The Truth About Titanium, Part 1: “Titanium seems rare, but actually… it is the 7th most abundant metal.”
Titanium bolts look great, but they’re expensive, right?
So why are they so costly?
This time, we’ll explain the reason.
Titanium is expensive because it is considered a rare metal.
The simple reason titanium is expensive is because it is classified as a rare metal.
But what exactly is a rare metal? Wikipedia describes it as follows:
“A rare metal, or rare metallic element, refers to a non-ferrous metal that is scarce due to its low circulation and usage in industry for various reasons.”
In other words, it is expensive because it is considered a scarce metal.
Why are rare metals considered scarce?
The previous explanation mentioned “low circulation for various reasons.”
In other words, scarcity is not determined by reserves alone.
Some metals are expensive and uncommon simply because they are difficult to process into usable materials.
Titanium is a perfect example of this.
Yes, titanium is expensive and less widely distributed because it is difficult to turn into a practical material.
Why is titanium difficult to process into a usable material?
Titanium goes through several processes before becoming a usable material.
First, there is the process of extracting metal from ore.
This is called smelting.
Next comes the process of removing impurities from the metal.
This is called refining.
Titanium is especially difficult in both smelting and refining.
Why? Because titanium oxidizes instantly when exposed to air.
For that reason, refining must be performed in a vacuum or in an argon atmosphere.
This complicated process is one reason titanium is expensive.
On top of that, titanium is also a difficult-to-machine material.
Cutting, pressing, and welding are all challenging.
In other words:
the material itself is expensive to produce, and processing costs are also high.
That is why titanium products are expensive.
In fact, titanium is actually abundant.
So we now know that titanium is not expensive because it is “rare.”
Then how abundant is it actually…?
It is the 10th most abundant element among the 77 elements found in the Earth’s crust.
The table shows the top 20 elements found on Earth.
Even though titanium ranks 10th, it still makes up about 0.58% of the Earth’s crust.
HOWEVER!
Most of the elements above it are not metals.
If we look only at metallic elements,
titanium is the 7th most abundant metal.
There is no such thing as a truly “rare” metal!
In fact, “rare metal” is not an official academic term.
It is a Japanese-made English expression.
Originally, scarce metals with low industrial circulation are called “minor metals.”
Among these minor metals, the elements with extremely low natural abundance are called “rare earths.”
There are 17 rare earth elements in total.
Their names sound almost like special attack moves from an Ultraman series.
Also, be careful when using the term “rare metal” overseas.
It is often mistaken for “rare earth,” which can make the conversation confusing.
That concludes “The Truth About Titanium – Part 1.”
