pockets if you want to splash some cash!
03. Gold
ISO currency code: XAU
Annual production: 3,100 metric tons
Major producers: China, United States, Germany, Italy, France, Russia
Price Per kg: $ 64,655.955
Uses: oins, bullion and jewellery, Wealth protection and a financial exchange
Discovered: 1886
Color: yellowish orange color
Among all precious metals, gold is the third most expensive.
One of the most popular precious metals in the world, this precious metal needs no introduction.
One of the least reactive chemical elements on earth, gold is a bright yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal in its purest form.
Mineral deposits, such as rock, veins, and alluvial deposits, are often composed of free-element gold and nuggets or grains.
In history, it was used for coinage, jewelry, and arts. Today, it continues to be considered rare, thus its high price tag.
A reported 440 tons of gold are produced by China every year, making it the world’s largest gold producer.
At present, gold costs $53.95, or approximately $54 per gram.
04. Platinum
ISO currency code: XPT
Annual production: 190 metric tons
Major producers: South Africa, Russia, Zimbabwe, Canada
Price Per kg: $34,370.09
Uses: catalytic converters, laboratory equipment, electrical contacts and electrodes, platinum resistance thermometers, dentistry equipment, and jewelry.
Discovered: 1735
Color: silvery-white
There was a time when platinum was considered poor-quality silver and used for making fake jewelry, but it is now recognized as one of the world’s most valuable metals.
Platinum has become a symbol of even greater prestige over time as it is much rarer than gold.
Although gold is more expensive and has more applications areas today, platinum retains its status as the symbol of wealth. Limited-edition jewelry and watches, highly privileged credit cards, the highest rewards are all named “Platinum”.
The automotive industry had been using platinum catalytic converters in diesel vehicles until dieselgate in 2018, but now it prefers palladium and rhodium due to their better performance.
There are many industries that use this metal, including dentistry, weapons, aeronautics, computers, medicine, and glassmaking. It is used for laboratory equipment, anticancer drugs, hard disk drives, spark plugs, turbine engines, hard disk drives, and many other things, but most of it is used in jewelry and as an investment.
Gold has a larger market, but platinum continues to attract investors.
In stable economic times, the price of platinum can be twice the price of gold. However, during uncertain times, it can be less than half the price of gold. After all, platinum is one of the most volatile precious metals because its value tends to decrease.
05. Ruthenium
ISO currency code: XRU
Annual production: 30 tonnes
Major producers: South Africa, Russia, Zimbabwe, Canada
Price Per kg: $620.00
Uses: make jewelry, electrical contacts, solar cells, and as a catalyst. Ruthenium can be mixed with either platinum or palladium to form alloys used to make jewelry
Discovered: 1844
Color: silvery white metallic
As the fourth most expensive precious metal, Ruthenium comes in at number four.
Ru and 44 are the atomic numbers of ruthenium, a chemical element.
Russian-born scientist Karl Ernst Claus discovered Ruthenium at Kazan State University in 1844, one of the platinum group’s rare transition metals.
Ruthenia is Latin for Rus, which is why Ruthenium was named in honor of Russia.
In the mountains of North and South America, ruthenium is commonly found in ores along with other platinum group metals.
The cost of Ruthenium per ounce is currently around $260.
06. Iridium
ISO currency code: XIR
Annual production: 7 tons
Major producers: South Africa,Russia, Canada
Price Per kg: $131818.06
Uses: hardening agent for platinum, fountain-pen nibs, compass bearings, high-temperature crucibles and heavy-duty electrical contacts, jewelry
Discovered: 1803
Color: white, resembling platinum, but with a slight yellowish cast
As one of the two densest metals on our planet, iridium is a hard, silvery-white transition metal.
In meteorites and in the surface of the earth, it is one of the most corrosion-resistant metals.
Its striking salts resemble all the colors of the rainbow, which is how the metal got its name in 1803 from Smithson Tennant.
It is exported to countries around the world for use in watches, compasses, and automotive parts, among other products. South Africa produces the largest quantity of this metal.
An ounce of iridium is currently selling for $520.
07. Osmium
ISO currency code: XOS
Annual production: 100kgs
Major producers: South Africa,Japan,United Kingdom,china
Price Per kg: 1.883,40 €
Uses: fountain pen tips, instrument pivots, needles and electrical contacts, light bulbsDiscovered: 1803
Color: gray-white
Major producers: South Africa,Japan,United Kingdom,china
Price Per kg: 1.883,40 €
Uses: fountain pen tips, instrument pivots, needles and electrical contacts, light bulbs
Discovered: 1803
Color: gray-white
Platinum ores and alloys contain a trace amount of osmium, a hard blueish-white transition metal.
In fountain pens and electrical contacts, it is the densest naturally occurring element.
Because it’s rare, it’s also extremely expensive.
There is a pretty consistent price per troy ounce, averaging around $400, but it’s bound to fluctuate a little bit according to the market fluctuations, which are pretty common since the 1990s.
08. Rhenium
ISO currency code: XRE
Annual production: 20 tons
Major producers: United States and Germany, Canada, Estonia, France, Japan, Poland, and Russia.
