Metal

In RuneScape, metals are elements that are malleable, hard, and conduct magic in most cases (though metals such as elemental metal do not follow this rule). All metals, apart from Dragon, Black, White, and Primal, are found in their ores. These ores can be smelted into metal bars and used to make weapons, armour, or other equipment.

Bronze
Bronze is an alloy made of tin and copper which mainly appeals to new players and novice smiths. It is the weakest metal in the game. It is brown in colour.

Iron
Iron is a metal stronger than bronze, though is still considered very weak, for it is the fifth strongest out of six basic metals. It is a dark grey in colour. Iron equipment only requires level 1 in Attack or Defence to use, like Bronze, so new players try to get it as soon as they can because it yields more benefits than bronze.

Steel
Steel is a metal stronger than iron. It is light grey in colour. Steel coincides with an alloy in the real world.

Black
Black metal is stronger than steel, but weaker than mithril. It is also equal in power to white and is available to free-to-play players. Black, like dragon and white, cannot be smithed. This makes it more valuable, sometimes more than mithril or even adamant weapons and armour. Black weapons and armour can only be obtained by being bought from stores or other players, picked up from monster drops or respawn points, or (as a member) received from Treasure Trails. As its name suggests, it is black in appearance. Black metal armour and weapons are used by the Black Knights.

Black items are actually made of normal steel, perhaps with a higher carbon content, giving them more strength and blackening the metal. This fact is supported as in the book Betrayal at Falador, both Black and White metals are referred as steel.

White
White metal is used by the white knights. White metal, along with Black metal, is a coloured form of Steel made by different forging techniques which slightly increases the defensive capability}.

Mithril
Mithril is a metal stronger than black which can be made by players through refining Mithril ore. It is commonly called "mith" by players, and is dark blue in colour.

Adamantite
Adamantite is a metal stronger than mithril but weaker than runite. In appearance the substance is a dust, pale green colour.

Runite
Runite, more commonly known as rune, is the metal stronger than adamantite. Runite is popular among free-to-play players and members who do not have access to dragon equipment, or do not wish to lose better equipment (e.g. in the Wilderness).

Dragon
Dragon items are members-only and often require completion of a quest to be usable. Dragon metal items are a distinctive dark red in colour, and their shapes differ from similar items of different metals. Dragon metal weapons all have a special attack. Dragon items are generally sold at high prices in shops or dropped by high-levelled monsters.

Note that dragon arrows and darts are not made from dragon metal at all; they are simply fletched from the talons of a dragon. Some weapons or armour are not currently existent in the form of Dragon - for example, there are currently no Dragon warhammers, shortswords, throwing knives, throwing axes, hastae, javelins, bolts, or crossbows. However, Jagex has confirmed, on their Youtube channel, that every weapon (and the Kiteshield) will eventually have a Dragon metal equivelant.

Silver
Silver is a weak metal used in Crafting, and is the only weapon type that can harm vampires before The Branches of Darkmeyer.

Gold
Gold is a metal used in Crafting.

Blurite
Blurite is a rare metal that plays a role in The Knight's Sword and Defender of Varrock quests and is used in Fletching. All blurite items are nontradeable.

Elemental
Elemental metal that can only be obtained during and after the Elemental Workshop I quest. It is purple in colour. At Smithing level 20, elemental ore along with four coals can be smelted into an elemental bar using the blast furnace in the Elemental Workshop. This bar is used to smith the elemental shield, the elemental helmet and the elemental body, and after Elemental Workshop IV, elemental gloves and boots.

In Elemental Workshop II, the bar can be turned into a Primed bar. This Primed version is then ready for conversion into a Mind bar, Body bar, Cosmic bar or Chaos bar from later Workshop quests.

Bane
Bane metal is a rare metal available to members after completing the Ritual of the Mahjarrat quest.

Dungeoneering metals

 * Novite
 * Bathus
 * Marmaros
 * Kratonite
 * Fractite
 * Zephyrium
 * Argonite
 * Katagon
 * Gorgonite
 * Promethium
 * Primal