Precious metal | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. Historically, precious metals were important as currency but are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial raw materials. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code. The best known precious metals are the coinage metals, which are gold and silver. Although both have industrial uses, they are better known for their uses in art, jewelry, and coinage. Other precious metals include the platinum group metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, of which platinum is the most widely traded. The demand for precious metals is driven not only by their practical use but also by their role as investments and a store of value. Historically, precious metals have commanded much higher prices than common industrial metals. Bullion A metal is deemed to be precious if it is rare. The discovery of new sources of ore or improvements in mining or refining processes may cause the value of a precious metal to diminish. The status of a "precious" metal can also be determined by high demand or market value. Precious metals in bulk form are known as bullion and are traded on commodity markets. Bullion metals may be cast into ingots or minted into coins. The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as money. The level of purity varies from issue to issue. "Three nines" (99.9%) purity is common. The purest mass-produced bullion coins are in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, which go up to 99.999% purity. A 100% pure bullion is nearly impossible: as the percentage of impurities diminishes, it becomes progressively more difficult to purify the metal further. Historically, coins had a certain amount of weight of alloy, with the purity a local standard.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (12)

Related concepts (65)

Related courses (26)

Related lectures (236)

Development of Cyclopentadienylcobalt(III) Catalyzed Asymmetric C-H Functionalizations

Kristers Ozols

Transition metal catalyzed C-H activation plays a major role in modern organic chemistry, affording mild, selective and atom-efficient protocols. Most of current developments in the field rely on the

EPFL2022

Atomic doping & coating for Electrocatalysis & Li-ion batteries

Albert Claude Jean-Pierre Daubry

molybdenum atomic-doping on bio-waste derived nitrogen-doped conductive carbon electrocatalyst was synthesized and investigated for the dinitrogen reduction to ammonia in alkaline media. The assessmen

EPFL2022

Hydrogen fuel cell is a promising green technology that transforms the chemical energy in hydrogen into electricity. Currently, most of the efforts are focused on developing proton exchange membrane f

EPFL2021

MSE-234: Mechanical behaviour of materials

Ce cours est une introduction au comportement mécanique, à l'élaboration, à la structure et au cycle de vie des grandes classes de matériaux de structure (métaux, polymères, céramiques et composites)

MSE-422: Advanced metallurgy

This course covers the metallurgy, processing and properties of modern high-performance metals and alloys (e.g. advanced steels, Ni-base, Ti-base, High Entropy Alloys etc.). In addition, the principle

MSE-101(a): Materials:from chemistry to properties

Ce cours permet l'acquisition des notions essentielles relatives à la structure de la matière, aux équilibres et à la réactivité chimique en liaison avec les propriétés mécaniques, thermiques, électri

Platinum group

The platinum-group metals (abbreviated as the PGMs; alternatively, the platinoids, platinides, platidises, platinum group, platinum metals, platinum family or platinum-group elements (PGEs)) are six noble, precious metallic elements clustered together in the periodic table. These elements are all transition metals in the d-block (groups 8, 9, and 10, periods 5 and 6). The six platinum-group metals are ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum.

Precious metal

Money

Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value and sometimes, a standard of deferred payment. Money was historically an emergent market phenomenon that possessed intrinsic value as a commodity; nearly all contemporary money systems are based on unbacked fiat money without use value.

Recycling of Materials – Introduction

By the instructor Yves Leterrier introduces the concept of recycling of materials and its global impact.

Precious Metals Refining: Processes and Challenges

Explores the refining processes of precious metals, their supply and demand, and the challenges faced in the industry.

Precious Metals: Properties and Applications

Explores the properties, uses, and metallurgy of precious metals like gold, silver, palladium, platinum, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium, and osmium.