The six metals
The six platinum group metals are crucial to our daily lives. From fountain pens to aircraft turbines, from anti-cancer drugs to mobile phones, from catalytic converters for automobiles to ceramic glazes, PGMs play a vital role at the heart of everyday living. We estimate that one in four of the goods manufactured today either contain PGMs or had PGMs play a key role in their manufacture.
PGMs will also be central to our future choices in the fields of power generation, transportation, healthcare and a host of other areas. Found together in nature and similar in their chemical properties, PGMs are located next to each other in the periodic table.
PGMs are uniquely durable and can be used extremely efficiently – meaning that a very little goes a very long way. When recycled, over 96 per cent of PGMs are recovered through highly-efficient recycling techniques. Their recyclability means that they have a uniquely long lifecycle, allowing them to contribute significantly to the protection of the environment by reducing any negative impact which is normally associated with metal waste disposal.
To learn more about the individual metals themselves, visit the dedicated sections on platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium and osmium.