The mine price of the ore in 1940 was 100 milreis per metric ton.
The
price per metric ton of a shipment of ferro-nickel of 88,979 kilograms
in 1940 was 2,763 milreis the destination being Germany.
The
principal nickel semi-manufactures imported are cubes and sheets, the
average during the 1920-9 decade having been 11,030 kilograms annually
while that during the five year period from 1930 to 1934 averaged
29,980 kilograms. The annual overseas purchases during the 1935-9
quinquennium which averaged 101,150 kilograms were the largest to date,
the importation of 1938 being 156,625 kilograms, more than any single
annual purchase in the last twenty odd years. In 1940, imports totalled
63,218 kilos, the principal sources being the United States and Great
Britain.
The
imports of nickel manufactures show the following changes: i920-9
average — 6,910 kilograms, 1930-4 average — 1,040 kilograms and 1935-9
average — 9,280 kilograms. As compared to 1939 in which the imports
totalled 31,370 kilograms, that of 1940 amounted to but 7,916
kilograms, a decrease of 75%. In 1940, the chief sources were the
United States and England.
19. PLATINUM
A
larger part of the platinum consumed is absorbed by the jeweiry
industry, its alloy with iridium being used extensively in rings and
other types of jewelry. The second in importance is the chemical
industry where it is used as a catalyst, vessel linings, hydrogenation
of organic compounds, rayon spinnerets and laboratory equipment. The
dental industry also uses considerable quantities in orthodontic work,
in bridges and in bracings. The uses in the electrical field are
largely in the field of contact points, resistances, voltage
regulators and meters. In Brazil, a considerable portion is used in
dental work and jewelry, the industrial uses being of an indefinite
nature.
The
rapid extension of uses for this metal have so increased consumption
that despite the larger recovery of platinum from refining processes of
nickel, copper and gold (17% in 1929 and 57% in 1938) production has
not been a,ble to create huge surplus stocks.
The
discovery of platinum dates back to the beginning of the last Century.
In 1801, the occurrence of this metal in the auriferous zone of the
state of Minas Gerais was a known fact.
Platinum
is found associated with gold and diamonds or isolated in the alluvium
of the Abaete River and in the ravines of the eastern flanks of the
Serra do Espinhaco which commences at Morro do Pilar and goes on to
Itambe do Serro in the state of Minas Gerais; in the auriterous ores of
Itabira and Congo Soco and in the volcanic cones in Coromandel and Carmo do Parnaiba in the same state.
In
the eastern Espinhaco region, platinum is found in the gravels of the
Picao Ravine, the Lages Ravine, the Bomsucccsso Ravine and in Ribeirao
das Pedras in the form of sheets, or in lumps the size of a bunch of
grapes. The density of the platinum grains of the Lages Ravine varies
from 18 to 20.5 and
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