Primary Applications
Electrical contacts, chip resistors, catalysts, wear-resistant alloys, electrochemical coatings
Mining Significance
Ruthenium is a platinum-group metal recovered almost entirely as a coproduct of PGE mining and refining. It occurs at low concentrations in PGM-bearing ores and is separated during complex multi-stage refinery operations. Production is therefore governed more by the output and refining of broader PGM concentrates than by direct ruthenium mining.
