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PRECIOUS METALS
As the economy improved in 2021, we did not witness gold repeating its stellar performance of 2020. Instead, other metals - including silver and platinum - outperformed gold during the first two quarters of 2021. Industrial demand supported silver and platinum group metal prices for the first half of this year. Q1.2021 proved an eventful time for the silver market when prices briefly jumped to an eight-year high above $30/ounce after a brigade of Reddit traders, who had notoriously first targeted GameStop, ploughed into the precious-metal market in early February. The attempted silver short squeeze failed, however, and prices soon returned to rangebound trading levels. Nonetheless, some market watchers are expecting silver to end 2021 as the best-performing precious metal. Silver might be the main winner from both monetary debasement and meteorological climate change.
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Units |
30.Jun.2021 |
Year to Date |
Dec.2020 |
| GOLD |
$ USD/ oz. |
$1,776 |
-5.0% |
$1,898 |
| SILVER |
$ USD/ oz. |
$26.20 |
-1.0% |
$26.36 |
BATTERY METALS
Battery metal prices have recovered strongly in the first half of 2021. In Q1.2021, battery grade lithium carbonate prices in China increased by 72% Q on Q to US$5.84/lb. Lithium hydroxide prices followed the trend higher, though somewhat delayed, increasing 95% during Q1 to US$6.17/lb. The nickel sulphate market remained in balance for the first half of 2021.
| LITHIUM |
$ USD/ lb. |
$40.86 |
27.8% |
31.82 |
| LITHIUM CARBONATE (Li₂CO₃) |
$ USD/ lb. |
$5.84 |
72.8% |
$3.38 |
| LITHIUM HYDROXIDE (LiOH.H₂O) |
$ USD/ lb. |
$6.17 |
95.8% |
$3.15 |
| COBALT (Co) |
$ USD/ lb. |
$22.83 |
28.3% |
$17.98 |
| NICKEL SULFATE (NiSO₄) |
$ USD/ lb. |
$2.28 |
8.5% |
$2.13 |
| VANADIUM PENTOXIDE (V₂O₅) |
$ USD/ lb. |
$7.60 |
47.6% |
$5.15 |
PLATINUM GROUP METALS
Despite platinum’s market retracement at the end of May, it still performed well in H1.2021 as it is closely tied to the push for clean energy. Platinum’s green credentials relate to its use in catalytic converters and the reduction of pollutant gas emissions from vehicles. Platinum is also an important metal for the push to decarbonize through development of the hydrogen economy and can be used to purify water. Platinum was priced at US$1,076/ oz. on June 30. Meanwhile after breaching an all-time high in early May, palladium has shed some of its gains also in June. Supply constraints continue to support higher prices for palladium while this catalyst metal closed out June 2021 with price holding above US$2,700 per ounce.
| PLATINUM |
$ USD/ oz. |
$1,076 |
1.1% |
$1,059 |
| PALLADIUM |
$ USD/ oz. |
$2,779 |
11.9% |
$2,453 |
| RHODIUM |
$ USD/ oz. |
$15,500 |
-8.6% |
$16,950 |
| IRIDIUM |
$ USD/ oz. |
$5,900 |
126.9% |
$2,600 |
| RUTHENIUM |
$ USD/ oz. |
$390.0 |
39.3% |
$280.0 |
| RHENIUM |
$ USD/ oz. |
$33.02 |
11.3% |
$30.19 |
BASE METALS
The base metals rally has continued during H1.2021. Some metals have been spurred on by the green revolution. Global copper consumption has been boosted by applications in wind and solar power facilities, electric vehicles, and new electricity infrastructure. Zinc demand is also projected to benefit in the coming years from its specific applications in the offshore energy industry. Offshore energy infrastructure is one of the most zinc-intensive clean energy sectors and is expected to grow rapidly from a small base today.
