7.4.7.3Vertical

Precious Metal Refining

Companies refining gold, silver, and platinum group metals.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Metal Processing & Refining (7.4.7), the segment that Precious Metal Refining sits within. They are not figures for Precious Metal Refining on its own.

Market size
~$114B
Growth
~7.0%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~896 firms
Firms by employee count

41.5% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 371 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe523 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
20740%
100–499
16131%
500+
15530%

Smelting and rolling sit between commodity inputs and industrial customers with little pricing power over either, so the business is run on conversion spread and energy cost. Aluminum in particular is a power business wearing a metals label.

NAICS 331313, 331314, 331315, 331318, 331410, 331420, 331491, 331492. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Refined metal, casting, and foundry-product sales

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$127,784,859
Revenue per employee
$1,007,845
Employees per firm
126.4
Recurring revenue
Moderate

recurring industrial demand

EBITDA margin
Cyclical; energy- and commodity-price-exposed
Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 7% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Deep strategic-buyer pool: 155 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has trade buyers
  • Aluminum, copper, nonferrous refining, and foundries.
  • Recycling (secondary metals) increasingly important.
  • Light-weighting and electrification support demand.

NAICS 331313, 331314, 331315, 331318, 331410, 331420, 331491, 331492. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandIndianaPennsylvaniaOhio

Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania form the traditional steel and aluminum corridor, where smelting and rolling stayed close to the industrial customers and the power contracts that made them viable.

IndianaOhioPennsylvania

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 331313/331314/331315/331318/331410/331420/331491/331492. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Aluminum & nonferrous majors
  • Recycling & secondary-metal producers
  • PE-backed foundry consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Recycling and secondary-metal growth.
  • Light-weighting and electrification demand.
  • Foundry consolidation and energy-cost management.

Find Precious Metal Refining acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Precious Metal Refining (7.4.7.3) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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