Platinum Group Metals (PGMs): The 6 Metals, Their Properties, Uses and Prices

Each metal below comes with its identity triple, density, reserves, supply, main use and price series; the six quotes sit side by side under live platinum group metal prices.

What Are the Platinum Group Metals?#

The platinum group metals are the six elements in groups 8, 9 and 10 of periods 5 and 6 of the periodic table, which occur together in the same ores and are refined together. Chemists also call them the platinum group elements (PGEs) or the platinum metals. The groups pair the metals vertically: ruthenium above osmium in group 8, rhodium above iridium in group 9 and palladium above platinum in group 10. Gold, element 79 in group 11, sits beside platinum but is not a member.

The Six Platinum Group Metals: Symbols, Atomic Numbers and CAS Numbers#

Each platinum group metal has its own symbol, atomic number and CAS number, from ruthenium (Ru, 44, CAS 7440-18-8) to platinum (Pt, 78, CAS 7440-06-4). The table lists the identity data of all six, with standard atomic weights from the IUPAC Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW).

Atomic weights run from 101.07 for ruthenium to 195.084 for platinum, so a platinum atom carries 1.93 times the mass of a ruthenium atom. The weights are not equally certain. CIAAW gives osmium as 190.23(3), a relative uncertainty about 16 times larger than iridium's 192.217(2), because osmium's isotopic composition varies in nature and its isotope osmium-187 forms from the decay of rhenium-187. CIAAW flags ruthenium, palladium and osmium for this natural variation; rhodium, iridium and platinum carry no flag, and rhodium has a single stable isotope, rhodium-103.

Why the Six Metals Form One Group#

The six metals form one group because they sit next to each other in the periodic table, share a high resistance to corrosion and occur together in the same ore bodies. Geology binds them in practice. Rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium are "generally present in platinum-palladium ores only in very small amounts, rarely exceeding a few per cent of total PGM content", according to the International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) Ruthenium Factsheet of 2026. In the UG2 chromitite of South Africa's Bushveld Complex, the share of ruthenium, iridium and rhodium is much higher and "may exceed 20%".

Official statistics treat the six as one commodity for the same reason. The US Geological Survey (USGS) chapter on the group covers "palladium, platinum, iridium, osmium, rhodium, and ruthenium" together and publishes one reserve figure for all six combined.

Light and Heavy Platinum Group Metals#

The light platinum group metals are ruthenium, rhodium and palladium (period 5, 12.0-12.4 g/cm³); the heavy platinum group metals are osmium, iridium and platinum (period 6, 21.5-22.6 g/cm³). The two triads are listed below with their densities at 20 °C.

• Light PGMs (4d metals): ruthenium 12.364 g/cm³, rhodium 12.423 g/cm³, palladium 12.007 g/cm³
• Heavy PGMs (5d metals): osmium 22.587 g/cm³, iridium 22.562 g/cm³, platinum 21.452 g/cm³

Each heavy metal is 1.79 to 1.83 times as dense as the light metal above it, close to the 1.83 to 1.88 ratio of their atomic weights. The ratios match because the atoms in each pair are almost the same size: empirical atomic radii run from 134 to 139 pm across all six.

Platinum Group Metal Properties Compared#

The platinum group metals range from palladium, 12.007 g/cm³ and 1,554.9 °C, to osmium, 22.587 g/cm³ and 3,033 °C. The table compares density at 20 °C, melting point, common oxidation states and one defining property for each metal, using CRC Handbook values and modern crystallographic densities.

Melting points fall in the order osmium, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium, platinum and palladium, while density sets osmium, iridium and platinum far above the other three. Osmium is 5.3% denser than platinum and 17.1% denser than gold.

Osmium and Iridium: The Two Densest Elements#

Osmium is the densest element at 22.587 g/cm³ (20 °C), ahead of iridium at 22.562 g/cm³, a lead J. W. Arblaster confirmed in Johnson Matthey Technology Review (2014). The gap is 0.025 g/cm³, or 0.11%, settled only by X-ray crystallography in the 1990s. Arblaster's paper, "Is Osmium Always the Densest Metal?", concludes that osmium is the densest metal at ambient pressure at all temperatures; iridium overtakes it only under compression, above 2.98 GPa at room temperature, where both reach 22.750 g/cm³.

