precious metal

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precious metal

mineralogy

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July 13, 2026

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Precious metals are rare and highly valuable elements, with gold, silver, and the platinum-group metals (PGMs) being the most common examples. These metals are also known as noble metals due to their exceptional resistance to oxidation, corrosion, and tarnishing, even at high temperatures or in moist environments. This inertness allows them to maintain their luster and often be found in a pure, elemental state.12

The platinum-group metals include ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum. While mercury, rhenium, and copper exhibit low chemical reactivity, they are not always strictly classified as noble metals.2

Historically, gold, silver, and copper were among the first metals discovered and utilized for their ornamental and practical value. Their durability, scarcity, and physical properties, such as luster and conductivity, contribute to their intrinsic value and their use in jewelry, coinage, electronics, and other applications.324

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Asia
Precious metals
Many Asian countries have produced gold from alluvial stream deposits in past centuries, and some have continued to do so. Small volumes of alluvial gold are produced in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Indonesia, and the headwaters of the Yangtze River in the Tibetan border…
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Many Asian countries have produced gold from alluvial stream deposits in past centuries, and some have continued to do so. Small volumes of alluvial gold are produced in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Indonesia, and the headwaters of the Yangtze River in the Tibetan border…
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currency
…currency in any form of precious metal. Consequently the volume of currency is determined by the actions of the government or central bank and not by the supply of precious metals.
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…currency in any form of precious metal. Consequently the volume of currency is determined by the actions of the government or central bank and not by the supply of precious metals.
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history of Europe
Prices and inflation
…infusion of new stocks of precious metal, especially silver, into the money supply. The medieval economy had suffered from a chronic shortage of precious metals. From the late 15th century, however, silver output, especially from German mines, increased and remained high through the 1530s. New techniques of sinking and draining…
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…infusion of new stocks of precious metal, especially silver, into the money supply. The medieval economy had suffered from a chronic shortage of precious metals. From the late 15th century, however, silver output, especially from German mines, increased and remained high through the 1530s. New techniques of sinking and draining…
Read More

metallurgy
Precious metals
Bronze, iron, and brass were, then, the metallic materials on which successive peoples built their civilizations and of which they made their implements for both war and peace. In addition, by 500 bce, rich lead-bearing silver mines had opened in Greece. Reaching depths…
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Bronze, iron, and brass were, then, the metallic materials on which successive peoples built their civilizations and of which they made their implements for both war and peace. In addition, by 500 bce, rich lead-bearing silver mines had opened in Greece. Reaching depths…
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sulfide mineral
…are the source of various precious metals, most notably gold, silver, and platinum. They also are the ore minerals of most metals used by industry, as for example antimony, bismuth, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. Other industrially important metals such as cadmium and selenium occur in trace amounts in numerous…
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…are the source of various precious metals, most notably gold, silver, and platinum. They also are the ore minerals of most metals used by industry, as for example antimony, bismuth, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. Other industrially important metals such as cadmium and selenium occur in trace amounts in numerous…
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jewelry
Precious metals and their properties
Of gold’s properties, when it was first discovered (probably in Mesopotamia before 3000 bce), it was the metal’s malleability that was a new phenomenon: only beeswax, when heated to a certain temperature, could be compared to it. Gold’s molecules move…
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Of gold’s properties, when it was first discovered (probably in Mesopotamia before 3000 bce), it was the metal’s malleability that was a new phenomenon: only beeswax, when heated to a certain temperature, could be compared to it. Gold’s molecules move…
Read More