Price Per kg: $1,611.90
Uses: used with platinum as catalysts in the production of lead-free, high-octane gasoline, alloys for jet engines, tungsten and molybdenum based alloys, electrical contact material
Discovered: 1925
Color: silvery white
A rare metal with a high melting point and boiling point, rhenium is one of the rarest elements on earth.
Re and atomic 75 are chemical symbols that identify it.
As the second-last stable element ever discovered, rhenium was named for the Rhine river in Europe on its discovery in 1908.
Jet engine exhaust nozzles, turbine blades, and combustion chambers are often made of this precious metal.
A troy ounce of rhenium currently costs about $1,290.
09. Silver
ISO currency code: XAG
Annual production: 26,000 metric tons
Major producers: Mexico, China, Peru
Price Per kg: $776.10
Uses: jewellery and silver tableware,dental alloys, solder and brazing alloys, electrical contacts and batteries
Discovered: 3000 B.C
Color: metallic, shiny version of gray
Among the world’s most commonly known metals, silver, is ranked number eight on our list of precious metals.
With an atomic number of 47, it has the chemical symbol Ag.
It is the most electrically conductive, thermally conductive, and reflective metal known to man.
As an alloy with gold, lead, copper, and zinc, as well as in minerals such as chlorargyrite and argentite, silver is found in the earth’s crust and can be found in its purest elemental form.
In addition to bullion coins, silver has been used in such things as solar panels, water filtration systems, and jewelry because it has long been considered a precious metal.
Silver is currently priced at approximately $0.48 per gram.
10. Scandium
ISO currency code: XSC
Annual production: 30 tonnes
Major producers: China
Price Per kg: $ 3912.84
Uses: aluminum-scandium alloys for aerospace industry components and for sports equipment such as bicycle frames, fishing rods, golf iron shafts and baseball bats, mercury vapor lamps
Discovered: 1879
Color: silvery white
Scandium ranks next on the list of most expensive precious metals.
Sc, or atomic number 21.A, is the symbol for this chemical element.
Swedish Scientist Lars Nilsson named scandium after Scandinavia after the mineral euxenite and gadolinite were discovered in 1879.
Rare earth elements have historically been classified as silvery-white metallic colors.
Only a few mines around the world extract it from specific ores, which is found in most rare-earth and uranium deposits.
There is a $44 value associated with every gram of Scandium acetate.
11. Indium
ISO currency code: xIn
Annual production: 900 tons
Major producers: China, South Korea, Japan, Canada
Price Per kg: $215.03 kg
Uses: to dope germanium to make transistors,electrical components such as rectifiers, thermistors and photoconductors. Indium can be used to make mirrors
Discovered: 1863
Color: silvery white
Its symbol, In, and atomic number 49 identify it as a soft, white, silvery chemical element.
Indium is one of the most soft metals known to man, apart from Alkali, and it marks the end of a transition period for metals similar to alkali. It makes up approximately 0.21 parts per million of earth’s crust, beside alkali.
Lithium and tin can be melted under a little bit of indium, but still above sodium and gallium.
Spectroscopic methods were used to discover Indium in 1863, and it was named after its purple-blue line in its spectrum.
As an alloy, a soldier, and a soft-metal high vacuum seals, indium is primarily used in the semiconductor industry.
Purity and quantity determine the price of indium per gram.
12. Germanium
ISO currency code: xge
Annual production: 140 metric tons
Major producers: China
Price Per kg: $1,300
Uses: semiconductor industry,electronic devices, create alloys and as a phosphor in fluorescent lamps
Discovered: 1886
Color: silvery-white
An atomic number 32 and a symbol Ge identify Germanium as a chemical element in the carbon group. In its group, germanium is a lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white metalloid with a chemical similarity to silicon and tin. In nature, germanium naturally reacts with oxygen and forms complexes, like silicon does. As a semiconductor, germanium is similar to silicon in appearance.
13. Beryllium
ISO currency code: xbe
Annual production: 280 metric tons
Price Per kg: $25.00 – $28.00
Uses: alloys with copper or nickel to make gyroscopes, springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes and non-sparking tools
Discovered: 1997
Color: silvery-white
A chemical element with atomic number 4, beryllium symbolizes the element Be and is relatively rare in the universe, typically occurring as the result of larger atomic nuclei colliding with cosmic rays. During star formation, beryllium fused with other minerals, causing its depletion within the core. Beryllium is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other minerals. There are significant gemstones containing beryllium, including beryl (aquamarine, emerald) and chrysoberyl. In its free state, it is an alkaline earth metal with a steel gray color that is strong, lightweight, and fragile.
14. Gallium
ISO currency code: xbe
Annual production: 280 metric tons
Major producers: United States,China, Mozambique, and Brazil
Price Per kg: $857
Uses: alloys with copper or nickel to make gyroscopes, springs, electrical contacts, spot-welding electrodes and non-sparking tools
Discovered: 1797
Color: silvery-white
In its solid state, gallium is slightly blue, but it becomes silvery white in its liquid state. It is known by the symbol Ga and the atomic number 31. While gallium is soft enough to be cut with shears, it may break conchoidally if too much force is applied.
