Rare and Precious Metals

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A metal that occurs rarely in nature and also has a good economic value and is additionally, not a radioactive element can be termed as a precious metal.  Usually, precious metals are not as reactive as other elements and they also have higher melting points than the usual metals.  In ancient days,  the precious metals were used as coins for currency.  The precious metals known for their high value are gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Palladium precious metal is a lustrous, silvery white metal which was first discovered by William Hyde Wollaston and it got its name for the asteroid Pallas.  It actually belongs to the platinum group of metals.  The other members of this group are rhodium, ruthenium, osmium and iridium.  All these metals belong to the precious metal platinum group have similar chemical characteristics.  Palladium is widely used in manufacturing goods and one out of every four goods being manufactured today use either the palladium precious metal or the platinum group metals as a key component. 

The precious metal platinum is a dense gray-white transition metal and is one among the rarest elements found on the earth’s crust.  It is usually found as ores of nickel and copper and is mostly seen in South Africa which has almost 80% of the world platinum production.  It does not corrode easily even when heated to high temperatures and hence it is also termed as a noble metal.  Thus, it is usually found in its native state.  The precious metal platinum is usually seen in the alluvial soils of river banks and was initially used for producing artifacts. 

Now, the precious metal platinum and palladium are used in catalytic converters and electrical contacts, dentistry and also as jewelry.  They are both very rare metals and due to its scarcity it is highly valuable.  The precious metal platinum also finds its use in electrodes, and in platinum resistance thermometer. Cisplatin, which is a compound of platinum is used in chemotherapy and is effective against certain kinds of cancer.

The precious metal platinum is a shiny, silver-white metal and is used in jewelry because it has a good resistance to wear and tear and does not tarnish easily.  It has very good electrical properties as well and is therefore ideal to use in industrial applications.

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References:
http://priceofsilver.org/silver-coins-vs-bars/

http://silvervalue.org/silver-value-today/