Older handbooks printed the opposite order. Legacy Johnson Matthey tables gave iridium 22.65 g/cm³ and osmium 22.61 g/cm³, because bulk measurements under-read osmium, a brittle metal that is hard to consolidate without pores. Osmium density and iridium density each have their own page: osmium density and iridium density.

Arblaster's own figure for osmium, 22.589 g/cm³ (Platinum Metals Review, 2013), widens the gap to 0.027 g/cm³; either value puts osmium first.

The osmium vs iridium contest extends to stiffness, where osmium's Young's modulus of 556 GPa beats iridium's 528 GPa; the full comparison is on osmium vs iridium.

Melting Points, Corrosion Resistance and Oxidation States#

Osmium has the highest melting point of the six at 3,033 °C (3,306 K), and iridium is the most corrosion-resistant metal known, resisting aqua regia. The 3,033 °C figure is the conventional handbook value; Arblaster's 2023 assessment works to a melting point near 3,400 K. Iridium, melting at 2,446 °C, is the only metal that keeps good mechanical properties in air above 1,600 °C. Four oxidation-state facts separate the six metals, listed below.

• Iridium +9: the highest oxidation state known for any element, in the gas-phase cation [IrO4]+
• Osmium and ruthenium +8: the only two PGMs that reach it, in the volatile tetroxides OsO4 and RuO4
• Palladium 0: the state of palladium cross-coupling catalysts, such as Pd(PPh3)4 and palladium on carbon
• Rhodium +3: its single common state

At 1,400 °C in air, osmium loses 1.2 × 10³ mg/cm² per hour as oxide, while rhodium loses 6.8 × 10⁻³ mg/cm² per hour, the slowest of the six. The literature range behind the osmium melting point is set out on osmium melting point.

Where Do Platinum Group Metals Come From?#

Most platinum group metals come from South Africa's Bushveld Complex, which USGS names as the location of the world's largest PGM resources and reserves. USGS estimates world PGM resources at more than 100 million kg (100,000 tonnes) and records further reserves in Russia, Zimbabwe, the United States and Canada.

South Africa's weight shows in platinum mining: Johnson Matthey counts 3,957 koz of the world's 5,557 koz of 2025 primary platinum, or 71.2%, from South Africa. The mines and reefs behind that share are covered under platinum mining in South Africa.

Platinum Group Metal Reserves by Country#

World platinum group metal reserves exceed 76,000 tonnes, of which South Africa holds 63,000 tonnes, according to the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries of February 2026. The table gives the five countries USGS lists, in tonnes, kilograms and troy ounces of contained metal.

All six metals combined, contained metal (USGS MCS 2026).

USGS reports reserves for the group, not for each metal, and prints no reserve figure for other countries. South Africa's 63,000 tonnes equal about 2.03 billion troy ounces, 82.7% of the 76,200 tonnes held by the five listed countries. Those South African reserves lie in the layered reefs of the Bushveld Complex, including the Merensky Reef and the UG2 chromitite.

Platinum Group Metal Supply by Metal and Country, 2025#

Johnson Matthey's PGM Market Report (May 2026) puts 2025 primary supply at 6,589 koz of palladium, 5,557 koz of platinum, 972 koz of ruthenium, 701 koz of rhodium and 229 koz of iridium. The table breaks this newly mined metal down by region in thousand troy ounces (koz), with totals in tonnes.

Russia leads palladium with 2,950 koz, 44.8% of the total, while South Africa supplies 71.2% of platinum and 80.7% of rhodium (shares derived from Johnson Matthey's table). The full ranking by metal is set out under platinum producing countries.

Osmium sits outside every balance: SFA (Oxford) estimates its output at about 500-550 kg a year in 2024 and 2025 for the IPA. USGS, counting contained metal at the mine, puts 2025 output at 170,000 kg of platinum and 190,000 kg of palladium, rounded totals that differ from the sum of its own country lines.

Recycling adds to primary supply for three of the metals: Johnson Matthey counts 1,547 koz of secondary platinum, 3,135 koz of secondary palladium and 312 koz of secondary rhodium in 2025, and publishes no secondary line for ruthenium or iridium. Mine output and recycling for platinum are broken down further under platinum supply.

How the Six Metals Are Recovered and Separated#

The minor platinum group metals are by-products of platinum and palladium mining: they are recovered only when platinum-palladium ore is mined, smelted and refined. No mine opens, expands or closes on a rhodium, iridium, ruthenium or osmium price. The route, as the IPA and SFA (Oxford) PGM Factsheets of 2026 describe it, runs in the five steps listed below.

