Tellurium is rarer than gold.

Yep, that’s no lie. But before you rush to add all these bars to the cart know that when it comes to commodities rarity only makes up half of the equation for determining value. The other half is of course demand. It’s safe to say that tellurium has quite a bit of PR work ahead of it before it’s as well known as its yellow neighbor on the ol’ Periodic Table.

For a while the quick growth of technology sectors (where tellurium finds its biggest uses) in the early 2000s led many investors to start hoarding this unfamiliar sounding metal only to be disappointed to find their drain made little difference in the price. Truckloads of vault-bound tellurium ingots sat there for years while their impatient owners waited for a crimp in the supply that never came.

All of that could have been avoided if they had consulted some geologists first. True, it really is rarer than gold. It’s possibly the rarest non-precious metal, non-radioactive element in the earth’s crust. However, what little of it there is happens to be concentrated in easily mined veins where it’s usually associated with other valuable metals like copper and zinc. This means that any perceived market shortage could be easily supplanted by the mining operators turning their dials up a notch or two.

The outlook going forward is hardly any rosier for the same reason that the world has a good supply of both copper and zinc, thus ensuring that a sufficient supply of tellurium will be available too unless some drastic new need for it greatly amplifies the demand. That’s not a good bet though.

Over twenty bucks for a gram of tellurium is a steal. As in, we’re practically stealing from you. That’s if you only take into consideration the cost of a gram over on the Elements section of this website is a mere $3.

That, though, is for dusty shards. Forming tellurium into a purposeful shape is something else entirely. The culprit? This element is about as delicate as dried up peanut butter. Forcing it to take on the pretty shape herewith involves a great deal of care and knowhow. Many effenheimers were expended during the long process of figuring out how to avoid the mold contents from crumbling to dust. So then, as it turns out, there is a reason after all why you’ve not heard much of tellurium… it’s useless to do much with in pure form given its fragility.