Rhodium, the World’s most Expensive Metal, Found in Colombia

Rhodium, the most expensive metal in the world, is found, albeit in small quantities, in Colombia. The price of this mineral on the international market at the end of 2023 reached US$28,775 per ounce (just over 30 grams), breaking records and reaching fourteen times the price of gold. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, it reached 11,500 dollars per ounce, becoming a safe haven in times of crisis, despite its scarcity.

In Colombia, although there are no rhodium mines per se, it is extracted where there are silver and platinum mines; the department of Choco concentrates the largest amount of these extractions of the precious metal.

The increase in demand for rhodium, and therefore in its price, is closely related to the search for efficient and non-polluting technologies. Not surprisingly, this mineral is capable of so-called “artificial photosynthesis”, i.e. a chemical process that mimics the natural process of photosynthesis. The term “artificial photosynthesis” refers to any scheme to capture and store energy from sunlight by producing a fuel, known as a solar fuel.

Key to the low-emission car

This important role in the field of renewable energies has boosted its demand and price in recent years. Today, the main market for rhodium is the automotive sector. Eighty percent of this mineral is used in the manufacture of catalytic converters, as it limits the emission of polluting gases, but it is also used in the chemical industry and in the manufacture of jewelry, such as some necklaces and bracelets made by the jeweler Swarovski.

However, this metal only exists in very few places on the planet, geologically unique regions, where billions of years before humans traveled in polluting vehicles, the great continental masses cracked.

Over the past five years, the value of rhodium has experienced an increase of more than 3,000%. At the beginning of 2017, the price per kilogram of rhodium stood at $23,300, while gold exceeded that figure with €36,000. However, in April 2021, an all-time high of $892,000 per kilogram of rhodium was reached. The most recent analyses indicate that this upward trend in prices will continue in the near future, mainly due to the increase in demand for this metal for new technological applications, especially in areas related to the search for sustainable solutions.

In low-emission vehicles, rhodium reacts with polluting gases to generate less harmful noble or inert gases. For example, nitrogen oxides are transformed into molecular nitrogen and oxygen; these are harmless gases found naturally in the air we breathe. Hence their importance in this type of automobile.

25 years of growth

Although the global commitment to electric vehicles is evident, it has not been established that this type of automobile will become massively widespread until after the year 2050. Until then, the option of using less polluting vehicles, which rely on the use of rhodium, is an increasingly popular choice.

The ability of this mineral to transform into non-polluting particles the dirty gases expelled by vehicles through the exhaust pipe makes it essential, so the price is not expected to fall. Today, 90% of rhodium is mined in South Africa. Other countries also involved in the rhodium trade are Zimbabwe and the United States, albeit mining much smaller quantities.

The automotive market can continue to implement the use of rhodium to achieve emission reductions for at least another 25 years. The search for new deposits on a global scale is a fact, because as long as demand remains high, the scarcity of this extraordinary metal ensures lucrative profits for whoever manages to obtain it.