Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-12-13
SAVING PLATINUM
A Little Drama Enacted In Uncle
Sans Assay Offices.

Even the United States government
has become possessed Of the present
day fever to eliminate any waste and
stop leaks in the methods OF doing
things. The results. particularly in
the mints and assay Offices. have been
remarkable
For instance. the old method Of ex-
tracing gold from baser metals when
Il came from the mint consisted merely
OF treating the smelter bars Of gold
with nitric acid. which dissolved out
the baser metals. leaving the gold with
a small percentage of impurities that
could be- removed by fusing with inter.
Germany went the United States oze
better 20 this. The professors over
there. men whose genius for scientific
detail is unsurpassed by Nose Of any
other nation, perfected a process for
refining by electricity. Simply stated,
81 Is nothing more nor less than electric
plating. The smelter bars are placed
in the plating bath, and the gold is de-
posted in an absolutely pure state,
leaving the base metals behind in solu-
lion
il was this residue that Interested
the high brow professors. The fact
that platinum is frequently found with
gold has been recognized ever since
the science OF metallurgy was in swad-
ding clothes. also the fact that gold
and platinum have one quality in com
mOu-i O., that no single acid known
Will dissolve them. 1t takes a comb
nation Of nitric and muriatic acids to
get either Of these two metals in solu
tiOr. Silver. on the other hand, ia
readily soluble in nitric acid. No one
ever thought Of testing n nitric acid
solution OF silver for the presence Of
platinum because Of the theory, sound
nS religion. that platinum could not be
dissolved by nitric acid Therefore, il
was argued, If there wasn't enough
silver In the solution 70 make II worth
while % extract IT, then. OF course.
there could not be any platinum. so
into the sewer 70 went
The professors began TO experiment.
~ the first step they uncovered the
du,ky gentleman I'm the wood pile.
They discovered a curious fact-name-
j.. that. while platinum alone was not
soluble In nitric acid. some Of its al
Toys with silver We're soluble. For
instance. a composition Of per cent
platinum IN silver Is readily soluble
Right there was the ciew leading 70 the
discovery that for years out Of mem
DRY untold quantities Of the precious
metal essential above all others In
electrical manufactures. had been run
ming into the sewer. All solutions were
carefully tested. Salts OF iron were
added. precipitates supposedly OF silver
were Analysed. and since then plati-
mum at the rate Of 5000 month has
been offered for sale by Uncle Sam.
10 f. Interesting TO trace the sources
OF this gold I'm that the facts suggest
that sooner or later deposits OF plati-
NUN IN large quantities are going to
be found. Little Of the gold coming
from the western United states and
Alaska contains platinum. II Is found
almost entirely IN the gold mined in
Mexico and South America. Gold from
these districts is coming in larger
quantities year after year II is found,
for instance. I'm what is popularity
known as Guinea gold. Guinea gold
has peculiar luster all its own. Il is
highly priced I'm the jewelry trade for
this same peculiar color.
There are vast reaches Of wilderness
I'm South America that. filed with
mlasmic sw0mpS and lurid savaSes
armed with poisoned arrows. have 50
far resisted the advance OF the white
man. n seems not too much to expect
that sooner or later. when these dis
trirts are exploited. platinum in large
quantities viii be discovered. Some
Bret HARE is probably a-borning now