| NICKEL |
$ USD/ lb. |
$8.28 |
10.8% |
$7.54 |
| COPPER |
$ USD/ lb. |
$4.22 |
21.1% |
$3.52 |
| ALUMINUM |
$ USD/ lb. |
$1.15 |
24.2% |
$0.90 |
| ZINC |
$ USD/ lb. |
$1.32 |
7.7% |
$1.24 |
| LEAD |
$ USD/ lb. |
$1.05 |
17.8% |
$0.89 |
HEAVY RARE EARTH METALS
As it stands, China mines over 70% of the world’s rare earths and is responsible for 90% of the complex process of turning them into magnets. China hiked its rare earth output quotas for the first half of the year by more than +27% to record levels. Rare earths like neodymium and praseodymium, which are important in clean energy applications and high-tech industries, are in the spotlight. This is particularly evident as electric vehicles and hybrid cars gain in popularity. Other factors, like the ongoing tensions between the US and China, are also putting a spotlight on factors such as pricing and sources of supply for rare earth metals.
| EUROPIUM (III) OXIDE (Eu₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$28.21 |
-7.1% |
$30.38 |
| GADOLINIUM (Gd) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$20,010 |
0.0% |
$20,010 |
| GADOLINIUM OXIDE (Gd₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$27.56 |
11.8% |
$25.75 |
| TERBIUM (Tb) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$1,121 |
-11.8% |
$1,320 |
| TERBIUM OXIDE (Tb₄O₇) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$886.0 |
98.5% |
$470.1 |
| DYSPROSIUM (Dy) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$455.7 |
28.0% |
$355.9 |
| DYSPROSIUM OXIDE (Dy₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$329.1 |
21.1% |
$280.6 |
| ERBIUM (Er) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$800.0 |
198.3% |
$268.2 |
| ERBIUM OXIDE (Er₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$26.26 |
6.8% |
$24.59 |
| YTTRIUM (Y) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$32.55 |
9.8% |
$29.66 |
| YTTRIUM OXIDE (Y₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$4.05 |
36.6% |
$2.97 |
| SCANDIUM (Sc) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$520,260 |
0.0% |
$520,260 |
| SCANDIUM OXIDE (Sc₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$56,610 |
22.5% |
$46,200 |
| BATTERY GRADE MISCHMETAL |
$ USD/ kg. |
$20.98 |
0.0% |
$20.98 |
LIGHT RARE EARTH METALS
| LANTHANUM (La) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$4.05 |
-1.8% |
$4.12 |
| LANTHANUM OXIDE (La₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$1.27 |
-10.3% |
$1.41 |
| CERIUM (Ce) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$4.23 |
6.4% |
$3.98 |
| CERIUM OXIDE (CeO₂) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$1.37 |
-5.5% |
$1.45 |
| PRAESODYMIUM (Pr) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$97.65 |
25.7% |
$81.73 |
| PRAESODYMIUM OXIDE (Pr₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$76.31 |
48.0% |
$52.44 |
| NEODYMIUM (Nd) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$84.27 |
-5.2% |
$89.69 |
| NEODYMIUM OXIDE (Nd₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$67.63 |
-6.4% |
$73.42 |
| SAMARIUM OXIDE (Sm₂O₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$1.95 |
17.4% |
$1.66 |
MINOR METALS
| MOLYBDENUM OXIDE (MoO₃) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$27.00 |
30.4% |
$20.70 |
| SELENIUM (Se) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$26.33 |
73.3% |
$15.19 |
| TUNGSTEN (W) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$38.48 |
15.7% |
$33.27 |
| ZIRCONIUM (Zr) |
$ USD/ kg. |
$20.54 |
5.2% |
$19.53 |
| CADMIUM (Cd) |
$ USD/ MT |
$2.567.73 |
10.9% |
$2,314.58 |
Khadijah Samnani, MineralPrices.com Analyst
kay@mineralprices.com
Christopher Berlet, MineralPrices.com Analyst
manager@mineralprices.com
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