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(Kitco News) – the rhodium market is forecast to have another supply/demand surplus this year–by 123,000 ounces–as increases in primary refined output and recycling outstrip growth in overall demand, said Johnson Matthey Tuesday in its “Platinum 2011 Interim Review.”
Rhodium supplies are seen rising by 34,000 ounces in 2011, or around 5%, to 768,000, lifted by higher output from South African producers. Russian output is expected to be flat, while supplies from North America are expected to rise as producers ramp up to full production following disruptions in 2009 and 2010. Additional supply should come from Zimbabwe as rhodium production starts at Unki, Johnson Matthey said.
Meanwhile, recycling of rhodium from spent auto catalysts should increase by 8% to 260,000 ounces this year, Johnson Matthey said.
Gross demand for rhodium is set to rise by 18,000 ounces to 905,000 in 2011, Johnson Matthey said. Strong demand from the glass-manufacturing sector should partly offset a decline in auto-catalyst demand.
Johnson Matthey said global auto-catalyst demand is set to decline by 22,000 ounces to 705,000 this year due to “thrifting” and a spring earthquake in Japan. the report said “thrifting” of rhodium for auto catalysts became widespread following rising prices in years prior to 2008. Meanwhile, Japan is the largest market for rhodium in auto catalysts, which meant a dent in demand when a massive March earthquake and tsunami interrupted auto production in the country.
Elsewhere, demand for rhodium in glass-making is projected to increase by a quarter to 85,000 ounces this year, Johnson Matthey said. Demand from the chemical sector is set to rise by 5,000 ounces to 72,000.
“”With the launch of a rhodium ETF by Deutsche Bank in may this year, a new demand area for rhodium is identifiable physically backed investment,” Johnson Matthey said. “Perhaps due to rhodium’s subdued price performance in 2011, as well as rhodium being almost exclusively an industrial metal, additions to the new ETF were modest in the first few months of its operation, with only around 14,000 ounces of net inflows in the period to late September.” Rhodium traded 13% lower in the first nine months of 2011 compared to the equivalent period of 2010, Johnson Matthey said. Rhodium was affected less by broad market sentiment than platinum and palladium; however, the price did tend to suffer during commodity-wide sell-offs, Johnson Matthey said.
By Allen Sykora of Kitco News;
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Categories: rhodium Tags: decline, glass manufacturing, global auto, johnson matthey, ramp, sector 115
Outbrain named most promising start up
Blog content rating and recommendation company Outbrain ltd. was today named the promising start-up for 2011 at the “Globes” and Ernst & Young Journey 2011 Conference in Tel Aviv today. Conduit ltd. is the runner-up.
Outbrain CEO Yaron Galai and CTO Ori Lahav founded the company in 2006. It has raised $26 million to date from Gemini Israel Funds, Carmel Ventures, GlenRock Israel, Rhodium, Lightspeed Ventures, and private investors. the company has 40 employees.
Asked what Outbrain does, Galai told “Globes”, “Historically, we totally focused on creating content recommendations on system content sites. the pipeline for consuming this product was content sites. the company has moved on and now we sell our recommendations engine to content site owners and we’re expanding to other markets.
“We don
Categories: rhodium Tags: content rating, future products, israel, lahav, tel aviv
What is Rhodium?
Some of our jewelry pieces contain a precious metal called Rhodium. As expected, many of our customers have inquired about Rhodium and we have dedicated a part of this section to explaining what it is and why we use it.
Rhodium has the distinction of being the world’s most expensive precious metal (as of 2010, 1 kilogram (kg) is worth approximately $80,000 U.S. dollars. It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston (an English chemist and physicist) who isolated it from platinum. The name Rhodium derives from the Latin root rhodon, meaning rose. By weight, Rhodium is valued approximately 6 times more than gold and is never found in a mineral form and is instead discovered in trace amounts from platinum ore or nickel ore.
Rhodium is one of the most commonly used precious metals in the world for jewelry – white gold is commonly plated with Rhodium to improve its shine and brilliance. It is often used as a coating/plating on top of sterling silver and platinum (through electroplating techniques) to add an elegant and brilliant shine as well – this technique is colloquially known in the jewelry industry as Rhodium flashing. most importantly, Rhodium does not tarnish or become dull as quickly as sterling silver, so any jewelry piece containing Rhodium is expected to have a long lasting life-cycle.
Due to its high melting point, Rhodium is rarely used to craft whole pieces (it is not a very malleable metal). More recently, Rhodium has been used for honors or to symbolize wealth, where ordinary precious metals like platinum or gold are considered inadequate. Rhodium is also used as an alloying agent to harden platinum or silver to improve corrosion resistance.
Wondering how to care for Rhodium plated jewelry? Be sure to avoid ordinary jewelry cleaners that contain various chemicals – this can be harmful to Rhodium plating and even weaken its effect in the long term. Instead, opt to use a mild detergent or soap with luke warm water and lightly clean your jewelry surface. An alternative to using a soap or detergent is to steam clean it and shining it that way. Ensuring your jewelry’s brilliant shine and Rhodium’s life-cycle is nothing but mere maintenance that can keep your pieces lasting a lifetime.
Categories: rhodium Tags: brilliant shine, jewelry piece
What is Rhodium and Why It’s Used in Silver Jewelry
Sterling silver is not the purest form of silver, as it contains 92.5 percent of silver and 7.25 percent of copper. the best way to judge whether the metal is sterling silver or not, is the difference it its luster. As 100% pure silver is too malleable to be used as a metal from which the jewelry can be finished when it is assorted with other metals its resilience increases.
Many people are allergic to certain metals, but so far no problem has yet been encountered by people who have tried sterling silver. Rhodium is generally added to gold or sterling silver, the base metals, to bestow its glistening white surface. It is one of the major members of the family of platinum. This practice of plating came into practice in early 30′s and 40′s. the process of plating jewelry is expensive as rhodium is not found in bounty.
Importance of rhodium in jewelry
This metal is widely used for plating, as it has tremendous gleam and provides a well polished faade. It also provides resistance to smudge. Sterling silver and gold can be made tarnish and scratch resistant, if they are coated with platinum, though it is not hundred percent impermeable to every day wear and damage. In order to keep it completely safe, one must avoid those activities that lead to the oxidization of the jewelry. the facility of re-plating is available with most of the neighboring jewelers for a nominal price. Due to friction, silver necklaces undergo more damage when compared to silver rings and silver bracelets.
Jewelry has always been a craze with women. Changing fashion is always supplemented by a change in jewelry. With changing trends the demand for silver bracelets, silver necklaces, silver earrings, silver pendants, silver chains and silver rings are ever on the increase. People want a break from the traditional yellow gold and want something which blends perfectly with their pelt tenor and the kind of attire they wear. Sterling silver has made this possible, as it has made finishing of silver jewelry more sturdy and at the same time elegant.
Sterling silver jewelry is available for all occasions, from casual to special. Sterling silver bracelets and silver necklaces are in effective demand as they are less expensive and thus you can have an entire collection. the variety allows you to mix and match according to your attire and mood Silver bracelets and earrings are available in the latest designs and are combined with some selective stones that enhance its value.
Sterling silver necklaces and silver bracelets are the ‘in’ these days. Sterling silver corrodes with time and exposure to air and salt. To avoid this from happening clean your jewelry with daily use non- toxic cleaners.
These days, Rhodium is the most sought-after metal in the jewelry market. It has bright and sparkling look that has silver-like resemblance. the trend of yellow gold jewelry is almost over now. But there is no need of discarding them and spending extra money on purchasing new fashionable jewelry as the yellow gold can be rhodium-plated to give it white gold look.