DOMESTIC PRODUCTION.
CRUDE PLATINUM.
Owing
to the fact that the statistics of the production of mines for the
calendar year 1919 are being collected in cooperation with the Bureau
of the Census, Department of Commerce, no authentic data are available
at this date (Apr. 30, 1920) concerning the output of crude platinum by
the mines in the Western States.
It
is known that approximately 683 ounces of crude platinum from mines in
California, 119 ounces from mines in Oregon, and 22 ounces from mines
in Alaska—a total of 824 ounces—was purchased by refiners in 1919,
indicating an increased production of crude platinum by domestic mines,
which produced 647 ounces in 1918.
REFINED PLATINUM METALS.
NEW METALS.
Reports
received from refiners of platinum, gold bullion, nickel, and copper
indicate that 45,109 troy ounces of refined new metals of the platinum
group was recovered in 1919, a decrease of 14,644 ounces, or 25 per
cent, from the new metals recovered in 1918. About 11,759 troy ounces
of the new metals recovered in 1919 is believed to have been derived
from domestic materials.
