What Precious Metals Are Found in Meteorites?
We recently visited the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. What a display!
More than 130 meteorites are displayed there, including the huge 34-ton Cape York Meteorite, also known as Ahnighito. That monstrous meteorite contains mostly iron.
That display got us wondering about the metallic content of all those meteorites, all of which had literally fallen from the sky. Did they contain gold or other precious metals?
Yes, they did. But because those space rocks came from different places, they do not all contain exactly the same elements.
What do they probably contain? Let’s take a closer look.
What Precious Metals Do Meteorites Contain?
They can contain a wide range of elements, including some precious metals. The most common precious metals found in meteorites are:
Gold (Au) - Gold is a valuable and highly sought-after precious metal that is found in some meteorites. Gold has been used for centuries in jewelry and currency, as well as in a variety of industrial applications.
Iridium (Ir) – Iridium, a member of the platinum family of metals (PGMs) is a rare and valuable metal that is often found in meteorites. Iridium has a variety of industrial uses, including in the production of hard alloys and as a catalyst in chemical reactions.
Palladium (Pd) - Palladium is another member of the PGMs that is commonly found in meteorites. Like platinum, palladium is used in a variety of industrial applications, including catalytic converters and electronics.
Platinum (Pt) - Platinum is a rare and valuable metal that is often found in meteorites, along with other members of the Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). Platinum is used in a variety of industrial applications, including catalytic converters and electronic components.
Silver (Ag) - Silver is another precious metal that is occasionally found in meteorites. Like gold, silver has been used for centuries in jewelry and currency, as well as in a variety of industrial applications.
Other precious metals that have been found in meteorites include rhodium (Rh), ruthenium (Ru), and osmium (Os), which are all members of the PGMs. These metals are relatively rare and have a variety of specialized industrial applications.
As we noted above, not every meteorite will contain all those metals.
Chances are that if you have a meteorite (and the chances of your having one are relatively small), it could contain several different metals, often intermixed with rock an iron.
If by any chance you have one, we can do a simple test on it to determine what it contains.
And by the way, there is another way to obtain materials that have fallen to Earth from space. It is to gather and melt a few tons of snow from Antarctica, the next time you are there. When you melt polar snow, you will find that it contained a small amount of space dust that, like the contents of meteorites, could contain platinum, gold, and other precious metals.
So, meteorites are not your most reliable source of precious metals.
If you have other scrap, chances are it will contain more precious metals. Gather your scrap and call our precious metal refiners at 800-426-2344. We can test your precious metal scrap, tell you what it contains, and recycle it for top dollar.