“Everything has its limit – iron ore cannot be educated into gold.”

From the steel used in our skyscrapers to the tin cans of our drinks, metals have become an indelible part of our lives. Mercury seduced us in our search for immortality while gold has both created and destroyed empires. These are just some of the metals that have played vital roles in our shared history.

Join us as we explore the long and complex history of metals in our ASIAN Geographic Metal Edition. From the metals that shaped our civilisations to those that formed the basis of our faith and cultures, we’ll discover why these materials have been so essential to human progress in a myriad of different fields – and why we can ill afford to use up these finite resources.

Elizabeth LIM