Financial times Gold book is forecasting Platinum and Palladium to explode out of the gates in the near future

Palladium (element), symbol Pd, silvery-white, soft metallic element, with an atomic number of 46 and an atomic weight of 106.4. It is one of the transition elements of the periodic table. Palladium is flexible and resistant to corrosion. Very rare, it occurs in the pure state in platinum ores and in the combined state in Canadian nickel ore. The chief use of palladium is in electrical contacts in communications switchgear. An alloy with gold, called white gold, is used in jewelry. Platinum and palladium are the most widely used of the six platinum group metals (PGM); the group also includes rhodium, ruthenium, osmium, and iridium. Platinum and palladium are among the world's scarcest metals. Only about 4.5 million troy ounces of platinum and approximately 5 million ounces of palladium entered Western markets in 1994. By comparison, worldwide mine production of gold totaled approximately 70 million ounces in 1998, while supplies of newly mined silver totaled approximately 440 million ounces.

Investing in Palladium

Palladium's importance in world markets will be a very rewarding opportunity for those investors who seek to profit by correctly anticipating price changes. Palladium was discovered by Wollaston in 1803. Palladium is a steel-white metal, does not tarnish in air, and is the least dense and lowest melting of the platinum group of metals. When palladium is annealed, it is soft and ductile, and cold working greatly increases its strength and hardness. Palladium has the unusual property of absorbing 900 times its own volume of hydrogen gas at room temperature, but hydrogen readily diffuses through heated palladium, providing a means of purifying the gas. Finely divided palladium is a good catalyst, used for hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions. Palladium is used as an alloy in jewelry, mostly in the production of white gold. Palladium metal is also used in dentistry, watch making, and in making surgical instruments and electrical contacts.

Soaking Up Hydrogen

Palladium is a silvery-white metal named after the goddess of wisdom. It does not tarnish in air. Mixing it with gold produces the white gold used in jewelry. Closely related to platinum, it's used in dentistry, watch making, surgical instruments and electrical contacts.

Palladium soaks up hydrogen like a sponge -- that is, if you can imagine a sponge that soaks up hundreds of buckets of water. At room temperature and atmospheric pressure, palladium can absorb up to 900 times its own volume of hydrogen.

Energy Research