Scrap gold, silver, platinum can comprise half an airplane’s recycling value

You’re probably aware that gold demand is mostly for jewelry — in fact, over three-fourths of it is. But unknown to many people, notes Dillon Gage Metals, is that gold, silver and platinum are also employed in aeronautics and space travel. In the last plane ride you took, the craft was most likely coated with a thin, gold film that helped control temperatures during the trip.