1. Mine ore carrying 2-6 g of PGMs per tonne in South Africa, so that 10 to 40 tonnes of ore yield one troy ounce (31.10 g) of platinum.
2. Concentrate the ore and smelt the PGM concentrate at 1,350 °C or more.
3. Convert the matte that the smelter produces.
4. Apply magnetic separation and multi-stage leaching to the converted matte.
5. Separate the six metals from each other by selective precipitation, solvent extraction, distillation and ion exchange.

Refining sets the pace: Johnson Matthey notes that Platreef's first concentrate, sold in Q4 2025, adds to supply only from 2026 "given typical refining timescales". The chemistry of each stage is covered under how PGMs are refined.

What Are Platinum Group Metals Used For?#

Platinum group metals are used mainly in vehicle catalysts, chemical catalysts, electronics, electrochemistry, glass making, jewelry and investment. Johnson Matthey's May 2026 report counts 20,723 koz of 2025 demand for the five metals it tracks (derived sum of the five totals). Ruthenium and iridium have no automotive demand line at all.

The applications run from exhaust catalysts and hydrogen electrolyzers to fiberglass bushings and chip resistors, and each has its own page among the uses of platinum group metals.

Main Use of Each Platinum Group Metal#

Automotive catalysts took 84.6% of rhodium demand, 81.1% of palladium demand and 41.5% of platinum demand in 2025 on Johnson Matthey's May 2026 figures. The table gives each metal's 2025 demand and largest use, all on the Johnson Matthey basis.

Platinum has the widest spread of uses: after automotive demand come jewelry at 1,507 koz, chemical 614 koz, investment 556 koz and glass 428 koz. Palladium carries the largest single application in the group, 8,227 koz in vehicle catalysts, more than all platinum demand combined. Rhodium's 84.6% sits just below the 85-95% band Johnson Matthey quotes for its autocatalyst share.

Autocatalysts, Hydrogen, Chemical Catalysts and Electronics#

Beyond autocatalysts, platinum group metals serve chemical catalysts, electronics and electrochemical equipment, such as PEM electrolyzers and chlor-alkali anodes. The four application groups are listed below with their 2025 demand on Johnson Matthey's figures.

• Autocatalysts: 12,455 koz of platinum, palladium and rhodium in gasoline and diesel exhaust catalysts
• Electrochemistry and hydrogen: 235 koz of iridium and ruthenium for chlor-alkali anode coatings, copper-foil electrodes and the anodes described in iridium and platinum in PEM electrolyzers
• Chemical catalysts: 1,825 koz across the five metals, such as ruthenium for caprolactam and adipic acid, iridium for acetic acid and platinum and palladium for hydrogenation, described in PGM catalysts in chemistry
• Electronics: 1,251 koz across the five metals, such as ruthenium oxide in chip resistors and palladium in electrical parts

Hydrogen is the fastest-moving use for iridium. A PEM electrolyzer anode needs about 400 kg of iridium per gigawatt today (Johnson Matthey, 2022; repeated by WPIC in 2023), and Johnson Matthey's report of 14 May 2026 expects "the first commercial-scale use of iridium in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis for green hydrogen" in 2026.

Autocatalysts remain the largest block, and the work each metal does in exhaust systems is covered under PGMs in autocatalysts.

Chemical catalysis set a record in 2025: Chinese chemical-sector PGM purchasing reached "an all-time high of nearly 1 million oz", led by ruthenium for the nylon precursors caprolactam and adipic acid (Johnson Matthey).

Homogeneous catalysts are defined compounds, such as Wilkinson's catalyst (RhCl(PPh3)3, CAS 14694-95-2), listed under platinum group metal compounds.

How Are Platinum Group Metals Priced?#

Platinum group metals are priced on four kinds of series: benchmark auctions, futures, producer base prices and dealer quotes, and not every metal has all four. Benchmark auctions and futures exist only for platinum and palladium. Producer base prices from refiners such as Johnson Matthey cover five metals, and a single vendor network publishes the only regular osmium price. Each price on DailyPlatinum therefore names its series.

