Beyond jewelry and ornamentation, precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are essential for many other industries. These are used in aerospace, automobiles, electronics, and many more areas including dentistry.
One reason for their wide use is due to the fact that precious metals are exceptional conductors of electricity and are biocompatible. This means they are not harmful to living tissue and are unlikely to cause an allergic reaction.
Here is an infographic that explores the countries that produce the most gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
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