One of the rarest metals, iridium, has risen 131% since the start of the year, outpacing Bitcoin, which has gained 85%. Bloomberg reports these figures.
The metal, which occurs as a by-product of platinum and palladium mining, trades at about $6,000 per ounce. At the start of the year, quotes were just below $2,600.
The rally was spurred by supply disruptions last year and rising demand from display manufacturers and spark-plug makers.
The task of acquiring iridium is not straightforward. It is not listed on an exchange; buyers can only obtain limited offerings from a number of dealers or contact the producers of this rare metal directly.
The publication attributes the sharp rise in iridium prices to underinvestment in platinum development. The brisk expansion of the electric-vehicle market has eroded prospects for producing catalysts for internal-combustion-engine vehicles that use this precious metal.
A tightening of platinum supplies has driven prices to record highs for other platinum-group metals—ruthenium, rhodium, and palladium.
Earlier, the palladium fund Global Palladium Fund, established by Nornickel, released the first tokens for digitising part of the mining-and-metallurgical company’s contracts .
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