How much does titanium really cost?

by Danielle
(Paris, France)

Titanium sponge is the primary form of evaluating the price of the titanium metal. Titanium sponge is a precursor of titanium metal, a primary product of titanium dioxide processing. It is a good price indicator, though it may be of more use to industrial buyers than for an individual consumer.

The current price of titanium sponge, as of January 2010 is around 7$ per kilogram, while the price for pure titanium ingot is around $20. That is about seven or eight times more expensive than stainless steel and four times as expensive in terms of specific weight, given that titanium is as half as light as steel.