Precious Metals
When people think of precious metals they usually think of gold and silver – but there are so many more metals to invest in. There are dealers that are out there that will help you to find these precious metals, you just need to do your research to find the right one. You will also want to make sure that it is a reputable dealer and not one that just wants to scam you.
If you research online, you can find these reputable dealers, they are out there. You might check Acre Gold to see if they can help you. They can probably point you in the right direction if they can’t help you.
This article will tell you a little about some of the other precious metals that you can invest in. Some you may have heard of, while others may be brand new to you. All of them will be great for your investment portfolio.
Metals
- Copper
Everyone has heard of copper and knows that it has many uses in many areas. Although we are calling it a precious metal, it really is not. It oxidizes under normal conditions and is not exceedingly rare at all. But for this article, we will call it a precious metal because of all the uses that it has.
Its many uses include the electrical industry because of how well it conducts electricity and is used in the automotive industry to keep motors running. You can see copper used in pipes, both for drinking water and bringing natural gas into your home.
- Iridium
Iridium is one of the rarest metals in the earth’s crust, making it one of the most valuable. You can look here to see the daily value of iridium: https://pmm.umicore.com/en/prices/iridium/. It is from the platinum group of metals and is brittle, but hard with an extremely high melting point. Iridium, like most precious metals, does not oxidize under normal conditions and resists corrosion.
Iridium has many uses including being a hardening agent for many platinum alloys. It is also used for compass bearings and tipping pins. Another use is for any equipment that is used in high temperatures.
- Lithium
Lithium is found all over the world, but in such low concentrations that it is still considered very rare. It is a soft metal that is silvery in color and has many uses around the world. The raw material that lithium is developed from are lithium salts that are found in deposits that are underground in clay and mineral ore.
Lithium has a wide variety of uses, including all types of batteries – even ones used in electric vehicles. It is also used by the medical community for the treatment of mood disorders like bipolar disorder, major depression, and schizophrenia.
- Osmium
This is another metal that is in the platinum group and is hard and brittle. It has a silvery-blue color and is one of the rarest metals that is found. It has a high economic value because it has many uses.
Osmium is used for fountain pen tips, needles, instrument pivots, and electrical contacts. It doesn’t have as many uses as other metals and most of these uses are in the electrical industry.
- Palladium
Palladium has an incredibly beautiful appearance with a silvery-white color. It is very highly resistant to corrosion and is a relatively soft metal and is rarer than silver and gold. It is much more expensive than those metals, as well.
Its uses include the making of catalytic converters, blood sugar test strips, dentistry, and surgical instruments. You can also find this metal in aircraft spark plugs, jewelry, and electrical contacts. It is a very versatile metal that can also be bought as palladium bars and bullion for investing.
- Platinum
Platinum is another silvery-white metal that is so beautiful that it is sometimes used in jewelry. It is highly resistant to corrosion and has high levels of conductivity and can be used in high temperatures because it remains stable.
Besides being used for jewelry, it has many other uses, including the medical industry, the dental industry, and laboratory uses. It is also used for some of the world’s strongest magnets. It can also be used for electrical contacts and resistance wires.
- Rhodium
This is an exceedingly rare metal that is silvery-white, and hard that is highly resistant to corrosion under normal conditions. It only occurs in exceedingly small concentrations naturally and is generally a by-product of other mining operations. It can be found in small concentrations in nickel deposits and platinum ore.
It is used for many different commercial things including jewelry and catalytic converters. It is generally used as an alloying material for alloys of platinum and palladium. You can find rhodium in aircraft spark plugs, and in medical and laboratory equipment.
- Ruthenium
Ruthenium is another platinum group metal that is silvery-white in appearance. It is hard and brittle but is also very resistant to tarnish. It is usually found as a by-product of nickel mining and is taken through a series of different chemical processes that separate it from the other platinum group metals.
It is used for many things in the commercial arena such as the jewelry industry and is used as an alloying agent for platinum and palladium. It is also used in the solar panel industry that converts solar energy to usable electrical energy.
Conclusion
There are more metals than just silver and gold, and many of them are more expensive than these better-known metals. They all have a variety of uses that include many mainstream industries. Most of us have some of these metals in our vehicles or our homes for a variety of uses, even some that you wouldn’t have thought of.
These metals can be used for investment purposes in most cases, even though they may be tougher to find than gold and silver. If you find an outstanding metals dealer, they can help you to find the rarer metals. Just be careful and find a reputable dealer before you allow them to sell you anything.
