Arizona republican., 1899-11-22
MORE ABOUT PLATINUM.
First Discovered by Spaniards in Their
Search for Gold.

Platinum was first discovered By the
Spaniards in placer mining for gold
at Darien on the isthmus of Panama in
the middle OF the las tcentury, says =.
c. BickneIl in the Prescott Prospect.
They named it platina. or little silver.
from its fancied resemblance 10 thai
metgL, and for a time kept its discovery
u secret. having found that it lent itse,f
readily to the adulteration Of EclI.
Later it was discovered by chemists
that II was always found associated
with group Of the rarer metals which
were named the platinum metals On
account of their resemblance in chcni-
cal characteristics. These are palladi-
Inn. iridium. rnodium, ruthenium and
0smium. 1t is not changed by contact
with air, water or steam at any tenn
pcrature. nor by any single acids,
though ii is slowly dissolved in boiling
aqua regia, or nitro ,nuriatic acid. 1t
is also practically impervious to Feat,
its fusing point being $3.50 degrees
Fahrenheit. as compared with iron 2.9))
degrees. gold $500 degrees. copper 2,400
degrees and silver l, $50 degrees. The
above fusing points of the metals are
approximate only. for the highest au-
thorities differ sometimes as much as
200 degrees. This is owing to the diff
Guilty Of obtaining the metals chem
ically pure. the presence Of some for
eign metal sometimes raising or lower
ing the melting point very many de-
asTres.
Most of the platinum produced is
made into chemical utensils. such as
crucibles, etc. or used in electrical! ar
piiances. Russia at one time struck
off platinum coins. but this was dis
continued on account of it's immense
nuctuation in value. Besides Russia
and the localities in North America
mentioned in a former article. platinum
is found in Brazil. New Granada, San
Domingo and Borneo.
The Siberian deposits in the Ural
mountains were discovered in 1923, and
some OF these are found in an ore Of
chrome iron, in q gangue of serpen-
tine. At the Demidoff museum is
nugget Weighing twenty-one troy
pounds.
Nearly all OF these Siberian mines
have passed into the hands OF foreign
capitalists. A st. Petersburg news
paper stated lately that about forty
claims in the Perm district have been
purchased by a Paris syndicate with Il
capital OF several million francs. Their
production last year amounted to about
six tons, amounting to from $4,000 to
5000 900. It also states that for a long
zine no new veins or deposits of the
royal metal have been discovered. and
that the present ones will soon be eX-
fausted.
Now. this being the present state OF
affairs. it is evident that the price Of
platinum will soon be much higher:
and the discovery of new and extensive
deposits would be very timely. There
is no reason why ii should not exist in
Arizona, where nearly every known
metal and mineral has been found. and
where one may have his pick of any
mineral or geological formation he de-
sires.
In connection. however with the re-
ported platinum discoveries on the
Colorado plateau, in the neiEhbOrhood /
Of Cataract canyon il would seem that I
a more unlikely place for its existence /.
could hardly be selected. The entire
plateau consists of the upper carbon !
ferrous limestones. with here and there I
a few shales and s2ndstones Of the /
Permian era that have escaped the /
widespread erosion of the teroitry pc
riod. These contain no alluvial depos- I
it's whatever. nor has Il particle of gold /
ever been discovered there. However. F.
the well known saying that gold is
where you find it, may hold true also /.
of platinum and it will be u matter
very easily set at rest by the publica- !
ton of d certificate of assay signed by /
some reputable assayer. always bear +