12th place: Silver - known for a long time and one of the most popular precious metals, found both in the native state, and in the form of compounds. Used to cover mirrors, making jewelry and coins. It is actively used in electronics, dentistry, photography, has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. The largest reserves of this metal are concentrated in Poland, China, Mexico, Chile, Australia, the USA and Canada. The cost of a gram of silver is 0.55-1 cu.
11th place: Ruthenium is a bright silver metal, characterized by refractoriness, hardness and brittleness at the same time, the rarest of the platinum group. It was opened in 1844 by Professor Karl Klaus, who was engaged in research at the University of Kazan. The characteristics of ruthenium make it a sought-after material in the jewelry, chemical and electronics industries. It is used to make laboratory dishes, contacts, electrodes, wires. In Japan and Western Europe, a large amount of ruthenium goes to the production of printed circuits and resistors, as well as for the production of chlorine and various alkalis. This metal is often used as a catalyst for a variety of chemical reactions. Its production is fully concentrated in South Africa. The cost of one gram of ruthenium is 1.5-2 dollars.
10th place: Scandium is a lightweight and high strength silver metal with a yellow tint. The element was first discovered in 1879 by a Swedish chemist, Lars Nilsson, who named it in honor of Scandinavia. Scandium is actively used in the world of high and innovative technologies. It is used in the design of robots, rockets, aircraft, satellites and laser technology. Also, alloys of this metal serve in the sports field - for the manufacture of high-end equipment, such as golf clubs and high-strength frames for bicycles. The largest deposits of scandium-rich minerals are in Norway and Madagascar. The cost of one gram of this metal is 3-4 US dollars.
9th place: Rhenium is a silver-white metal, belonging to the most popular, hard-to-reach and rare elements in the world. It is very dense and has the third highest melting point among all its relatives. The metal found in 1925 is used in the electronic and chemical industries. High density makes it possible to manufacture turbine blades, jet nozzles, etc. from it. The price per gram of rhenium varies from 2.4 to 5 conventional units per gram.
8th place: Osmium is a bluish-silver metal, characterized by high density and brittleness. In its pure form it does not exist in the depths, it is found only in bonds with another metal from the platinum group - iridium. It was opened in 1803 by two British chemists, Smithson Tennant and William Wollaston. Its name was derived from the Greek word osme, which means "smell."Osmiyu is really inherent in a fairly sharp and unpleasant smell, reminiscent of a mixture of garlic and bleach. Obtain this metal in the Urals, Siberia, South Africa, Canada, the United States and Colombia. It is used mainly in the chemical industry as a catalyst and in pharmacology. The price of one gram of osmium in the world market is 12-15 dollars.
7th place: Iridium is a heavy, hard and at the same time brittle silver-white metal. The world first learned about it in 1803 thanks to the British chemist S. Tennant, who also opened the above-mentioned element. Independently iridium is not used anywhere and is most often used to create alloys. It has a high melting point, is dense and acts as the most corrosion-resistant metal. Jewelers add it to platinum, because it makes it three times harder, and jewelry made from such an alloy is practically not worn and looks very beautiful. Also, it is in demand in the manufacture of surgical instruments, electrical contacts, accurate laboratory scales. From it make tips for expensive fountain pens. Iridium is used in aerospace engineering, biomedicine, dentistry, chemical industry. During the year, the world's metallurgy spends about one ton of this metal. The main deposit of iridium is in South Africa. Its cost is 16-18 dollars for 1 gram.
6th place: Palladium is a light, flexible silver-white metal from the platinum group. It is very ductile, fusible, well polished, does not tarnish and is pretty resistant to corrosion. It was opened in 1803 by a British chemist William Wollaston, who separated an unfamiliar metal from platinum ore, which came from South America. Today, palladium is gaining popularity among jewelers, as low price, affordability and lightness allow designers to create from it the most daring jewelry creations related to different price categories and styles. Platinum metal is widely used in cleaning devices and for anticorrosive coatings. The greatest amount of this element on the world markets comes from Russia, but large deposits are also in South Africa. The cost of palladium is 25-30 cu.for one gram.
