Top Most Expensive Elements on Earth

Chemical elements are building blocks of everything we see around us. There are 118 recognized elements, 94 of which occur naturally including iron, silver and gold, while others are synthetic, some examples of which are curium and californium. This list contains 10 earth elements that are extremely rare, and some of them have demand in the market, which makes them some of the most expensive elements on the planet.

1. Francium

Although one gram of francium has never been observed. Because The half life of this element is about 22 minutes, which means any viewable quantity of the element would immediately vaporize. But it is assumed that francium would appear as a highly reactive metal.

The largest amount of this element that has ever been produced in the laboratory was a cluster of more than 300,000 atoms. If someone want to buy one gram of it, he can expect to pay at least few billion dollars. Although nobody would be willing to pay billions of dollars for something that will disappear within minutes and has no practical use whatsoever.

2. Californium

The University of California Radiation Laboratory created this element in 1950 by bombarding curium with alpha particles. Since then, only a few grams have been produced. The estimated cost of one gram of californium is around $27 million, which makes perfect sense given that global californium production is only half a gram per year.

3. Carbon

Carbon is one of the most important elements in life. Although a large amount of it is present in all of our bodies, and as we all know, things like coal and graphite aren't expensive. However, if carbon atoms are arranged in a specific order, they can have an extremely high value. Carbon, in the form of diamonds, can cost up to $65,000 per gram.

4. Plutonium

The major use of plutonium as you might know is in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. Both plutonium-239 and plutonium-241 are fissile, meaning that they can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. Plutonium is highly radioactive which makes it extremely dangerous to handle. However, if you’re still willing to buy this element expect to pay at least $4000 per gram.

5. Scandium

Scandium is another rare earth metal with a high price because of its scarcity. Scandium was discovered to have a positive effect on aluminium alloys in the 1970s. Its only major application to this day is in such alloys. The global trade in scandium oxide is approximately 10 tonnes per year, with a price of at least $270 per gram.

6. Lutetium

Lutetium is also classified as a rare earth metal. However, unlike lanthanum, lutetium has few commercial applications. Stable lutetium, on the other hand, can be used as a catalyst in petroleum cracking in refineries, as well as in alkylation, hydrogenation, and polymerization applications.

7. Lanthanum

Lanthanum is a metallic element that is silvery-white in color. It is soft enough that it can be cut with a knife. It is also one of the rare earth metals, though it isn't very useful in its pure form. However, its compounds have a wide range of applications in a variety of fields. Catalysts, carbon arc lamps for studio lights and projectors, ignition elements in lighters and torches, electron cathodes, scintillators, GTAW electrodes, and other applications make use of it. However, due to its scarcity, the price of this element is quite high.

8. Platinum

Platinum is yet another extremely low reactive metal. It has remarkable resistance to corrosion, even at high temperatures. Due to its rarity, only a few hundred tonnes are produced annually. Other than being used as jewelry, it has several practical applications in various different fields such as automobiles, dentistry and even medicine.

9. Rhodium

Rhodium is primarily used in automobiles. It is a catalyst used in three-way catalytic converters. The most important property of this metal is its resistance to corrosion and the most aggressive chemicals. Rhodium is also used to make jewelry. Rhodium plating is commonly used on white gold to improve its appearance, and sterling silver is rhodium-plated for tarnish resistance.

10. Gold

Gold is one of the most widely known and used elements in the world, especially in jewelry. Almost every ancient civilization on earth considered this metal to be valuable. Science also proves that some of the characteristics of gold make it perfect for electronic use, though the high cost is the biggest hurdle to using it in wires. So, we’re stuck with cheaper and inferior alternatives.