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.

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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.

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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

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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

Engineers want to carve through Africa with a giant canal to bring water from the world’s second-largest river to a dying lake on the edge of the Sahara Desert that has already lost 90% of its water.

A giant brown band visible from space, approximately 8,850 kilometers long, connected Africa to America in the Atlantic Ocean, and satellites revealed that it is neither land nor pollution, but the largest accumulation of seaweed in the world, which broke records in 2025.

Workers were opening a modern road in Dover when they found, 6 meters below the asphalt, a 3,500-year-old boat made of stitched oak and plant fibers.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

In just one cast, fishermen are surprised to capture 14,096 mullets in Bombinhas and close a historic season with 58,000 fish; scene recorded in the Santa Catarina paradise marks the last day of the 2026 season.

Consumers eat six times more chicken than in the 1960s, global meat supply quadruples in 60 years, and FAO report reveals the invisible cost on the plate: livestock could drive 80% of the increase in agricultural emissions over the next decade.

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