Rhodium Soars 15% in 2025 and Is Worth 80% More Than Gold: Understand Why the Rare Metal Is Crucial for Green Technologies

Written by Bruno Teles

Published on 10/04/2025 at 15:35

Ródio vale US$ 5.400 a onça em 2025, 80% mais que o ouro. Metal raro (0,000037 partes por milhão) é crucial para catalisadores automotivos e redução de CO2. Entenda alta de 15% e domínio da África do Sul.

Seja o primeiro a reagir!

Priced at US$ 5,400 an Ounce, Metal Used in Automotive Catalysts Is 1,000 Times Rarer Than Gold. South Africa and Russia Dominate 90% of Global Production.

The rhodium, the most expensive metal in the world, has seen a rise of 15% in 2025 and is now worth US$ 5,400 an ounce — 80% more than gold. Essential for reducing pollutant gas emissions, it is a key component in the race for sustainable technologies. With reserves concentrated in South Africa and Siberia, its scarcity (0.000037 parts per million in the Earth) explains the record appreciation.

Why Is Rhodium 1,000 Times Rarer Than Gold?

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, rhodium exists in 0.000037 parts per million in the Earth’s crust, compared to 0.0013 for gold. Extracted as a byproduct of nickel and copper refining, only 405 tons are exported annually by South Africa, the largest global producer.

Rhodium Price vs. Gold: Quotation Hits US$ 6,000 and Attracts Investors

With only 0,000037 parts per million in the Earth's crust (1,000 times rarer than gold), it is found almost exclusively as a byproduct of nickel and copper refining, limiting its extraction to a few countries, such as South Africa and Russia. — With only **0.000037 parts per million** in the Earth’s crust (1,000 times rarer than gold), it is found almost exclusively as a byproduct of nickel and copper refining, limiting its extraction to a few countries, such as South Africa and Russia.

In March 2025, the metal reached US$ 6,000 an ounce (Trading Economics), driven by demand for automotive catalysts. Compared to gold (average of US$ 3,000), rhodium’s appreciation is propelled by:

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Atomic Number 45 and Resistance That Defies Corrosion

Discovered in 1803 by William Wollaston, rhodium (symbol Rh) has:

Atomic Number 45 (45 protons/electrons);
Atomic mass of 102.9 u;
Corrosion resistance even at 600°C;
Hardness superior to platinum, used in metal alloys.

Russia and South Africa: The Giants Behind 90% of Global Rhodium

Russia extracts the metal from a single deposit in Siberia, while South Africa accounts for 75% of global production. Geopolitics directly affects the market: sanctions on Russia in 2023 explained part of the 30% increase during that period.

With the green transition, rhodium is expected to maintain its status as the most valuable metal on the planet. Its application in low-carbon technologies and geological scarcity suggest new highs — and a challenge: how to ensure supplies without predatory mining.

0 Comentários

Mais recente

Mais antigos Mais votado

Feedbacks

Visualizar todos comentários

Rhodium Soars 15% in 2025 and Is Worth 80% More Than Gold: Understand Why the Rare Metal Is Crucial for Green Technologies

Priced at US$ 5,400 an Ounce, Metal Used in Automotive Catalysts Is 1,000 Times Rarer Than Gold. South Africa and Russia Dominate 90% of Global Production.

Why Is Rhodium 1,000 Times Rarer Than Gold?

Rhodium Price vs. Gold: Quotation Hits US$ 6,000 and Attracts Investors

Atomic Number 45 and Resistance That Defies Corrosion

Russia and South Africa: The Giants Behind 90% of Global Rhodium

While in Brazil a 10-story building takes 2 years to complete, in China a company stacks pre-fabricated modules and raises the entire building in just 28 hours and 45 minutes.

The oldest tree in the world, alive since before the birth of Jesus Christ, is cut down in a scientific study and the case changes environmental preservation rules.

An entire island in the Pacific wants to surround itself with a colossal barrier against the ocean to try to escape increasingly violent waves and not be swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

After decades of selling cushioning and extreme protection, the new craze in trails and hiking shoes is precisely taking off your shoes.

A producer from Santa Catarina started with a poultry farm of just 7,500 birds in 1994 and three decades later manages 21 farms thanks to a simple strategy he learned early on.

