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Osiris Precious Metals Osiris, gold, silver, written in Egyptian hieroglyphs in a cartouche 𓁹𓊨𓀭𓋞𓋠𓏪 Wsjrnbwḥḏ(pl.) Osirisgoldsilverplural “Osiris: gold and silver” Osiris was ancient Egypt's god of the afterlife and rebirth and, in myth, its first king. As judge of the dead, he presided over the weighing of the heart, the source of our motto: weighed fairly.
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Guide

What is iridium, and what is it worth?

Iridium is the second-densest element, after osmium, and one of the most corrosion-resistant metals there is. It's rare, it's used where nothing else survives the heat, and it trades at a few thousand dollars an ounce.

Updated October 30, 2026

We pay top dollar for gold, at published rates set before you sell.

What iridium is

Iridium is a hard, brittle, silvery platinum-group metal. Its density is about 22.56 grams per cubic centimeter, a hair below osmium's, and it melts at about 2,446 °C. It stays corrosion-resistant at temperatures as high as 2,000 °C. Smithson Tennant discovered it in 1803 in the residue left after dissolving platinum ore, and it's still recovered as a byproduct of platinum and nickel mining.

How rare it is

Iridium averages about 0.001 parts per million of Earth's crust, among the rarest elements there. World production was about 6,800 kilograms in 2023. A thin clay layer worldwide, laid down 66 million years ago, holds unusually high iridium, and that clue led to the theory that an asteroid impact ended the age of the dinosaurs.

What it's used for

  • Crucibles for growing crystals for electronics at very high temperatures.
  • Spark plugs: iridium-tipped plugs last far longer than standard ones.
  • Electrodes in industrial chemistry, such as making chlorine.

What it's worth

Iridium is priced by the big refiners rather than on an exchange, and its price swings with industrial demand. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates its average price at about $4,400 a troy ounce in 2025, after about $4,800 in 2024 and $5,200 in 2021. Prices rose sharply in 2026. Johnson Matthey, one of the largest refiners, publishes a daily iridium base price. Physical iridium is sold as small bars, plates, and powder. It's thinly traded, so buyers pay well below the quoted price.

Selling iridium

We don't publish an iridium bid. If you have iridium bars or plates, send photos and the weight and we'll quote them in writing.

This is general information from the sources below, not investment advice.

Sources

Platinum-group metals: All six · Osmium · Ruthenium · Rhodium · Platinum · Palladium