Titanium is a strong, lightweight metal used in various applications, from aircraft engines to golf clubs. Titanium is considered one of the world’s most expensive metals. The price of this metal has been increasing continuously, with its demand and supply across the globe. Titanium is more expensive than other metals, such as steel, but it is also more durable and corrosion-resistant. The Titanium price per ounce varies depending on the several factors.
The price of Titanium is about $6 per troy ounce. This price can fluctuate, however, depending on the specific type of Titanium and the market conditions. For example, the cost of titanium scrap is often lower than the price of new Titanium.
This article will dig deeper into how much is titanium price per ounce depending on Grade and other factors.
What is Titanium?
Titanium is a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, high strength, and low density. It is resistant to corrosion in seawater, chlorine, and aqua regia.
It can be utilized in surface condensers. Those condensers utilize tubes that are often made of Titanium, copper alloys, or stainless steel, depending on numerous selection criteria like corrosion resistance or thermal conductivity.
Titanium condenser tubes are often the best technical option, but Titanium is a costly material. Therefore, the use of these tubes is linked with high initial costs.
Titanium is also lightweight than other metals, making it simpler to wear. The metal is also an excellent option for people who are allergic or sensitive to other metals.
What is the price of Titanium per ounce?
Considering as an expensive metal, The price of cheap CP-grade titanium costs at least $18 per kg. Meanwhile, the price of commercially pure Titanium is $300 per kg. That means The titanium price per ounce could range from $0.52 to $10, depending on the quality and grade.
| Titanium .995 1 oz Bar | $6 – $10 |
| CP-grade titanium 1 KG | $18 – $20 |
| Medic Grade Titanium 1 KG | $70 – $80 |
What factors affect the high price of Titanium?
If steel is a metal with a profound impact on the world in the middle of the nineteenth century, the next metal that will transform the world will be Titanium.
This metal is considered the “steel of the future,” thanks to its great properties. It is often used in sports goods, construction, medical, electricity, chemical, aerospace, and aviation industry. But at present, the price of titanium products in the market is high, discouraging many consumers.
Let’s find out what makes the price of Titanium so high.
- Strong demand for Titanium and titanium items
Titanium is in high demand as a new metal material. Therefore, the consumption of this metal is directly proportional to the national strength and development level.
As the comprehensive national strength of different nations in the world continues to rise, the consumption of this material has also risen quickly.
- Hard to process
Sponge titanium is the raw material of titanium powder, titanium material, and other components. It should be remelted by using an electric furnace to become a new structural material, which is titanium ingots.
From titanium plates to titanium ingots and sponge titanium requires dozens of procedures. Most of those procedures should be smelted more than twice to regulate the melting rate, current, voltage, and composition.
From titanium ingots to slabs, numerous forgings are needed. From slab to a plate, it should go through different processes like hot rolling, cold rolling, and heating, which are manifold and complicated at the same time.
Note that pure Titanium is soft and not appropriate for use as a titanium product. That’s why other elements should be included to enhance their metal properties.
For instance, titanium 64 (widely utilized in the aviation industry) should be doped with other elements to enhance metal properties.
Nonetheless, Titanium also responds strongly to elements like nitrogen, carbon, sulfur, oxygen, and halogens at high temperatures that can contaminate it. Thus, the metal should be smelted in an inert atmosphere or a vacuum.
Titanium is hard to machine. If the speed is low, it can’t be cut at all. It will oxidize if the speed is high and too much heat is produced. Thus, standard machining centers can’t process titanium alloy products at all.
- There’s a lack of titanium production.
Titanium is mainly used in the power, nuclear, marine, construction, and aerospace sectors. Apart from that, it’s widely used in the medical, automotive, electronics, sports, and chemicals industries.
However, only a few industrialized nations in the world can make and supply them.
- It is difficult to use and exploit
The ilmenite sand ore is scattered and has a low resource concentration. After years of mining, high-quality and big-scale resources have been exhausted.
Apart from that, the existing exploitation of titanium resources is mainly private, making it challenging to create big-scale development and usage. Furthermore, other coastal titanium ore deposits have radioactive elements, and the pressure for environmental protection is extremely high.
Is Titanium costlier than silver?
No. In 2018, the price of Titanium per kilo was $30. That same year, the price of silver was $563.29 per kilo.
Therefore, Titanium isn’t more expensive than silver. It comes nowhere close. The only difference between the two metals is that you can trade using silver.
In the case of Titanium, you should invest in a company that mines that metal or uses the same products. Your shares will be in the company and not on the metal itself.
What are the different grades of Titanium?
Remember that Titanium is graded, so people buying it understand its characteristics, its purity, and what it is best used for.
The metal is graded one to twelve, with one being the purest and one to four considered the most valuable.
- Grade 1 titanium is the softest, but it’s resistant to corrosion. It’s used in chemical processing, marine, and medical applications.
- Grade 2 titanium is the most common and more readily available. It is also resistant to corrosion but is stronger than grade 1 titanium.
- Grade 3 titanium is not as soft as grades 1 and 2, often formed into rigid structures like rods. It is also often used for marine and medical purposes but plays a role in numerous aerospace applications.
- Grade 4 titanium is the strongest type of commercially pure Titanium. It features excellent corrosion resistance and is often utilized in heat exchangers, airframe components, and surgical hardware.
Conclusion
As you can see, numerous factors impact the price of Titanium per ounce, like the strong demand for Titanium and the level of difficulty in processing it. Nonetheless, with the development of titanium production and processing technology, the cost of titanium products will be minimized accordingly.
It is also considered that titanium household products will become more widely available, adding color to people’s daily lives.
Read our gemstone guides to learn more about other metals apart from Titanium.
