Rhodium dominates the ceiling for precious scrap metal prices, with a base quote of $130 per gram in April 2025. High-purity rhodium powder (99.9%) maintains a stable international recycling price range of $38–59 per gram. Precious metal catalyst scrap, due to its low rhodium content (0.5–1.5 grams per unit), has a recycling price per gram anchored at $22–35. For platinum scrap, using 95% purity products as an example, the recycling price is $35 per gram, reaching $35,000 per kilogram; palladium scrap is significantly affected by market fluctuations, with catalyst scrap containing 10% palladium reaching over $2.2 per gram. For gold scrap, the recycling price for 24K gold is close to the gold price benchmark of 42–56 USD per gram, while gold-plated scrap, due to its sparse metal distribution, has a significant price disparity per kilogram. Silver scrap, such as 925 silver, is stable at 0.4 USD per gram, highlighting the inherent differentiation in precious scrap metal price tiers.
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Pricing assessments for precious scrap metal rely on three practical dimensions: Metal form determines processing costs. The platinum-rhodium alloy coating in automotive three-way catalytic converters requires high-temperature melting, while cyanide-containing waste liquid from electroplating plants can be directly electrolytically purified—the latter has lower processing costs and greater pricing flexibility. Purity is the core parameter in the price calculation formula. Taking platinum-rhodium thermocouple scrap as an example, 95% platinum scrap is priced based on the daily market rate minus a 5% melting loss; electronic scrap containing 10 ppm rhodium requires conversion of enrichment costs, reducing the recovery price to USD 19–26 per gram. Market liquidity adjusts premiums in real time. The annual price fluctuation range for palladium (12.5–36 USD/g) forces recyclers to adopt a floating quotation model, with same-day cash settlement required to lock in price differential profits. Experience shows that catalyst ash with third-party testing reports commands a 12% higher transaction price than similar scrap without documentation.
Industrial precious scrap metal is divided into seven practical categories based on physical form. Waste liquid categories include high-risk raw materials such as cyanide gold plating solutions and aqua regia corrosion solutions, which require specialized corrosion-resistant tank trucks for transportation. Alloy categories require identification of component markings: gold-boron-platinum alloy parts are dissolved using aqua regia, while gold-molybdenum-silicon waste parts must first be alkaline-melted and crushed. Dust-type materials, such as polishing dust from jewelry factories, have gold content exceeding 2,000 ppm, but mixing with grinding wheel debris dilutes the metal concentration. Precious scrap metal from the consumer end is more difficult to detect. Gold-plated contacts on mobile phone motherboards contain 350 grams of gold per ton, while X-ray film emulsion layers contain silver bromide—such dispersed waste materials require large-scale collection to be economically viable. Scrap car catalytic converters are “high-grade” waste materials, with each unit yielding 3–7 grams of platinum group metals.
Pyrometallurgical processing leads in efficiency for solid precious scrap metal. Gold-plated parts and lead are melted at a 3:1 ratio, forming a precious lead alloy. After blowing off the dross, gold ingots with 92% purity are produced—this method can process up to 2 tons per day, suitable for jewelry factories' bulk waste. Hydrometallurgy precisely adapts to liquid precious scrap metal. Gold-plated wastewater is treated in a direct current electrolysis cell using stainless steel cathodes to precipitate gold sludge, which is then purified with hydrochloric acid and cast into ingots; the zinc powder replacement method increases the recovery rate of gold-containing waste liquid to 99%, but generates cyanide-containing hazardous waste. Bioleaching technology is revolutionizing the logic of low-grade precious scrap metal recovery. Sulfur-oxidizing bacterial communities can dissolve gold particles in circuit boards, currently achieving a recovery rate of 65% while eliminating strong acid pollution. Practical case studies demonstrate: recovering 1 ton of indium precious scrap metal is equivalent to reducing 50 tons of raw ore mining, with cost savings exceeding 30%.
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