Sky High Rhodium

Most metal bulls will be able to tell you the price of gold or silver off the top of their heads on almost any given day. However if you asked them what the price of any of the base metals or the white metals were they would most likely be stumped for an answer. That's because most metal bulls don't seem to keep track of the platinum group metals and so by the time a person actually notices the rise in price of one of these metals. it's usually a bit late to get participate in the action anyways.

When it comes to rhodium though most people have never heard of it however it is a very valuable and extremely rare metal and right now the price of rhodium is going through the roof. The auto sector is the biggest user of rhodium. This metal is a critical in automobile catalytic converters which are used to reduce harmful exhaust emissions and with higher standards being imposed by governments from around the world, the demand will only become greater. Although palladium is predominately used in gasoline engines and platinum is used in diesel vehicles, but rhodium is needed for both diesel and gas engines.

Rhodium increased 1,840 USD/t oz. or 74.80% since the beginning of 2019, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. The metal has seen extreme volatility over the years. Rhodium had a record low of just $200 in January of 1997 but reached an all time high of $10,100 in June of 2008. Today the price is sitting at $4,500 per ounce and some analysts expect the price to go back to $10,000 or even higher.

There are no particular miners that mine rhodium as the metal is found in platinum or nickel ores together with the other members of the platinum group metals. The industrial extraction of rhodium is complex because the ores are mixed with other metals such as palladium, silver, platinum, and gold and there are very few rhodium-bearing minerals. It is found in platinum ores and extracted as a white inert metal that is difficult to fuse. Principal sources are located in South Africa and in North America, including the copper-nickel sulfide mining area of the Sudbury, Ontario, region. Although the quantity at Sudbury is very small, the large amount of processed nickel ore makes rhodium recovery cost-effective.

For those who wish to buy rhodium in physical form, you can buy from places like Kitco and specialty smelting operations. For those who would like to trade rhodium there is very few options. There is the Xtrackers Physical Rhodium ETC and also the Deutsche Bank db Physical Rhodium ETC. Neither of these funds trade in the USA or Canada though. Both are traded on European markets in London.

You could however buy stock in a platinum or palladium miner whose metal has a higher degree of rhodium in it's ore composition.

If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to share. When seeking out mining stocks always use Due Diligence and see our Disclaimer and be sure to sign up for our free news letter located on the right hand side of this page.










Junior Miners.com © 2007-2016. All Rights Reserved. Hosted With Navahost.com