The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-06-18
PLATINUM NOW
MOST SOUGHT FOR
METAL IN WORLD

Washington, June 1S.-New chap
tiers in the romance of platinum, once
thrown away as waste but now the
most sought-after metal in the world,
have been written since the war began.
Nations are fighting for it. Adven-
turers are risktng their lives to OBJ
tain it. Women spies and diplomatic
agents are playing the game of inter
national intrigue to control even an
ounce of the noble metal" as 1t is
known to biologists, so valuable has
it become and SO necessary to the pros
ecution of the world war
The United States government re-
Gently took hand in the game by
communicating all unworked plati-
mum in this country, setting therefor
a price of $105 an ounce, as compar-
ed with $22.S5 ten years ago. Even
this action, however has not obtain
ed sufficient of the metal for war
the warnings of platinum experts at
purposes. Officials who failed to heed
the beginning of the war are wonder
ing how they can retrieve their error
in not vigorously meeting the national
necessity by using every legitimate
means to obtain Platinum. For, the
total amount of known platinum
throughout the world is only 1000, 900
ounces, of which about one-fourth is
in the United States. Much of that
is virtually irreclaimable through the
use in dental work and personal jew
elry, and the output, since the Russian
debacle, has fallen to a fraction of
what it was in times of peace.
1t is the last reason which is giving
officials so much concern. Russia
has been the source of most of the
worlds platinum, and and 1913, was
| credited with O. production of ESQ, 900
Troy ounces, Columbia with 5000,
New South Wales and Tasmania 1,275,
United States California and Oregon
being almost the only producing
states )only 483, Borneo and Suma-
ira, 200 and Canada SO.
| The German invasion of Russia
gave the enemy the opportunity of re-
plenishing his stocks of platinum, to
the detriment of the Allies. Mining
in Russia virtually has ceased now,
even if-the metal could be shipped out
Columbia for platinum. Suggestions
flor government monopoly of plati-
mum have been advanced in the Co
lumbar congress. Whatever action is
taken, the fortunes of war will mean
wealth for the southern republic.
| One of the most spectacular feats
| of the war was the concentration of
10000 ounces of platinum in Russia
by young American mining engineer,
attached to the embassy there, who
recognized the Importance of obtain
ing the metal. Each precious brick,
wrapped in a leather cover, was
brought halfway across the world to
the United States and turned over to
the government for use in the manu-
| factutre of sulphuric acid, a constitl-
ent of explosives, for the manufacture
Of contact points in electrical appara-
| tus and other uses necessary to war.
An interesting history of platinum is
given by the Latin-American Division
of the Bureau of Foreign and Domes-
tic Commerce.
Platinum was discovered in what is
now Columbia in 1875, by a Spaniard
named Don Antonio de Ulloa, who &C
| companied a French scientific expedi-
ton, and his account Of it was the first
information regarding the metal to be
| brought to the attention of Europeans.
Its resistability to acids and the diff
ficulty of working it were remarked
upon, but it was not considered to be
nearly as precious as gold, and was
used at times by counterfeiters as a
basis for coins. It vas not until the
middle of the nineteenth century that
the demand for platinum for use in
| chemical laboratories and for electri-
cal uses brought its value up to the
point where it ranked as one of the
most precious metals.
| In the placer mining of gold in Co
lumbia it was formerly thrown away
as waste, and when the rise in price
made it more valuable than gold the
ground on which the waste had been
thrown became in it's turn a field for
mining operations, and even the streets
of the principal center of gold refining
in Columbia, Quibdo, were torn up
and the soil washed for particles of
the new treasure. One man tore down
his store in order to get at the ground
| beneath, and found SO much platinum
that he was enabled to rebuild and
make an extra $4,000 for his trouble.
Platinum is recovered principally
from the beds of streams, the particles
having been deposited there through
erosion of large rocks, classified geo
logically as Tertiary conglomerates -
The platinum grains are found with
gold, the proportion varying from to
! so per cent. of platinum. The two
metals are recopered by washing the
sand and gravel of streams
The marked rise in the price of
platinum in the last two or three years
has considerably stimulated mining
activities in Columbia, especially on
the part of the native miners
Present imports of Columbian
platinum by the United States repre-
sents almost the total visible exports
of that country.