Metal powders

A method of making a metal powder comprising (i) activating particles of a heat resistant substrate which is a refractory material selected from the group consisting of clay, silica, alumina, titania, zirconia, silicon nitride, silicon carbide and mixtures thereof by boiling the particles in water or dilute mineral acid whereby the maximum surface area thereof becomes available for the nucleation and growth of metal or alloy thereon, then (ii) mixing said activated substrate particles with an aqueous or organic solution of a reducible compound of platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, osmium, gold or silver and reducing said compound by a reducing agent to the metal whereby the metal is nucleated onto the surface of individual substrate particles and, thereafter, (iii) growing further metal onto the resulting nucleated particles by further reduction.