Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-06-27
Romance Of platinum Mining.
From the Wide World Magazine.

est of metals, and possessing a very
high melting point. it has been com
numbered by the various govern
ments for use in the making of aero
plane and h%ydroplane engines and in
other eapon of war. 1t is, in fact, a
metal essential to winning the war.
The price of refined platinum in the
United States is five times the value of
gold. while at Columbian ports and on
the rivers of that republic, whence
steadily Increasing quantities are be-
ing obtained. the price actually now
received for the crude metal by the ma
tive miners is the equivalent of 20
pounds 10 snillings per ounce. In con-
junction with Columbian platinum.
other rare metals are found and ex-
tracted in the process of refining, such
as iridium, palladium, osmium (osmir-
dium), rhodium n ruthenium. all of
which have special attributes, and are
correspondingly costly. some of them
closely approaching platinum in value.
AS may be supposed, a metal which
receives SO much attention from gov
erntnents-it is, or was. Il monopoly
aiso in Russia-must possess remark
able properties. which may be briefly
stated: Alloyed with one Of it's by
products. iridium. platinum is the
hardest of metals. 1t will not tarnish
or oXidize. and Is exceedingly ductile;
its melting point is very high: it's
electric resistance INC chemical re-
HNNSOA 4aailI1CS dIe corresponding
~ great. To use a technical phrase,
dlfflcuit to express otherwise, it pos
sesses the lowest co-efficient of ex-
panston Of any metal; is said to have
q reate specific gravity-that is, to
be heavier-than any other known
substances; is impervious to the corros-
I've action of Oxygen or any other gas;
and. except in aqua regia "a combina-
ton of nitric and h~ydrochloric acidkD,.
1t is insoluble in acids.
Ihe basis of high explosives is a
plentiful supply of acids. and particu-
iarly of strong tuning sulphuric acid,
In the manufacture of which platinum
may be said to be an essential. In
deed, 1T Is a very necessary article to
winning the war. The metal stands
ton to magnetos. the contact points of
the ignition system OF engines for aero
planes, hydroplanes, and all kinds of
petrol motors. as also for standard
thermo couples, telephone and tele-
graph instruments, and for other pur-
poses. almost as vital, but too num-
erouS to mention.
Its high price is due to it's great
scarcity: Fifty ear ago it was worth
70 shillings an ounce. A little short
first discovered in Colombia, it had no
market value at all, but was a per-
quisite of the monarchs of Spain, to
whom Colombia belonged. AS the ma
tive finder received no reward, but
was obliged to surrender to the author
tiles any platinum which he had dis
covered in washing gravels for gold,
he naturally foundv very little, and only
n small quantity was sent to Madrid
until some sort of reward became OBJ
tainable. As a matter of fact. the
native miner generally threw away as
valueless the platinum he found. AS
the washing of the gravels was largely
carried out near the miners huts.
where later on the platinum and gold
were separated, many houses have re-
Gently been pulled down for the purpose
of recovering from the earth below the
platinum which la been thrown away.
The earliest recorded price paid for
platinum was two pesos a pound, in
1888. or. say. about four shillings pres
ent currency for a quantity of precious
metal worth at this time 240 pounds
in the United Kingdom and $1,000 in
the United States. The next recorded
price was II plaster or pieces of
light" per pound, which would be
lays platinum was used for making
cups and other utensils. just as we use
pewter and Britannia metal, and some
times in place OF bronze for statues.
As platinum is indestructible and the
year 1900 is not SO very long ago there
should be a considerable number Of
exceedingly valuable cups jugs, ewers,
coffee pots and other articles still re-
naming in Spain. where the bulk of
his early platinum found its way, to
say nothing of busts and statues. OF
ihe latter. W Of a king of Spain, one
IF pure platinum. the other of plati-
lum alleged with copper are known
20 nave been sent from Colombia as
gifts to the monarch they represented.
No records are available of the first
discovery of platinum in the Ural
Mountains Of Russia, but hat it's orig
nal source is dunite rock has been
proved there, as elsewhere, but nowhere
,ock been found sufficiently rich to
warrant the employment of machinery
md stamps for crushing it. AS in the
.epublic Of Colombia. Russian platinum
3 obtained by dredging. sluicing or
iydraulicing, or by native workers.
rom a luvials-washed dirt and
:rayels-in which, during the course
II ages. it has been deposited. but it
you'd appear that the Russian de-
,osits are becoming exhausted. For
ono years previous to 1912 Russia
,ielded 95 per cent of the total of the
worlds production. but the Russian
sield. 100000 troy ounces in 1911, fell
% 1855. 38l ounces in 1912. whilst in 1915
t was only 1855 ounces.
No rich deposits of platinum have
oeen found in the British empire, far
lung though 1t is. 1t has a little. New
3outh Wales and Tasmania in 1916
produced 272 ounces. and Canada go
ounces. In the same year the United
ounces. There remains the republic of
Colombia, which in 1915 yielded $4,000
unces and is reported TO have pro-
1uced round about $4,000 ounces In
1917. Of Q value roughly Of @6,0oo.o00.