The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-06-27
Romance Of Platinum Mining.
the Wide World MaxaxinA.

OilAlSu otdteS Is uVe times the value Oh
gold. while at Columbian ports and on
the rivers of that republic, whence
steadily increasing quantities are be-
ing obtained, b price actually now
received for The crude metal by the ma
tive miners is the equivalent of 20
pounds 40 shilltngs per ounce. In cons
junction with Columbian platinum
other rare metals are found and ex-
tracted in the process of refining, such
as Iridium, palladium, osmium (osnlir-
dunn, rhodium and ruthenium, all OF
which have special attributes, and are
correspondlngly costly, some OF them
closely approaching platinum in value
AS may be supposed. q metal witch
RECEIVES so much attention from gov
ernments-it is, or was, q monopoly
also in Russia-must possess remark
able properties which nay be briefly
stated: Alloyed with one of its by;
products, iridium, platinum is the
hardest Of metals. 1t will not tarnish
or oxidize, and is exceedingly ductile;
It's melting point is very high; Its
electric resistance and chemical re-
fractory qualities are corresponding
dlfflcult to express otherwise, It pos
sesses the lowest co~-efficient OF ex-
pansion Of any metal; is said to have
q greater specific gravity-that is, to
be heavier-than nj other known
substance; Is imDeryious to the corros-
~. VI d1y yOLUGEe EdS,a
and, except in aqua regia Ca combina~
Iion OF nitric and hydrochleric acids,
1T is insoluble in acids.
The basis of high explosives Is a
plentiful supply of acids, and particu~
larry OF strong Tuning sulphuric acid,
may be said to be an essential. In
deed, II is q very necessary article t
winning the war. The metal stands
Almost entirely alone in its applica-
ZION to magnetos, the contact points of
the ignition system ofSengines for aero
petrol motors, as also for standard
thermo couples, telephone and tele-
graph instruments, and for other pur-
poses, limos as vital, but too num-
erousSt to mention. sss-
Its high price is due to its great
scarcity. Fifty years ago it was worth
% shillings an ounce. A little short
OF two centuries ago, In 1872. when
first discovered in Colombia, it had no
market value at all, but was q per-
qulslte of the monarchs Of Spain, 10
whom Colombia belonged. AZ 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,
ne naturally found very little, and only
q small quantity was sent to Madrid
until some sort of reward became OBJ
As a matter of fact, the
native miner generally threw away as
valueless the platinum he found. AS
the washing Of theg ravels 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 a been thrown away.
The earliest recorded price paid for
platinum was two pesos a pound, in
17S2 Ny.I ca ahnJlfa fn1,r chs11ivr -, ,H.1r q
ent currency for a quantity OF precious
metal worth at this time $40 pounds
In the United Kingdom and $1,000 in,
the United States. The next recorded
price was y plaster or pieces Of
equivalent to about s15. In those early
days platinum was used for making
cups n other utensils, just as we use
pewter and Britannia metal, some-
times in place of bronze for statues.
As platinum is in~destructibie and the
year 1890 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 ulk of
this early platinum found its way, to
say nothing of busts and statues. OF
the latter, two of a king of Spain, one
Of pure platinum, the other of plati-
mum alleged with copper are Known
to have 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 that its orig
fnal source is duI1ite rock has been
proved there, as elsewhere, but nowhere
has what may be called the "matrix''
rock been found sufficiently rich to
warrant the employment of machinery
and stamps for crushing it. AS in the
| republic of Colombia, Russian platinum
Is obtained by dredging, sluicing or
tlydraulicing, or by native workers,
from a lnvfals-washed dirt and
grayels-in which, during the course
Of ages. it has been deposited. but it
would appear that the Russian de-
some years previous to 1912 Russia
yielded SIS per e of the total of the
worlds production, but the Russia.
yield. 800, 900 troy ounce in 1911. fell
It was vaSss SnI su aS'Sz5 oa Tla. WHIST = i'i'
No rich deposits of platinum have
been found in the British empire, far
flung though it is. 1t has a little. New
South Wales and Tasmania In 1916
produced 272 cunce and Canada 60
ounces. In the same year the United
States produced from its own ores 100
ounces. There Sren1ainS h republic of
Colombia, which in 1916 yielded 2 {, 5000
ounces n is reported to have pro-
duced round about 5000 ounces in
1877 of a value roughly of SIS. 900, 900.
The First Nevspapsr Cartoon.
From#the Pittsburgh Dispatch.
Ransainin FrankIin's Pennsylvania Ga
Eette -Was the first American newspaper
to prtht q cartoon. There were ru1Tors
of 2 possible war with the French VII