Ever wonder where your scrap metal goes after you send it in for refining and recycling? As refiners of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum and palladium, we thought you might like to know that your metals are living a productive second life in a wide variety of industries around the world! Here’s a look at the industrial use of metals we commonly refine and recycle at Noble Metal Refining, and what makes them so precious beyond their inherent monetary value.

GOLD

Gold has been used for centuries in coins and in the making of jewelry thanks not only to its scarcity, but also because of its beautiful luster, color, malleability and resistance to tarnishing. But there’s more to gold than meets the eye! Here are some additional uses of gold you may be less familiar with:

Electronics – Gold’s ability to conduct electricity as well as its corrosion resistance make it an ideal material for use in electronics such as TVs, cell phones, computers, and other devices.

Healthcare — Gold plays a vital role in medicine (and has for centuries). Today, it is most recognized as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. It is also commonly used in stents, precision implants, wires for pacemakers, diagnostic testing kits, and most recently, in new nanotechnologies to fight cancer.

Dentistry – Gold has long been used for crowns and other dental fixtures thanks to its strength, malleability and durability.

Aerospace – Because it is able to withstand extreme temperatures and pressure, gold is widely used as a protective surface on the interior of space vehicles.

Home Décor – Gold is famously easy to work with, enabling it to be made into thin sheets (gold leaf) that can be applied to many types of surfaces from buildings to furniture to artwork.

SILVER

Silver too, is a staple of the jewelry industry, valued for its timeless beauty and versatility. Silver’s use in jewelry and coins dates back to ancient times, and it is also widely used in the production of high-quality silverware and cutlery. But silver has many other traits that make it one of the most versatile elements around:

Electronics – Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and is also a natural thermal conductor. This makes it an essential component in electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, and televisions.

Healthcare – Silver is well known in the medical field for its antibacterial properties, which makes it a key ingredient in ointments, wound dressings, pharmaceuticals, water purification systems and thousands of medical devices.

Reflective Surfaces – Silver’s reflective properties make it an ideal material for mirrors, solar panels, and other reflective surfaces.

Textiles – Because silver can be woven into or bonded with fabric, clothing retailers like Lululemon and Patagonia are beginning to incorporate silver into their products to transfer the metal’s antimicrobial health benefits to wearers.

PLATINUM

Platinum is utilized across a wide range of industries for its unique combination of properties. This precious metal is best known for its resistance to corrosion, but it has many other advantages as well. Here are some of the most common applications of platinum in industry and manufacturing today:

Automotive — One of the most prominent uses of platinum is in the automotive industry, where it is a key component in catalytic converters, helping to oxidize carbon monoxide to reduce emissions from vehicles.

Jewelry – Although it’s history in the jewelry industry may not be as long as that of gold and silver, platinum has come on strong in modern times, and is highly valued for its luster, durability, and bright, white color.

Electronics – Because platinum is an excellent conductor of electricity and is highly malleable, it is widely used in the electronics industry for components such as electrodes, electrical contacts for computer hard disks, and thermocouples.

Healthcare – Platinum’s hypo-allergenic properties make it a valuable material for a wide range of medical applications, most notably pacemakers. Compounds containing platinum are even used as chemotherapy drugs to treat various types of cancers.

Defense and Aerospace – Platinum has an exceptionally high melting point, stable electrical properties, high corrosion resistance and superior strength. These traits make it invaluable in the production of components and parts for aerospace vehicles and military aircraft and armaments.

PALLADIUM

Palladium, 30 times rarer than gold, is a lustrous silvery-white metal that has become increasingly important in industry due to advantages like its extremely high melting point. Here are just a few of the many uses of palladium in various industries today:

Automotive — One of the most significant uses of palladium is in the automotive industry. It is used as a catalyst to speed up chemical reactions in catalytic converters to reduce harmful vehicle emissions.

Electronics – Palladium is an important component in electronics due to its electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion. It is widely used for components such as printed circuit boards (PCB’s), semiconductors, and connectors.

Healthcare –In the healthcare field, palladium has traditionally been used as a component of alloys for dental fillings and crowns. This versatile metal is proving to be ideally suited to medical treatments and devices as well thanks to its hypoallergenic properties, durability and more.

Defense and Aerospace – Because of its high melting point, palladium plating is used as a protective layer for many types of defense and aerospace applications including in aircraft spark plugs and fuel cells.

Jewelry – Palladium first started being used in jewelry in the 1940’s, and is often mixed with yellow gold to form an alloy even stronger than white gold. This, along with its natural beauty, has made it a popular choice for wedding and engagement rings.

As you can see, recycled precious metals are indispensable for a wide range of industries, including the fields of healthcare, technology, and manufacturing. So next time you send your scrap metal to Noble Metal Refining for refining and recycling, you’ll know you’re not only contributing to your own business’s bottom line, but also to the production of essential products and innovations worldwide!