It is a ductile, dense, precious, malleable metal that’s also resistant to corrosion. Besides that, this metal is extremely rare. It occurs in the Earth’s crust only 0,003 ppm. The main reason why it’s so valuable nowadays is its use in a lot of industrial applications. There’s a rough estimation that almost one-fifth of everything we use either requires platinum in some sort or an alloy that contains it.
It occurs natively, but the ore is accompanied by very small quantities of rhodium, osmium, palladium, and iridium. All of these belong to the same group of metals. Usually, these metals are found in Columbia, around the Ural Mountain, and in some Western American states. It is also considered to be more precious than silver or gold. It is mostly made into coins and the most famous is the platinum Eagles made in the US.
Platinum as the automobile catalyst
Platinum is playing the role of the catalytic converter in the exhaust system of a car. Its purpose is to convert harmful emissions such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxides, and nitric oxides into harmless water and carbon dioxide.
In the future, it is estimated that half of the amount produced will be used for the automobile industry. Governments all around the world are more and more concerned about the protection of the environment. This is why the demand for the metal is escalating all the time.
Petroleum and jewelry
The petroleum industry also depends much on it. The reasons are very similar to the excellent catalytic properties. Platinum gauze or mesh can be used in oil refineries. Catalysts from this material are very important for making high octane fuels and extracting gasoline from crude oil.
In 2006, demand for platinum that would be used for jewelry fell for about 25% from 2000. Volatile and high prices had a huge effect on purchasing it in the whole world, especially in China. It is considered to be a precious metal and is valued very much for its purity, properties, and beauty. Usually, the normal purity in Europe and the USA is about 95%, but you may find platinum with purity of about 85% in some particular countries.
Platinum hardness, strength, color, and resistance to tarnish are the main advantages why this precious metal is used for jewelry. It enhanced the brilliance of other gemstones and diamonds and provides a secure setting for them. Jewelry designers especially love its flexibility and they find it to be a very important factor. Jewelry made of platinum is also known for the “New Millennium” as the precious metal. Read more here.
Hard discs
Not a lot of people know this, but hard discs contain traces of platinum. Also, it’s used in the production of the fiber optic cables too. Since the demand for PCs is constantly on the rise, demand for the platinum is also constantly increasing in this industry.
A hard drive is a component of a PC that PC uses to store data. Each hard disc contains a couple or just one disc or platter where data is being located on the magnetic surface. The strength of that magnetic field that’s generated by the surface layer is having a direct impact on the amount of that that can be recorded.
Electronics and glass
Some of the other electrical applications that use platinum are thermocouples. They are used for measuring the temperature in steel and glass. Military infra-red detectors are also made out of it, same as some other commercial applications. Platinum is alsoused in ceramic capacitors.It’s used in production for the glassmaking equipment. You can find it in the process of making the fiberglass, glass, and reinforced plastic for LCD screens.
Medicine and investments
Platinum is also used in alloys for dental restorations and neurosurgical apparatus. It also finds its use in implants and anti-cancer drugs. As technology expands and it becomes more available, there will be more use of it in medicine.
Platinum is seen as a very attractive investment option. Also, it’s seen as a good way of fighting inflation. Investors all over the world are increasingly showing interest to invest in platinum based on the historical price, unique fundamentals, performance, and relative scarcity of platinum.
