NOBLE METALS

Evening Star, Issue 22578, 20 February 1937, Page 28

NOBLE METALS

THE PLATINUM GROUP REMARKABLE FALL IN PRICKS. Not long ago platinum and its allies were regarded as very precious meials whose price only warranted their use tor luxury purposes, sucli as expensive jewellery or tor purposes wliere uotinng else would uo, such as laboratory crucunes, louiuam pen points, and magneio contacts. i'he price was higli because the sources of su'ppiy were mainly uauieu lo Uie placet deposits ot Colombia and the Urals, and the lugli price naturally militated against any eonsideraoie increase in industrial demand. Two even vs, however,, completely changed the situation —a more active exploitation of Russia’s platinum deposits and the production of comparatively large quantities of all the metals of the platinum groups as byproducts from the Canadian nickel and copper reimerios working on Sudbury ores. i'riccs thereupon fell progressively, and it is only within the last, .year or so Unit price s.abilisation lias again been achieved. I'nilinmn, which in tU2b was wor,li nearly &! pet ounce, was priced at loss than £i in Iyjs. and the price of iridium fell in even more spectacular fashion from £73 to little more than £lO per ounce in the same period. The fall in price and activilies for stimulating sales led to a considerable increase in consumption, and the metals of the platinum group are now used in many industries, and to such an extent that - the world consumption for 1935 amounted to about 275,0000 z. Canada is now a very important source of the platinum group of metals, her production probably exceeding that of all other countries together. Russia and Colombia still contribute largely to the output. South Africa is also an important p-oducer, and Alaska has lately come to the fore with a production estimated to exceed 9,0000 z in 1935. The British Empire provides an important part of the world’s production of platinum metals, and the world’s largest re-finery-is at Acton, London, where 300,0000 z of these metals can be refined annually. Of special interest at the present time is the position of Abyssinia, whose declared production of crude platinum averages about 6,0000 z a year. This constitutes probably the chief iteih of the known mineral production of that country. The deposits lie in the extreme south-west, and although the more important concessions have for the past 10 years been in the bands of an Italian concern much of the platinum produced has been sent to England for refining.