A Catarinense repaired a Tesla battery that no one in Brazil knew how to fix, avoiding a loss of 150 thousand reais for the owner, and before that, had already built an electric car with notebook batteries controlled by a video game controller.

Google Maps abandons the flat map and gains 3D navigation with transparent buildings, visible traffic lights, and a chat assistant with artificial intelligence that understands questions as if it were a normal conversation.

Aerospace engineers reveal how the FAB’s hypersonic rocket 14-X can reach an impressive 12,000 km/h, break technological barriers, and place Brazil among the global powers of aerospace and military innovation.

Rainfall of up to 100 mm is advancing over Brazil this weekend, driven by an extratropical cyclone that is simultaneously bringing freezing air to the South, with a real risk of frost.

On the edge of the Sahara, residents of Chad are erecting straw walls in the desert to try to contain moving dunes that are already encroaching on the last oases, reducing fertile areas and pushing hundreds of families away from the land where they have always lived.

Rhodium Soars 15% in 2025 and Is Worth 80% More Than Gold: Understand Why the Rare Metal Is Crucial for Green Technologies

Priced at US$ 5,400 an Ounce, Metal Used in Automotive Catalysts Is 1,000 Times Rarer Than Gold. South Africa and Russia Dominate 90% of Global Production.

Why Is Rhodium 1,000 Times Rarer Than Gold?

Rhodium Price vs. Gold: Quotation Hits US$ 6,000 and Attracts Investors

Atomic Number 45 and Resistance That Defies Corrosion

Russia and South Africa: The Giants Behind 90% of Global Rhodium

While in Brazil a 10-story building takes 2 years to complete, in China a company stacks pre-fabricated modules and raises the entire building in just 28 hours and 45 minutes.

The oldest tree in the world, alive since before the birth of Jesus Christ, is cut down in a scientific study and the case changes environmental preservation rules.

An entire island in the Pacific wants to surround itself with a colossal barrier against the ocean to try to escape increasingly violent waves and not be swallowed by the sea in the coming decades.

After ten days orbiting the Moon, science confirms that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return with altered bodies.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

After decades of selling cushioning and extreme protection, the new craze in trails and hiking shoes is precisely taking off your shoes.

A producer from Santa Catarina started with a poultry farm of just 7,500 birds in 1994 and three decades later manages 21 farms thanks to a simple strategy he learned early on.

The report shows that the center of the global economy is shifting to the South, with BRICS and emerging markets growing above the global average while Europe barely reaches 1% and the United States spends trillions on wars.

BRICS countries lead the world ranking in hours worked, with India, China, Russia, and Brazil at the top of the list, while Germans work nearly a thousand hours less per year and earn much more.

Lufthansa shuts down subsidiary CityLine immediately, cuts 2,200 jobs overnight, and leaves 27 jets grounded amid strikes and rising jet fuel prices.

The government will pay R$ 1.20 for each liter of diesel that Brazil imports and for the first time in history requires distributors to reveal how much they profit — those who hide their margins will face fines of up to R$ 500 million…

The government accelerates the project to eliminate the 6×1 shift and reduce the workweek from 44 to 40 hours without cutting salaries, but the risk of inflation and informality is taken into account.

A Catarinense repaired a Tesla battery that no one in Brazil knew how to fix, avoiding a loss of 150 thousand reais for the owner, and before that, had already built an electric car with notebook batteries controlled by a video game controller.

Google Maps abandons the flat map and gains 3D navigation with transparent buildings, visible traffic lights, and a chat assistant with artificial intelligence that understands questions as if it were a normal conversation.

Aerospace engineers reveal how the FAB’s hypersonic rocket 14-X can reach an impressive 12,000 km/h, break technological barriers, and place Brazil among the global powers of aerospace and military innovation.

Rainfall of up to 100 mm is advancing over Brazil this weekend, driven by an extratropical cyclone that is simultaneously bringing freezing air to the South, with a real risk of frost.

On the edge of the Sahara, residents of Chad are erecting straw walls in the desert to try to contain moving dunes that are already encroaching on the last oases, reducing fertile areas and pushing hundreds of families away from the land where they have always lived.