The Alaska prospector., 1903-04-16

metal that h Heatly Ol 1nuustIlal use. Gold and silver are valuable for decorative purposes, but plati- mum is almost indispensable in certain branches of industry. The fact, for instance. that its coefficient of expansion is almost exactly the same as that of glass, and that it can therefore be embedded in glass without danger of cracking, has made it of importance in cleo tricity; but this is only one of the numerous points in its favor. Un- fortunately this metal is very rare; it cannot, of course, compete in this regard with such rare metals as are only chemical curiosities, like radium, of which it is estimated that the whole earth contains only two pounds; but the rarity of these substances is hardly felt as an in dustrial stringency. Says a writer in the Revue Scientifque, lJan- nary 2):
 Platinum is metal that was unkown until relatively recent times. The ancient did not have it; the alchemist of the Middle Ages, Infidel or Christian, did not discover it in their crucibles and alembics. It was not discovered until toward the middle of the eighteenth century. But the cnri- ous thing about its history is that while all other metals, as the need for them made itself more strongly, were found in greater quantities, platinum, although greatly apprec- iated and much in demand, re- mains very rare. The places where it is found are few. Thus platinum never falls in price, although its value often varies much. In 1922 it brought 10000 francs a kilogram [$909 pound]; in 1870, after the discovery of the deposits in the Urals, it was 300 francs ($136 a pound). But in 1895 it Wa. worth about 5000 francs ($273 a pound). . and in December. 1901, more still. Platinum was first discovered in South America; it was regarded as a form of silver, whence its name plata, being the Spanish word for silver. It is now found also in Colombia, Brazil, Haiti, and Bor- neo, but it is much more abundant in the Ural mountains. The Ural mines furnish yearly about 4,OOO kilograms assoc pounds); the rest of the world hardly a thousand. Thus Russia controls the produc- tion and sale of platinum. It would appear that the Russians had q plan to demonetize their sil- yer pieces coined before 1850, in order that the platinum in them might be extracted; but these pieces have become very rare-the idea had occurred to individual chemists before it was suggested to the authorities. And platinum remains rare-very rare; there is a platinum famine, and industry demands loudly the new discovery of new deposits of the precious metals. s'"
 That platinum exists in Alaska there is no doubt, for two years ago, and also last season, some of the Slate creek black sand from which the gold had been ex- tracted and which had been cast aside, was afterwards taken up and carefully treated for platinum with the result that from about a painful of sand about half an ounce of platinum was secured,
 As nothing is sought for hut gold, this black sand, with its wealth of platinum, is constantly being thrown away, and that is largely due to the fact that so few know anything about platinum or how to save it.
 Knowing of its existence on Slate creek, it is well to assume that it exists elsewhere in Alaska, and it behooves the prospector to study the subject, learn what it looks like and then keep a lookout for it