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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Platinum Processes & UsesA solid platinum nugget. Image from popsci.com.Nuggets or grains of pure platinum can be found in nature, but more frequently, platinum is found alloyed with other metals, such as iron, copper, gold, nickel, and the other PGMs. The size of platinum grains or nuggets varies from small granules to pebbles weighing up to 20 pounds (9 kg) or more. When platinum is found in a pure state, it is called native platinum .The Ural Mountains are well known for their rich mineral deposits. Over the last few centuries mining has varied from small-scale family operations to large mining conglomerates.In contrast to gold, platinum nuggets are relatively inconspicuous. They have a dull grayish or blackish color but when you handle them, they can be distinguished by their extraordinary heft . When iron is present in the alloy, a platinum nugget can also be slightly magnetic, a diagnostic tool for evaluating new discoveries. Native platinum and platinum alloys can be found in concentrated sand and gravel beds called placer deposits. The sand and gravel beds are created when old rock is eroded from its source and further ground into pieces as it is washed into streams and rivers. Most of the world’s placer platinum is found in Russia. In the 19th century, alluvial deposits in the Ural Mountains were heavily mined. However, these deposits have been stripped of their highest-grade ore and now account for less than one percent of the platinum production from Russia.Alluvial platinum deposit in the far eastern Koryak region of Russia.Over the past ten years, significant quantities of platinum have been produced from two alluvial deposits in the far eastern region of Russia: the Kondyor mine in Khabarovsk region and the Koryak mine in Kamchatka. Together these two operations produced 185,000 oz of platinum in 2005.Mining platinum in placer deposits is a relatively simple process. Dredges scoop the platinum-bearing sand or gravel from riverbeds or mining pits. The material is washed until platinum grains or nuggets are captured and pulled from the surrounding material. Sperrylite, or platinum arsenide. Photo from Thomas A. Loomis, Dakota Matrix Minerals.Platinum is also mined as an ore . Platinum ores such as sperrylite and cooperite may be mined when they are found in quantities that make extraction economically feasible. In other situations, platinum is obtained as a by-product when ores of other metals, such as copper and nickel, are refined.Modern
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