$5,000 per gram: world’s most expensive metal mined in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is a country rich in natural resources, and one of its unique contributions to the global economy is the extraction and export of osmium-187 — the most expensive metal on the planet, El.kz reports.

What is osmium-187 and why is it so expensive?

Osmium is a chemical element belonging to the platinum group metals and is one of the rarest elements on Earth. Its isotope, osmium-187, stands out for its exceptional purity and unique properties. In nature, osmium occurs extremely rarely, usually as a trace element in platinum or nickel ores, and extracting it requires complex and costly technologies.

As of 2025, one gram of the metal costs around USD 10,000 (approximately KZT 5 million at an exchange rate of 1 USD = 500 KZT). In the past, before Kazakhstan began exporting it in 2004, the price could reach USD 100,000–200,000 per gram.

Today, Kazakhstan — as the sole exporter of osmium-187 — has stabilized the market, but the metal still remains 300 times more expensive than gold and 400 times more expensive than platinum.