5th place: Rhodium is a solid noble metal from the platinum group of silvery color with strong reflective properties. It is very hard, resistant to high temperatures and oxidation. It was opened in 1803 in England by a chemist William Wollaston in the process of working with native platinum. Rhodium is considered a rare element - about 30 tons of this metal is produced annually. The largest deposits are in Russia, South Africa, Colombia and Canada. Approximately 80% of rhodium serves as a catalyst in the automotive and chemical industries. It produces mirrors and headlights for cars, and in jewelry it is used during the final processing of products. The main advantage of rhodium is participation in the production of nuclear reactors. The cost of a valuable platinum metal ranges from $ 30- $ 45 per gram.
4th place: Gold is the main precious metal, which in nature is found exclusively in pure form. It is very durable, homogeneous, resistant to corrosion and is considered the most malleable. Because of its durability and plasticity for many years, gold is the title of the most popular noble metal. Widely used in the jewelry, electronics industry, dentistry. The largest gold mining countries are the USA, China, South Africa, Australia. The cost of one gram of gold on the world market is 35-45 cu.
3rd place: Platinum is a noble metal of silvery-white color with a special luster, occurring in nature only as a natural alloy with other metals: noble and ignoble. It has gained great popularity due to its inherent plasticity, density and excellent appearance. The production of this metal is carried out as a result of complex chemical processes. In addition to the production of jewelry and coins, platinum is widely used in the medical and electronics industries, in aeronautics, in the production of weapons. The largest countries that produce platinum are South Africa, Russia, the United States, Zimbabwe, Canada. The price of one gram of this metal varies between 40-50 dollars.
2 nd place: Osmi-187 is a rare isotope, the extraction process of which is very difficult and takes about nine months. It is a black, fine crystalline powder with a purple hue, bearing the title of the most dense substance on the planet. At the same time, the Osmium-187 isotope is very fragile, it can be crushed into small particles in an ordinary stupa. It has an important scientific and research significance, it is used as a catalyst for chemical reactions, for the manufacture of high precision instruments and in the medical industry. Kazakhstan is the first and only state selling Osmium-187 in the world market. The market value of a unique metal is $ 10,000.for 1 gram, and in the Guinness book of records it is estimated at 200 thousand US dollars.
1st place: California-252 - one of the isotopes of California, the most expensive metal in the world, the cost of which reaches 10 million US dollars per 1 gram. Its fabulous price is fully justified - only 20-40 micrograms of this element are produced annually, and the total world stock is no more than 8 grams. The californium-252 is created in the laboratory using two nuclear reactors that are located in the US and Russia. This metal was first obtained at the University of California at Berkeley in 1950.The uniqueness of California lies not only in its value, but also in its special properties - the energy produced by one gram of an isotope equals the power of an average atomic reactor. The use of the most expensive metal in the world extends to the field of medicine and scientific research in nuclear physics. California-252 is a powerful source of neutrons, which allows it to be used to treat malignant tumors, where other radiation therapy is inactive. The unique metal allows to shine through parts of the reactors, aircraft parts, and to detect damage that is usually carefully hidden from the X-rays. With its help, it is possible to find reserves of gold, silver and oil deposits in the bowels of the earth.
In the photo - California next to the nail
There are a lot of different metals on the planet that differ in the rarity and complexity of production. Specialists of this field divide them into two groups: natural and artificially obtained in laboratory conditions. The cost of some representatives of the second group is very different from the value of natural metals present in the world market, due to the long and laborious process of their manufacture.
This ranking presents the 13 most expensive metals in the world.
13-place: Indium is a valuable silver-white metal from the group of light metals, which has a strong luster. It was opened in 1863 in Germany in the chemical laboratory of scientists Ferdinand Reich and Theodor Richter, who studied the zinc minerals mined in the mountains of Saxony. It is soft, fusible and malleable, it can easily be cut with an ordinary knife. Indium does not form independent deposits and is a part of zinc, lead, copper and tin ores. Each year, several hundred tons of this metal are produced. Due to its unique properties, it has found wide application in microelectronics, semiconductor engineering, mechanical engineering. It is used to make mirrors, photocells, dental cements, as a sealant and even in space technologies. The price of 1 gram of indium metal is 0.5-0.7 dollars.