The
production as given in the second column of this table is really only a
crude estimate. Those best conversant with the situation state that the
smuggled platinum amounts to about 50 or 60 per cent of the official
figures.
The
larger proportion of the Russian platinum is produced by washing the
gravels by manual labor. About 20 per cent is recovered by dredging
operations, many of the dredges obtaining both gold and platinum in
their sluices. The average yield is stated to be 0.07 ounce per metric
ton of gravel.
In
Russia platinum is produced by five large operators: The Society
Industrielle du Platine, The Platinum Co., Count Schouwaloff,
Demi-doff's Successors, and Prince Abemelik-Lazarieff. In 1900 these
five operators produced 90.1 per cent of the total yield, but of late
their aggregate output is said to have declined.
Almost
all of the platinum produced in Russia is refined abroad, in London,
by, Johnson, Matthey & Co.; in Paris, by Quennesseu, de Belmont
Legendre & Co.; and in Germany, by Heraeus & Co. (Hanau). The
domestic refiners have already been mentioned.
In
1909 a French company, the Societe Anonyme d'lndustrie du Platine,
obtained practical control for a term of years over the output of the
principal operating companies. The small producers, who formerly had no
organization and whose position was becoming intolerable, held a
congress at Ekaterinburg to devise measures for their relief. The
Russian Government assisted, but no definite results were reached. It
was suggested that the export of crude platinum be prohibited, but
whether so drastic a measure, involving the breaking of contracts of
producers with refiners, will be adopted by the Russian Government is
still doubtful.
COLOMBIA.
The
platinum-bearing districts of Colombia were described in Mineral
Resources for 1908. These placer deposits in which platinum and gold
often occur together are at present under development, but their
p
roductive capacity is
still imperfectly known. Next to the platinum eposits of Russia this
region appears to be the most promising for future supply, but up to
date the production has been small, amounting only to a few thousand
ounces per annum. The production for 1910 was probably about 10,000
fine ounces, a great advance over the pro-
