Iridium Price: Range, Benchmarks and Drivers

USGS reports the average 2025 price of iridium at $4,400/oz (iridium, average; -9% on 2024). The price has changed by an average of -4% a year since 2021. The table gives the annual averages for each year available, and the sections after it give the dealer price where one is listed and the recent events the sources report.

Iridium price: what the sources report

USGS reports the average 2025 price changes as ruthenium +53%, platinum +25%, rhodium +24%, palladium +11% and iridium -9%. USGS attributes the iridium decrease to increased production and the waning of investor enthusiasm in the hydrogen power market.

What recent events affect the iridium market?

• 2025. US imports of iridium were an estimated 2,200 kilograms against 1,360 kilograms in 2024, and the Defense Logistics Agency stockpile schedule listed potential disposals of 15 kilograms of iridium in fiscal year 2025.
• 2025. The annual average price of iridium fell 9% while platinum rose 25%, rhodium 24%, palladium 11% and ruthenium 53%.

Frequently asked questions

How much does iridium cost?

USGS reports the average 2025 price of iridium at $4,400/oz (iridium, average; -9% on 2024).

Where is iridium produced?

USGS publishes country production figures only for palladium and platinum and says information is insufficient to estimate world production of iridium, rhodium and ruthenium. It names South Africa as the world leading producer of PGM-containing mined material and Russia as the leading producer of mined palladium.

Is iridium a critical mineral?

Yes. Iridium is on all four official critical minerals lists: the US, EU, Australian and Canadian. Iridium was already on the 2022 US list and stays on the final 2025 list of 60 minerals. USGS does not estimate US net import reliance for iridium.

What is iridium used for?

Iridium is used in platinum-group metal uses and catalysts. Platinum-group metal uses: USGS does not split platinum-group metal uses by metal. The leading use is catalytic converters that cut harmful emissions from automobiles. Other uses it names are catalysts for bulk chemical production and petroleum refining, dental and medical devices, electronics (computer hard disks, hybridized integrated circuits and multilayer ceramic capacitors), glass manufacturing, investment, jewelry and laboratory equipment.

Sources

Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.

1. USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Platinum-group metals. Production, reserves, uses, substitutes, recycling and events
2. USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: introduction (Table 7 and Figures 10A and 10B). Net import reliance, leading producer and price changes for critical minerals
3. Federal Register: Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals
4. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2024/1252
5. Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Australia’s Critical Minerals List and Strategic Materials List
6. Government of Canada: Canada’s critical minerals
7. Impala Platinum: Annual Integrated Report for the year to 30 June 2026
8. Implats: FY2026 results release (3 September 2026)
9. Valterra Platinum: production report for the fourth quarter of 2025 (JSE announcement, 5 February 2026)
10. Johnson Matthey: 2026 PGM market report release (14 May 2026)
11. Johnson Matthey: PGM Services seminar page (27 June 2024)
12. Heraeus Precious Metals: release with Sibanye-Stillwater (14 November 2023)