There is no free gallium in nature, however it can be found as a trace element as a compound in zinc ores and bauxite. Gallium is found in group 13 with aluminum, indium, and thallium.
Gallium, when heated above 29.76 ° C (85.57 ° F), turns into a liquid at temperatures above the normal body temperature of 37 ° C (99 ° F), such that it melts in the hands of its owner regardless of their height.
15. Tellurium
ISO currency code: xte
Annual production: 580 tons
Major producers: China
Price Per kg: $56.05
Uses: vulcanise rubber, to tint glass and ceramics, in solar cells, in rewritable CDs and DVDs and as a catalyst in oil refining
Discovered: 1782
Color: silvery-white
It has atomic number 52 and the symbol Te. Occasionally found as elemental crystals in a native form, tellurium is brittle, mildly toxic, silver-white, and chemically related to sulfur and selenium. It is sometimes found as an elemental crystal in a native form.
As a whole, the Universe contains much more Tellurium than Earth does. During Earth’s hot nebular formation, tellurium was lost as a gas due to the formation of a volatile hydride that resulted in its extreme rarity in the crust, comparable to platinum. Furthermore, due to tellurium’s low affinity for oxygen, it binds preferentially to other chalcophiles in dense minerals that sink deeper in the earth’s core due to its low affinity for oxygen.
16. Bismuth
ISO currency code: xbi
Annual production: 16,000 metric tons
Major producers: China, Laos, South korea, japan
Price Per kg: $445
Uses: pharmaceuticals, atomic fire alarms and sprinkler systems, solders and other alloys and pigments for cosmetics, glass and ceramics
Discovered: 1753
Color: silvery, pink-tinged
With an atomic number of 83 and a symbol Bi, bismuth is a pentavalent posttransition metal. It is similar to the lighter arsenic and antimony homologs, and a pnictogen as well. Although bismuth is naturally present, its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores.
With an 86 percent density, the free element is as dense as lead. In its initial state, bismuth is a silvery white metal that is brittle, but as it oxidizes, its surface becomes pink. With its lowest thermal conductivity value among metals, bismuth is the most naturally diamagnetic element.
17. Mercury
ISO currency code: xhg
Annual production: 2,200 metric tons
Major producers: China
Price Per kg: $13500
Uses: older thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs and some electrical switches
Discovered: 1500 BC
Color: silver-white metal
The chemical element mercury, which is represented by Hg and 80 symbols, is often referred to as quicksilver and was previously known as hydrargyrum. Under standard temperature and pressure conditions, mercury is the only metallic element to be liquid. Other elements that are liquid are bromine or halogens, although some metals melt just above room temperature, including caesium, gallium and rubidium.
Vermilion is the pigment obtained by grinding cinnabar (mercuric sulfide), which occurs in deposits throughout the world.
18. Californium
ISO currency code: xcf
Annual production: 252
Major producers: United States, Russia
Price Per kg: $27 million per gram
Uses: identifying gold and silver ores, to identify water and oil layers in oil wells and to detect metal fatigue and stress in aeroplanes
Discovered: March 17, 1950
Color: silvery-white
Despite the fact that it is the most expensive metal in the world, Californianium actually contains the most energy.
There are a few spots in the medical industry where it might be useful, but for the most part it’s not of much use to people.
The main use of this material is nuclear power generation, because it is highly radioactive and extremely dangerous.
Due to its rarity and high production costs, Californianium has a huge price.
Among laboratories in Russia and the United States, only 30 – 40 micrograms are produced.
19. Tritium
ISO currency code: xtr
Annual production: 130 grams
Major producers: Russia , Canada, united stated
Price Per kg: $2 billion per kilogram
Uses: exit signs, emergency lighting in commercial buildings and airplanes and for airport runway lights
Discovered: 1934
Color: different colour variants
Self-illuminating exit signs made of tritium can be found in schools, theaters, and office buildings all over the world. American exit signs made of tritium number more than two million.
20. Chromium
ISO currency code: xcr
Annual production: 18 million metric tons
Major producers: South Africa, Kazakhstan, India
Price Per kg: $5.65 per pound
Uses: harden steel, to manufacture stainless steel (named as it won’t rust) and to produce several alloy
Discovered: 1997
Color: hard, silvery metal with a blue tinge
Due to its scarcity and high demand, chrome is one of the world’s most valuable metals used widely in many industries.
In addition to its corrosion resistance and heat resistance properties, chrome is a hard and lustrous metal. More than 80% of the world’s chromium use is in stainless steel, which is primarily made from this metal. As well as being used in gas turbines, superalloys are also made from the metal.
Despite the fact that it is found in small quantities in the earth’s crust, chromium is difficult to extract and expensive to process. South Africa, Kazakhstan, and India produce the largest amounts of chromium in the world, followed by a small amount in other nations.
Chrome has a price range of $20,000 to $30,000 per metric ton, due to its rarity and high demand, making it one of the most expensive metals in the world.
