Precious Metals – Gold, Silver, Platinum

Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metals that have a high economic value in proportion to their weight.

The most well known precious metals are gold, silver and platinum.

Silver makes up only about .00001 of one percent of the Earth's crust, while platinum and gold each make up about .0000005 of one percent.

For a long time, gold and silver were used as measures of wealth.

Spanish explorers discovered platinum in the 16th century, after which it was used in counterfeit gold ingots. Because of this, it was disdained for being an adulterant.

However, today platinum is considered to be more valuable than gold. Platinum's resisance to corrosion and temperature distortion makes it indispensable in many modern industries.

Gold remains one of the foundations of international finance.

Since 2007, China has been the world's largest gold producer, replacing South Africa, which was the largest gold producer from 1905 until then.

Most silver is mined in Mexico, Peru, Australia, China, Poland, Chile and Serbia.

Canada, South Africa and Russia are the major platinum producers.

Rarely forming chemical compounds, gold is usually found in the Earth's crust as a relatively pure metal.

A gold nugget typically contains an alloy of about eight percent silver and traces of platinum, copper and other metals. The more silver present, the whiter the look of the gold.

Platinum and silver also occur as almost pure metals.

Although silver often forms compounds, such as silver chloride, its extraction from these compounds is usually unprofitable.