Neither the U.S. nor Russia: this is the country boasting the largest deposit of a metal worth more than gold

When we talk about the most valuable metals, gold probably comes to If we’re talking about the most valuable metals, most people would probably think of gold. Its rarity and limited supply are what make it so valuable. But gold isn’t the highest-valued metal out there.

That title belongs to rhodium, which surpasses gold not only in scarcity but also thanks to its unique characteristics and properties – two factors that push its price per ounce into the thousands of dollars. Its largest deposit isn’t in the United States, nor in Russia.

South Africa is home to the world’s primary deposit of this platinum group metal, in the Bushveld Igneous Complex. The region also contains other metals such as palladium. Rhodium concentrations range between 0.5 and 10 grams per ton of rock.

South Africa, the world’s top rhodium exporter

By the end of 2024, the price of rhodium had surged past $4,000 per ounce. Notably, South Africa is also the top global exporter of the metal. According to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2023 the country led exports of rhodium – both in its natural form and as powder – ahead of Germany and Belgium.

Two years earlier, the global trade value of rhodium (natural and powdered forms) hit $10.2 billion, though that represented a 53.7% drop compared with 2022 figures, during the covid pandemic.

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