Price Series for Each Platinum Group Metal#

Only platinum and palladium have an LBMA benchmark and NYMEX futures; rhodium, iridium and ruthenium trade on producer base prices such as Johnson Matthey's, and osmium is sold per gram by specialist dealers. The table lists the series for each metal and links its live price page.

The LBMA Platinum Price and LBMA Palladium Price are set twice each business day, AM and PM, in an electronic auction run by ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) since 1 July 2026; the London Metal Exchange administered it from December 2014 to 30 June 2026. The auction rules are explained under LBMA platinum and palladium prices.

Johnson Matthey sets its sponge base prices four times each weekday (08:30 and 14:30 Hong Kong, 09:00 London, 09:30 New York) as a dealer's quote to wholesale customers, not an auction result. Osmium has no refiner quote at all: its only regular price is the Osmium-Institut network's vendor price for crystalline osmium, which on 24 September 2026 was about 42 times the same vendor's Fine-Osmium price per gram (osmium-preis.com).

The refiner quotes are compared under how minor PGM prices are quoted.

Platinum Group Metal Price Records#

Platinum's record is $2,923 per troy ounce on 26 January 2026 (WPIC), and each other metal's record sits on a different price series. The table names the series behind each record, because a record on one series is not a record on another.

Palladium's March 2022 record came as sanctions fears over Russian supply peaked. Ruthenium set two records within three months on the Johnson Matthey base price, $1,275 per troy ounce at the end of December 2025 and $1,750 on 13 March 2026. Highs and lows for every series are listed under PGM price records.

Platinum Group Metal Market Balances 2025 and 2026#

Johnson Matthey's May 2026 report shows deficits in 2025 for platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium, the largest relative gap in ruthenium at 293 koz, almost a quarter of annual consumption. The table gives Johnson Matthey's "movement in stocks" for each metal, the balance of supply and demand in koz.

Johnson Matthey basis only (PGM Market Report, May 2026). Osmium has no published balance.

For 2026, Johnson Matthey expects palladium and rhodium to move into small surpluses of 214 koz and 15 koz, while platinum records a fourth consecutive deficit and ruthenium stays in "deep structural deficit". Supply, demand and outlook for each metal are tracked under platinum group metals market.

Balances from different houses are not interchangeable: the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) and Metals Focus define supply and demand differently, so this page never combines their platinum balance with Johnson Matthey's.

Platinum's 2025 shortfall of 915 koz came out of above-ground stocks; its causes are covered under platinum market deficit.

Platinum Group Metals as Critical Raw Materials#

Platinum group metals are strategic and critical raw materials under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1252), and five of them are on the US 2025 List of Critical Minerals. The two regimes treat the group differently, as listed below.

• European Union: Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, in force since 23 May 2024, lists "platinum group metals" as one entry without a grade qualifier on the 17-item strategic list (Annex I, point (m)) and the 34-item critical list (Annex II, point (aa)). Article 3(1) covers them "when occurring as a by-product". The Commission reviews both lists by 24 May 2027.
• United States: the Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals (USGS, Federal Register of 7 November 2025, document 2025-19813) names platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium individually among 60 commodities. Osmium is absent. Section 7002 of the Energy Act of 2020 requires a review at least every 3 years.

The difference matters for osmium, which EU measures reach through the group entry and no US program covers. Both lists rest on concentrated supply: South Africa holds 82.7% of the reserves USGS lists by country.

Discovery of the Platinum Group Metals, 1748 to 1844#

The platinum group metals were identified in three bursts: platinum from 1748, four metals between 1802 and 1804, and ruthenium in 1844. Antonio de Ulloa published the first detailed description of platinum in Madrid in 1748. William Hyde Wollaston and Smithson Tennant then split the same South American crude platinum in London: Wollaston took the soluble fraction and found palladium and rhodium, and Tennant took the insoluble black residue and found osmium and iridium, four elements in 26 months. Karl Ernst Claus at Kazan University found the last one in Ural ore residues in 1844 and isolated 6 grams. The table lists the discoverer, year and name origin of each metal.

Palladium is named for an asteroid, not directly for the goddess: Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers found 2 Pallas on 28 March 1802, four to five months before Wollaston named the element in August 1802. Ruthenium's name came first from Gottfried Osann, who proposed it in 1828 for a claimed metal he later withdrew; Claus reused it "in honour of my Motherland". The full stories are on platinum discovery and ruthenium discovery.

