鈀金的稀有程度是黃金的30倍。從去年8月至今，鈀金價(jià)格已上漲逾50%，進(jìn)而形成2001年以來鈀金首次比黃金貴的局面。上周，鈀金價(jià)格突破每盎司（約28.35克）1400美元，鉑金價(jià)格跌至800美元以下，黃金價(jià)格則在略高于1300美元的水平徘徊。

鈀是鉑族金屬，珠寶鑒賞家把它看作是黃金或鉑金的替代品。催化性能又讓鈀成為汽車行業(yè)非常寶貴的金屬。

據(jù)《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》報(bào)道，80%以上的鈀都用在了催化式排氣凈化器中。該裝置位于發(fā)動機(jī)和排氣管之間，能夠?qū)⑵囄矚庵卸噙_(dá)90%的碳?xì)浠衔?、一氧化碳和二氧化氮轉(zhuǎn)化為不那么有害的氮?dú)?、二氧化碳和水蒸氣?/p>

隨著中國等發(fā)展中國家強(qiáng)化汽車尾氣排放限制以及柴油轎車的逐步淘汰，鈀的這些屬性變得比以往更受歡迎。

鈀金價(jià)格上漲的另一個(gè)原因很簡單，那就是儲量稀少，主要鈀礦分布在俄羅斯、南非、加拿大安大略省和美國蒙大拿州。美國地質(zhì)勘探局的報(bào)告稱，全世界鉑族金屬總儲量估計(jì)約為11萬噸，其中近7萬噸位于南非。也就是說，循環(huán)利用是此類金屬的一個(gè)重要來源——2017年，全世界從廢品中回收的鉑、鈀和銠約有121噸。

《華爾街日報(bào)》指出，鈀價(jià)直線上升造成銅制催化式排氣凈化器的盜竊案增多。從一輛豐田普銳斯的排氣凈化器中可以獲得約2克鈀，而這種凈化器在廢品廠能賣到450美元左右。

阿拉巴馬州維斯塔維爾山的警督查克·內(nèi)格爾告訴《華爾街日報(bào)》：“我們手頭有三宗停車場盜竊案，罪犯們每次一般會對4、5輛車下手。通常他們會把贓物帶到別的州，每次能賣個(gè)150到200美元……他們要偷的不是凈化器，而是那里面的鈀?！?/p>

采集城市資源，或者說從報(bào)廢汽車和電子垃圾中回收貴金屬聽起來合情合理，但大家顯然不愿意看到這樣的“采集”活動發(fā)生在大庭廣眾之下，發(fā)生在自己的車上。（還記得經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退時(shí)肆虐的偷銅事件嗎？）（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

The price of palladium, a precious metal 30 times as rare as gold, has risen by more than 50% since August, surpassing the price of gold for the first time since 2001. Last week the price of 1 ounce of palladium topped $1,400, while platinum dipped under $800, and gold hovered just above $1,300.

Palladium is in the platinum family of metals, and jewelry connoisseurs know it as an alternative to gold or platinum. Its catalytic properties also make it hugely valuable to the automotive industry.

More than 80% of palladium is used for catalytic converters, the New York Times reports. Those devices, installed between the engine and the tailpipe, convert as much as 90% of the hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide in automobile emissions into less harmful nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor.

As China and developing countries enforce stricter auto emission limits and diesel cars are phased out, these properties are also becoming more in-demand than ever.

Another reason for its growing value is the simple fact that palladium deposits are rare, with major mines in Russia, South Africa, Ontario and Montana. Overall, it’s estimated about 110,000 tons of platinum-group metals are held in reserve around the world, with nearly 70,000 tons held in South Africa. This means that recycling is an important source for the metal, with about 121 tons of platinum, palladium, and rhodium recovered globally from scrap in 2017, USGS reports.

With the price of palladium skyrocketing, that’s led to a rise in brazen thefts of catalytic converters, the Wall Street Journal reports. A Toyota Prius converter has about 2 grams of harvestable palladium, which can fetch about $450 at a scrapyard.

“We’ve had three different sets of parking lots hit, and they usually get four or five vehicles each time,” police Lt. Chuck Nagle in Vestavia Hills, Ala., told the WSJ. “They’re usually taking them out of state and getting anywhere from $150 to $200 at a clip. … They’re not selling the part. They’re selling the metal.”

Mining urban resources in the form of recovering precious metals from scrapped cars and electrical waste makes good sense, but it’s obviously preferable for such mining not to happen on the streets, on your car. (Remember the rampant copper thefts of the recession?)