AMMTIAC Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1 - Advanced Materials ...

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Calendar of EventsSeptember 2007Corrosion Solutions 20076th International Conference9-13 September 2007Sunriver, ORFor additional information:www.csc07.com/index.phpMS&T ‘07 (Materials Science & Technology2007 Conference and Exhibition)16-20 September 2007Detroit, MIFor additional information:www.matscitech.org24th Annual ASM Heat Treating Society Conferenceand Exposition17-19 September 2007Detroit, MIFor additional information:www.asminternational.org/heattreat2007 SAE AeroTech Congress& Exhibition17-20 September 2007Los Angeles, CAFor additional information:www.sae.org/aerotech9th Fleet Maintenance Symposium 200718-19 September 2007Virginia Beach, VAFor additional information: www.asne-tw.orgMaterials Processes & MedicalDevices Conference23-25 September 2007Palm Desert, CAFor additional information:www.asminternational.org/meddevices/October 200715th Annual SMRP Conference7-10 October 2007Louisville, KYFor additional information:www.smrp.org/default.aspCold Spray Conference8-9 October 2007Akron, OHFor additional information:www.asminternational.org/coldspray/website/default.htmInternational Symposium on Advancesin Surface Hardening of Stainless Steels22-23 October 2007Cleveland, OHFor additional information:www.asminternational.org/surface/website/default.htmDiminishing Manufacturing Sources and MaterialShortages 2007 (DMSMS 2007)29 October – 1 November 2007Orlando, FLFor additional information:www.dmsms2007.comNovember 200733rd International Symposium for Testing andFailure Analysis4-8 November 2007San Jose, CAFor additional information:www.istfa.orgCommercialization of NanoMaterials 200711-13 November 2007Pittsburgh, PAFor additional information:www.tms.org/Meetings/specialty/nano07/home.html55th Defense Working Group on Nondestructive Testing13-15 November 2007Ft. Walton Beach, FLFor additional information:http://hometown.aol.com/dodndtIMAPS 200711-15 November 2007San Jose, CAFor additional information:www.imaps.org/imaps 2007DoD Maintenance Symposium& Exhibition13-16 November 2007Orlando, FLFor additional information:www.sae.org/events/dod/Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologyfor Naval Applications Conference14-15 November 2007Baltimore, MDFor additional information:www.nmc.ctc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=eventinfo&id=45National Nano Engineering Conference (NNEC 2007)14-15 November 2007Boston, MAFor additional information:http://nasatech.com/nano/December 2007Tri-Service 2007 Corrosion Conference3-7 December 2007Denver, COFor additional information:www.nace.org/nace/content/conferences/triservice07/8The AMMTIAC Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 1
techsolutions 4John C. KeefeAlion Science and TechnologyRome, NYA Brief Introduction to Precious MetalsINTRODUCTIONA precious metal (PM) can be defined as a rare metallicchemical element of high economic value.[1] Preciousmetals, as a group, have a set of physical and chemicalproperties that are unrivaled by many other materials. Ifthe availability of these materials was greater (in bothquantitative and economic terms), there would be far moreapplication overall. Due to the cost and availability,however, these materials are limited to applications whereonly small amounts are used, such as spark plug tips andelectrical contact plating. Under certain circumstances,precious metals are used in large quantities for applicationswhere there is no feasible substitute. In applications andindustries that use a large amount of PM, the capital costcan be great (tens of millions of dollars), and there is also asubstantial cost associated with managing and securing themetal assets in a company’s inventory.The Eight Precious MetalsThere are eight precious metals: gold (Au), silver (Ag),platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh),ruthenium (Ru), and osmium (Os). They are grouped in arectangle on the periodic table existing in two periods andfour groups. A subset of this group is called the PlatinumGroup Metals (PGM), which includes all but two of thePMs (Au and Ag).Mining the Raw MaterialsTypically the PGMs are found combined together in rich oreand are then chemically processed to extract the individualelements in the group. Also notable are the elements abovethe precious metal group on the periodic table: iron (Fe),cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu). All of these metalshave relationships with the eight precious metals, in thatthey are found in the primary ore, or they are used asalloying elements to impart improved properties in manyof the precious metal formulations. The short supply (thereare only a few major mining locations), economic valueand costly mining and extraction methods have raised thecost of these metals to the high prices that exist today.Gold and silver have been in use for a very long time,but the other precious metals have a much shorter history.The discovery of PGMs occurred significantly later sincethey are not typically available in the pure metal nuggetform in which gold and silver are found. Mining locationsfor the PGMs are very limited. The key areas of PGMproduction are the US (Stillwater, Montana), Canada (mostcommonly the Sudbury, Ontario area, as a byproduct ofnickel mining), Russia (Norilsk region, which is first in Pdproduction), and the Zimbabwe region in South Africa (firstin Pt and first in PGM general production). In 2004, SouthAfrica produced a total of five million troy ounces (to)* ofPt (70% of the world’s output) and eight million troyounces of PGMs (50% of the world’s output).[2] Today theprocessing of PGMs requires about a ton of rich ore toproduce approximately one troy ounce of PGMs at best.Some mines only produce PGMs on the level of 5 to 25grams per ton of processed ore. Whereas PGMs are mined infewer locations, the occurrence of gold and silver is muchmore common and they are found in larger quantities.BASIC PROPERTIES OF PRECIOUS METALSThe properties of PMs are typically different than conventionalmetals in two primary areas: melting point (MP) anddensity. The melting point for steel (low alloy iron) is in therange of 2800°F with a density in the range of 7.8 g/cm 3 ;compare this to the group to see the differences on thephysical property side. These features, coupled with theirresistance to chemical attack, set PMs apart from most otherTable 1. Basic Properties of Precious Metals.Name (Symbol) Atomic Crystal Melting Density,Number Structure Point, °F g/cm 3Ruthenium (Ru) 44 HCP † 4190 12.45Rhodium (Rh) 45 FCC ‡ 3560 12.41Palladium (Pd) 46 FCC 2829 12.02Silver (Ag) 47 FCC 1764 10.49Osmium (Os) 76 HCP 5522 22.61Iridium (Ir) 77 FCC 4429 22.65Platinum (Pt) 78 FCC 3216 21.45Gold (Au) 79 FCC 1947 19.32http://ammtiac.alionscience.com The AMMTIAC Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 19
Page 2 and 3: Named after the Titans in Greek myt
Page 6 and 7: Table 1. Chemical Compositions of V
Page 10 and 11: techsolutions 4Table 2. Mechanical
Page 15 and 16: AMMTIAC DirectoryTECHNICAL MANAGER/

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