Mining
Prove Your Metal: Top 10 Strongest Metals on Earth
Prove Your Metal: Top 10 Strongest Metals on Earth
The use of metals and the advancement of human civilization have gone hand in hand — and throughout the ages, each metal has proved its worth based on its properties and applications.
Today’s visualization from Viking Steel Structures outlines the 10 strongest metals on Earth and their applications.
What are Metals?
Metals are solid materials that are typically hard, shiny, malleable, and ductile, with good electrical and thermal conductivity. But not all metal is equal, which makes their uses as varied as their individual properties and benefits.
The periodic table below presents a simple view of the relationship between metals, nonmetals, and metalloids, which you can easily identify by color.
While 91 of the 118 elements of the periodic table are considered to be metals, only a few of them stand out as the strongest.
What Makes a Metal Strong?
The strength of a metal depends on four properties:
- Tensile Strength: How well a metal resists being pulled apart
- Compressive Strength: How well a material resists being squashed together
- Yield Strength: How well a rod or beam of a particular metal resists bending and permanent damage
- Impact Strength: The ability to resist shattering upon impact with another object or surface
Here are the top 10 metals based on these properties.
The Top 10 Strongest Metals
Rank | Type of Metal | Example Use | Atomic Weight | Melting Point |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Tungsten | Making bullets and missiles | 183.84 u | 3422°C / 6192 °F |
#2 | Steel | Construction of railroads, roads, other infrastructure and appliances | n/a | 1371°C / 2500°F |
#3 | Chromium | Manufacturing stainless steel | 51.96 u | 1907°C / 3465°F, |
#4 | Titanium | In the aerospace Industry, as a lightweight material with strength | 47.87 u | 1668°C / 3032°F |
#5 | Iron | Used to make bridges, electricity, pylons, bicycle chains, cutting tools and rifle barrels | 55.85 u | 1536°C / 2800°F |
#6 | Vanadium | 80% of vanadium is alloyed with iron to make steel shock and corrosion resistance | 50.942 u | 1910°C / 3470°F |
#7 | Lutetium | Used as catalysts in petroleum production. | 174.96 u | 1663 °C / 3025°F |
#8 | Zirconium | Used in nuclear power stations. | 91.22 u | 1850°C / 3.362°F |
#9 | Osmium | Added to platinum or indium to make them harder. | 190.2 u | 3000°C / 5,400°F |
#10 | Tantalum | Used as an alloy due to its high melting point and anti-corrosion. | 180.94 u | 3,017°C / 5462°F |
Out of the Forge and into Tech: Metals for the Future
While these metals help to forge the modern world, there is a new class of metals that are set to create a new future.
Rare Earth elements (REEs) are a group of metals do not rely on their strength, but instead their importance in applications in new technologies, including those used for green energy.
Metal | Uses |
---|---|
Neodymium | Magnets containing neodymium are used in green technologies such as the manufacture of wind turbines and hybrid cars. |
Lanthanum | Used in catalytic converters in cars, enabling them to run at high temperatures |
Cerium | This element is used in camera and telescope lenses. |
Praseodymium | Used to create strong metals for use in aircraft engines. |
Gadolinium | Used in X-ray and MRI scanning systems, and also in television screens. |
Yttrium, terbium, europium | Making televisions and computer screens and other devices that have visual displays. |
If the world is going to move towards a more sustainable and efficient future, metals—both tough and smart—are going to be critical. Each one will serve a particular purpose to build the infrastructure and technology for the next generation.
Our ability to deploy technology with the right materials will test the world’s mettle to meet the challenges of tomorrow—so choose wisely.
Mining
White Gold: Mapping U.S. Lithium Mines
In this graphic, Visual Capitalist partnerered with EnergyX to explore the size and location of U.S. lithium mines.
White Gold: Mapping U.S. Lithium Mines
The U.S. doubled imports of lithium-ion batteries for the third consecutive year in 2022, and with EV demand growing yearly, U.S. lithium mines must ramp up production or rely on other nations for their supply of refined lithium.
To determine if the domestic U.S. lithium opportunity can meet demand, we partnered with EnergyX to determine how much lithium sits within U.S. borders.
U.S. Lithium Projects
The most crucial measure of a lithium mine’s potential is the quantity that can be extracted from the source.
For each lithium resource, the potential volume of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) was calculated with a ratio of one metric ton of lithium producing 5.32 metric tons of LCE. Cumulatively, existing U.S. lithium projects contain 94.8 million metric tons of LCE.
Rank | Project Name | LCE, million metric tons (est.) |
---|---|---|
1 | McDermitt Caldera | 21.5 |
2 | Thacker Pass | 19.1 |
3 | Tonopah Flats | 18.0 |
4 | TLC Lithium | 10.7 |
5 | Clayton Valley (Century Lithium) | 6.3 |
6 | Zeus Lithium | 6.3 |
7 | Rhyolite Ridge | 3.4 |
8 | Arkansas Smackover (Phase 1A) | 2.8 |
9 | Basin Project | 2.2 |
10 | McGee Deposit | 2.1 |
11 | Arkansas Smackover (South West) | 1.8 |
12 | Clayton Valley (Lithium-X, Pure Energy) | 0.8 |
13 | Big Sandy | 0.3 |
14 | Imperial Valley/Salton Sea | 0.3 |
U.S. Lithium Opportunities, By State
U.S. lithium projects mainly exist in western states, with comparatively minor opportunities in central or eastern states.
State | LCE, million metric tons (est.) |
---|---|
Nevada | 88.2 |
Arkansas | 4.6 |
Arizona | 2.5 |
California | 0.3 |
Currently, the U.S. is sitting on a wealth of lithium that it is underutilizing. For context, in 2022, the U.S. only produced about 5,000 metric tons of LCE and imported a projected 19,000 metric tons of LCE, showing that the demand for the mineral is healthy.
The Next Gold Rush?
U.S. lithium companies have the opportunity to become global leaders in lithium production and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources. This is particularly important as the demand for lithium is increasing every year.
EnergyX is on a mission to meet U.S. lithium demands using groundbreaking technology that can extract 300% more lithium from a source than traditional methods.
You can take advantage of this opportunity by investing in EnergyX and joining other significant players like GM in becoming a shareholder.
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