Palladium is a precious metal that has generated a
lot of excitement over the past few years. Prices for palladium soared into the four-figure
range during the late 1990s, only to collapse to under $200 late in 2003.
An element belonging to the platinum group of metals,
palladium is steel-white in color, except in powder form, when it appears black. Palladium has a
number of industrial uses, resists tarnishing in air and, if annealed, it is soft and ductile.
Palladium has the lowest density and melting point
of the platinum-group metals (iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium).
Demand for palladium comes not only for its industrial
uses, but also its growing use in jewelry around the world.
