Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

[Eicheljager]

Raw 7000 series Aluminum is roughly $.0018 per gram)
The iPhone 6 Plus uses 35g of aluminum
Aluminum cost per phone = 6.3 cents
Aluminum midframe is reported to cost Apple $10-$15;

The cost of the raw material is relatively insignificant. Process steps require machines, people, tools and time make up the bulk of that $10 - $15.

If BMG costs $.054 per gram (30x) and therefore costs roughly $2.00 per phone, Li needs to get his cost to manufacture $8 - $13 to match Aluminum and $18 - $23 to match stainless.

Neither aluminum nor stainless pass the "5g" test. Aluminum bends easily. Even if the initial cost is over that of aluminum, it has the advantage of allowing wireless charging, being stronger, thinner, and cheaper than stainless. After a year or two of refinement, it will undoubtedly be cheaper than aluminum in practice if it isn't already.