Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-12-10
/. PLATINUM VERY SCARCE.

EeSdcd In Electrical WORK, supply Does
jE~ff Not Meet l emand.
z "a goodgdeal Of concern has been eX-
pressed in-the last year or SO on the
Aubject of platinum, and the source OF
production to meet the growing de-
Nfandsa- It~is beyond doubt that the
Supply Is not increasingly it IS in
-e.easing at all-at anything like the
same rate as the consumption; and If
tsthis position is not rectihed and the
balance readjusted it is easy to foresee
q time when enterprises which depend
,upGn platinum will languish for want
of5fae material which it will be i'm
possible to secure in adequate quanti-
tiesSeven at famine prices. Legislation
in lthe reichstas of the fatherland has
q way of being grandfatherly at times,
but in the circumstances there is much
| toebe said for the bill which was under
consideration not long ago with the
object of obtaining legal prohibition
offhe use of platinum where it could
he:ireplacei without serious inconven-
ieneesby some other metal and to Il l.
it Its consumption 10 cases where its
employment is essential.
Il is not easy to see how such an en-
actfnent as this could be enforced
strictly but, in the abstract, the meas
ureEwas undoubtedly wise; besides, the
restricted use of platinum in one coun-.
try$would so a very little way to rene
dysa situation that is becoming acute
il all manufacturing countries. For
the metal is in great request in the
manufacture of electrical apparatus
and for electrical engineering gen.
erafly, as well as for numerous other
purposes for which no effective sub
stitnte has been found. There is no
good reason to anticipate an actual eH'
haustion Of supplies, but the fear is
that, mainly with the progress of cleo
tricity the gulf between demand and
supply may become wider and wider.
Something like 95 percent of last
years production of 1890 pounds, a5
compared with 13,250 pounds for 1900,
came from Russia; and while il is prob
able that scientific exploitation OF the
Whole of the Urals would lead to the
discovery Of other sources Of supply,
1t is pretty clear that in the govern
ment of Perm little enough progress
is being made in spite of the profitable
ness of the industry. Perhaps the
sparseneSs of the distribution accounts
largely Tor tins. The metal is OBJ
tanned from alluvial deposits or up to
four to five zolotniks 1.-THE zo!otnill is
eQua platinum-bearing sands, which
frequently include gold, and which vary
i'll occurrence up to four to five 20
lotniks, the zolotnik is equal to &C
grains Troy, and more in 100 pools of
sand, 1910 pounds.
The thickness of the beds ranges
from three feet to seven feet. The
grains of metal are small in size, but
sometimes nuggets weighing kilo-
gram or more are unearthed. The
platinum is often accompanied by
other rare metals, such as iridium and
t,,,a ;,,st b,5,aatrs9Je Il Is sent to st. Petersburg
~ 'AS ~ oitbouob +boro
are refneries in that city, very Ifttfe
is dealt with there, and, as the demand
for the metal is almost entirely from
abroad, the bulk is exported as it is
received from the mines.
We have been told to look to New
South Wales as an important source Of
supply, and probably with scientific
exploitation, the investment of rea-
sonable amount OF capital and the di-
version of miners from gold seeking
that colony would be of use in supply
ing the worlds requirements. the
metal there is obtained chiefly from the
Fiield district about 322 miles west
of Sydney, where it is found associated
with gold. Here the principal work.
inss are ct Platina, a township situated
about two miles from that of Fifield,
q deep alluvial lead" containing plat
mum and gold, extending from near
the former place for over mile in
length AMI varying from 60 feet to 15U
feet in width.-Engineering.