Khaberni - The expert at the "National Technological Initiative Platform" in Russia, Evgeny Vishnevsky, reveals the most expensive and rarest metals in the world, explaining the difference between synthetic and natural metals in terms of rarity and cost.
Vishnevsky told "RIA Novosti": "If we look at all metals in general, including those that are man-made, the absolute record in terms of rarity is californium."
The expert explained that californium does not exist in nature at all, as it is artificially manufactured in nuclear reactors in only two countries in the world, Russia and the United States. The annual production volume of this metal is very small to the extent that it is not measured in tons or kilograms, but in grains, due to the extremely complex and high-tech process required to obtain it.
Vishnevsky noted that the rarity of californium directly affects its value, as the price of this metal can reach tens of millions of dollars per gram.
Californium is used in sensitive areas such as nuclear medicine (radiation therapy) and in advanced materials research.
As for natural metals, Vishnevsky said: "If we talk about stable natural metals that can be extracted from the earth's crust, osmium holds the lead."
Osmium is extracted from deposits in South Africa, Russia, the United States, Canada, and Kazakhstan, as impurities in platinum, nickel, and copper ores. It is extracted in very small quantities, as its content in the earth's surface is only 0.001 part per million of the earth's crust. If we take a ton of rocks, there would be a microscopic amount of the mineral - less than the weight of a sand grain.
The price of osmium can range from $1,500 to $10,000 per gram, depending on the purity of the metal and its isotopes.
This rare metal and its alloys are used in vital and precise industries, including: "components of jet engines and spacecraft, production of pen nibs (jet pens), stylus needles for turntables (old records and analog recordings), and precise surgical tools."
Californium represents the pinnacle of rarity in the world of manufactured metals, where its quantities are measured in grains and its price in tens of millions, while osmium tops the list of the rarest natural metals due to the difficulty of its extraction and its extreme rarity in the earth's crust.
