To begin with let's look at a few facts about platinum.
- The annual supply of platinum is only about 130 tons.
- It takes 10 tons of ore to produce one ounce of pure platinum.
- All of the platinum ever mined throughout history would fill less than 25 cubic feet.
- Platinum is 11% denser than gold and weighs more than gold. One cubic foot weighs 1,330 pounds.
- Relative to gold and silver, platinum has many more industrial uses.
- More than 50% of platinum is destroyed through industrial use.
- Unlike gold, there are no large above ground inventories of platinum.
- South Africa produces 80% of the world's platinum.
Since its recent low, platinum has had a good run rising from $761.50 on October 27, 2008, to Thursday's close of $1,062.00 per ounce. Like gold, platinum buyers are looking for a safe haven investment. Very often platinum follows gold for this reason.
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