Recycling platinum and platinum scrap is not a job for hobbyists. Some potential risks include:

We haven’t written about sputtering targets in some time. But it’s worth revisiting the topic because money can be made recycling them. Sputtering targets are a very specialized kind of platinum scrap – and in some cases, of gold and silver as well. 

We recently asked Dan Fried, Founder and CEO of Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, to name a few places where platinum can be found. Some of his advice was surprising and if you follow it, we predict you will find platinum that you can recycle for money. 

If you are on the lookout for platinum – and you should be because, at the time of writing this post, the precious metal is currently trading for $1,334 per Troy Ounce – you should be looking for small items of jewelry that are made of the metal. 

You can find several kinds of platinum jewelry at estate sales, junk shops, and even in the places where you store jewelry in your home. 

What kinds of small pieces of jewelry are most likely to be made of platinum? Some examples include: 

With platinum trading for $1,400/Troy Ounce today, it is well worth looking for it in unusual places. Even a small amount of certain kinds of scrap that will fit in a shoebox or in your pocket could bring you a much bigger profit than you expected.

Recycling platinum scrap requires expertise, skill, and the right equipment. It is a complex process, and there are several mistakes your refinery can make that can cost you money. 

Why can these errors cost you money? It can happen in two ways . . . First, the quality of the platinum that is obtained by the recycling company could be adversely affected. And second, the quantity of platinum obtained could be reduced. (In other words, some platinum is lost during the process of extraction.)

Precious metal refining companies specialize in the extraction and purification of precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, from raw materials such as ore, electronic waste, and scrap metal.

If you go looking for gold or silver deposits outdoors, chances are good you will find small quantities of those precious metals. All you need is a metal detector, a gold panning kit or machinery, or other basic equipment. You might not find a tremendous amount of those metals during a typical day of prospecting. But you will find something – often enough to make your day of hunting worthwhile.

Let’s start today’s article by asking you to answer this simple question about platinum . . . 

When you go looking for platinum scrap, you should be looking for a bright, white, metal with a shiny surface.   [  ] true [  ] false

You’ll be surprised to hear that the statement above is false! 

There is a simple reason why the demand for platinum scrap will remain strong in the future . . . 

The world’s platinum mines cannot keep up with the demand for platinum in manufacturing

According to statistics gathered by Statistica.com, 211.6 metric tons of platinum was used in manufacturing in year 2022.  

That’s a lot of platinum, and it might interest you to know where it was used.

Let’s say you have a quantity of platinum scrap. It could be a few barrels full of old thermocouple wire, a batch of platinum wire you acquired from a jewelry factory that was going out of business, or even some old turbine blades from jet engines. 

When you consider making any kind of investment, you need to balance several important considerations. You might not realize you are balancing these factors, but you are.

Potential ROI (Return on Investment) – If you invest in something that offers high potential ROI, there is a chance that you can double, triple the money you invested, or maybe do even better. If you are investing in something that promises a lower potential ROI, you are willing to accept a lower potential profit from the money you invested.

A recent article in Metals Focus points out that demand for platinum, palladium and rhodium (all platinum group metals) grew 5% in 2021 and is expected to hit a record 11% increase in 2022 alone.

What is causing the surge?

Metals Focus points to these two trends:

Whether you have bought beef, gasoline, milk, or home appliances lately, you already know that prices are going up. Inflation is very much in the news. But what effect will it have on the trading prices of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and other precious metals?

Without thinking, many people throw away old items that contain precious metals that can be reclaimed for dollars – often, for a lot of dollars.

Sometimes they toss precious metals when they do home upgrades or repairs. Sometimes they do when they have their cars repaired.

Where Can You Find Scrapped Airliners and Military Planes in the U.S.?, a post we published on this blog on March 7, 2022, included a comprehensive, state-by-state guide to airplane scrapyards in America.

Today, we would like to ask, what are the best places to find platinum scrap in the planes you will find in those scrapyards?

We want you to make money when you invest in precious metals.

Why? One reason is that if we can help you make money by using our testing and recycling processes, we will make more money too. But that isn’t the most important reason. The most important reason we want you to do well and make money is that we want to support you. Also, the more successful you become as a precious metal investor, the better it is for our entire business sector. That’s another way of saying that when more people make more money, everyone in the universe of precious metal investing benefits.

What precious metal investments should you be thinking about if you live in an apartment or small residence? Several considerations come into play:

We have already written on this post about taking steps to protect your precious metals from theft. We’ve recommended keeping your gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap in bank safety deposit boxes. We have also recommended keeping an inventory of your holdings and taking out insurance to protect their value in case they are stolen.

One good thing about gold, silver, and platinum is that those metals are malleable and easy to reshape.

However, malleability can cause problems, because stolen items made of gold can be easily altered and sold. That neat little gold bar or pair of earrings you just bought could have been a stolen ring only a few weeks ago. Who knows? It is impossible to trace. And the same problem exists when you are buying items made of silver or platinum.