PLATINUM.
DOMESTIC PRODUCTION.
CRUDE PLATINUM.
The
production of crude platinum in the United States increased somewhat in
1911, this increase being undoubtedly due to the high prices paid for
the metal. The production reported in 1911 was 628 troy ounces, an
increase of 238 ounces compared with the output of 1910. The reported
value in 1911 was $18,137, or $8,630 more than in 1910. The average
price paid per ounce of crude platinum sand was $28.87, compared with
$24.38 in 1910. The crude platinum sand generally contains a little
iridium, iridosmine, and gold, besides some remaining black sand. The
platinum content of the crude sands varies considerably, the average in
this country being about 70 per cent.
The
entire output of crude platinum in the United States is recovered from
placer mines in Oregon and California, which also produce gold. The
production of California in 1911 amounted to 511 troy ounces, valued at
$14,873; the output in 1910 was only 337 ounces, valued at $8,386. Of
the California product 488 ounces were recovered as a by-product in
dredging operations in Butte, Yuba, Sacramento, and Calaveras counties,
205 ounces being derived from Butte County and saved in the dredging of
gold-bearing gravels at Oroville. Smaller quantities were recovered
from placer operations of various kinds in Calaveras, Del Norte,
Humboldt, Placer, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties.
In
Oregon the quantity recovered in 1911 was 117 ounces, having a reported
value of $3,265. The production in 1910 was 53 troy ounces, valued at
$1,121. The ocean beaches in Coos and Curry counties yielded 50 ounces.
The remainder came mainly from placer mines in Josephine County, near
Kerby.
REFINED PLATINUM. PRODUCTION FROM PLATINUM SANDS.
The
production of refined platinum from crude metal derived from placers is
calculated on the basis of a content of fine metal of 70 per cent, and,
thus computed, 440 fine ounces is found to have been the output from
domestic placers in 1911.
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