From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprecious metalˌprecious ˈmetal noun [countable, uncountable] HCMa rare and valuable metal such as gold or silver
Examples from the Corpus
precious metal• Watches whose cases are made wholly or mainly of precious metal.• Not all plating was of precious metal.• Some analysts argue that it should, since demand for the precious metal exceeds supplies.• The economic recession around the world was not generally helpful to precious metal prices. 