Explore the Platinum Group Metals#

Each platinum group metal has its own reference page, price page and attribute pages. The sections below map the six metal hubs, the price, market, scrap and product sections, and the mining company that shares the group's name.

The Six Metal Pages#

The six metal pages cover identity, properties, uses and compounds of each platinum group metal. Each hub opens with the element's identity triple and links to three attribute pages, listed in the table in order of atomic number.

The first three hubs cover the light triad (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium) and the last three the heavy triad (osmium, iridium, platinum), matching the 12.0-12.4 g/cm³ and 21.5-22.6 g/cm³ density bands.

PGM Prices, Market, Scrap and Products#

Platinum group metal prices, market data, scrap values and industrial products have their own sections. The four sections are listed below with their entry points.

• Comparisons: platinum group metals compared, with gold and silver as references, and platinum vs palladium
• Market: supply, demand and balances, Johnson Matthey and WPIC data kept apart
• Scrap: catalytic converters and industrial scrap
• Products: wire, powder, foil, crucibles and catalysts

Platinum Group Metals Ltd (PLG): The Company, Not the Metals#

Platinum Group Metals Ltd is a mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American under the ticker PLG, not the group of six metals. The company develops the Waterberg project on the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex, a palladium-dominant, bulk-mineable deposit. Its projects and filings are covered on Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

Ownership of Waterberg is shared. According to the company's SEC Form 6-K of 28 February 2026, Waterberg JV Resources is owned 37.425% by Platinum Group Metals Ltd, 26.0% by Mnombo Wethu Consultants, 21.95% by HJ Platinum Metals Company and 14.625% by Impala Platinum Holdings.

DailyPlatinum gives no view on PLG shares; producing companies are ranked by output under largest platinum producers.

Platinum Group Metals FAQ#

What are the six platinum group metals?#

The six platinum group metals are platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium. They are listed below with symbol and atomic number.

• Platinum (Pt), 78
• Palladium (Pd), 46
• Rhodium (Rh), 45
• Iridium (Ir), 77
• Ruthenium (Ru), 44
• Osmium (Os), 76

Platinum and palladium made up 86.5% of the 14,048 koz of 2025 primary supply that Johnson Matthey reports for five of the six.

What are the current prices of platinum group metals?#

Platinum trades at $1,711.00 and palladium at $1,165.00 per troy ounce as of 5 Oct 2026, 15:35 UTC; rhodium, iridium and ruthenium are quoted on producer base prices and osmium per gram. The current quotes are $9,000.00 for rhodium, $8,150.00 for iridium and $1,750.00 for ruthenium per troy ounce. To hear when a metal crosses a chosen level, set up platinum price alerts.

What is the future of platinum group metal use?#

Platinum group metal use depends on vehicle catalysts first and on hydrogen, chemical and electronics demand next; WPIC forecasts industrial platinum demand up 5% in 2026 (Platinum Quarterly, 9 September 2026). The same report forecasts automotive platinum demand down 4%. Johnson Matthey expects 2026 to bring the first commercial-scale use of iridium in PEM electrolysis. The electrolyzer and fuel-cell case is covered under platinum and the hydrogen economy.

Is platinum going to drop in price?#

No price direction is certain; WPIC forecasts a 265,000-ounce platinum surplus for 2026 in its Platinum Quarterly of 9 September 2026, after a 2025 deficit of over 1.4 million ounces. WPIC attributes the swing mainly to investment outflows, with 83 koz of net disinvestment forecast for 2026, and expects above-ground stocks of 3.4 months of demand at the end of 2026. Named outlooks sit under platinum price forecast.

Which platinum group metal is the rarest?#

Osmium is the rarest platinum group metal by output, at about 500-550 kg a year in 2024 and 2025 according to SFA (Oxford) for the International Platinum Group Metals Association. Iridium follows with 7.1 tonnes (229 koz) of primary supply in 2025 on Johnson Matthey's figures. Osmium also lacks a published balance and a refiner price, and its scarcity is examined in how rare osmium is.

Is gold a platinum group metal?#

Gold is not a platinum group metal: it is element 79 in group 11, although producers add gold to platinum group metals in their 4E and 6E basket figures. A 4E ounce counts platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold; a 6E ounce adds ruthenium and iridium, and osmium appears in no producer basket. How these mixed ounces are valued is explained under PGM basket price.