[shirleyquirk]

It may not come as a complete surprise that the economics of metals are more complex.

Aluminium, was so expensive until the Hall/(that other guy) process was developed, that it was used for jewellery [1].

Even today it's expensive and difficult to reduce Al ore to metal, which is a supply side problem.

[1]https://www.bellandbird.com/products/aluminum-bangle

[stu255]

75% of aluminium supply is from recycling aluminium products.

The economy sort of has a "working capital" quantum of aluminium which also grows steadily from aluminium mining.

Lots of metals have very different and complex supply structures and thus completely different $$$ / volume curves for their supply.

Understanding the $$$ / volume curve of commodities is not something that is commonly considered when people try and predict the future. Mining a billion tonnes of Aluminium from an asteroid for example and safely landing it on Earth can never be profitable because the $$$ / volume curve for Aluminium is $0.00 at billion tonne volume.

[rob74]

Now I'm curious where that recycled aluminium is coming from? My guess would be mostly from airplanes and beverage cans...

[tonyarkles]

Engine blocks too. If you go to a scrap yard though you’ll be pretty amazed at all of the stuff they’ve got collected and sorted. Metal recycling (compared to, say, electronics recycling or plastic recycling) has a very clear economic model and financial incentives. If you’re demolishing a building or scrapping old machinery it will cost significantly less to recycle the metal (because you get paid decently by the pound) than to take it to a landfill (where you pay by the pound instead).

[iancmceachern]

Cars too

[rob74]

TIL! Aluminium is an extremely useful metal, but I would never have thought it would be used for jewelry - I mean, it's not enough for the metal to be expensive, it also has to look and feel desirable, which soft and dull Aluminium definitely doesn't. If you have ever held Aluminium cutlery in your hand, it just feels cheap compared to stainless steel (not to mention silver).

[bluGill]

Today it isn't used for jewelry. 200 years ago it was - not so much to wear, but to show off that you were rich enough to afford it. Only royalty could afford things made out of aluminum.