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Platinum Group Elements
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The Platinum group elements consist of elements that have similar properties. They are all rare and almost occur exclusively in their natural state. The metal elements of the Platinum group are Platinum Palladium and Rhodium. Other members that are natural alloys consist of platinum-iridium and iridium-osmium. The iridium and osmium alloys have structures similar to that of Magnesium. The Platinum Group Elements are overwhelmingly associated with Mafre Plutonic Rocks. Platinum and Palladium absorb Gases and are chemically inert. Rhodium is an excellent reducing agent for Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) |
PlatinumPlatinum (pt) metal is usually found in small grains and scales. Native Platinum commonly contains Iron or sodium. When large amounts of iron are found with platinum, it has a tendency to become polarized. Platinums physical properties are:
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HistoryPlatinum was first discovered in the early 18th century in the United States of Colombia. The name Platinum however, has it's roots in Europe. The word Platinum comes from the Spanish word "Plata" meaning silver, because of its close resemblance to silver. |
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In 1822 Platinum was discovered in the Ural Mountains of the USSR, just east of Moscow. Up until the 1930 this was the worlds primary source for Platinum. 1934 brought Canadians into mining Platinum. This discovery near Sudbury Ontario made Canada the leading world producer. Canadian Platinum is primarily found associated with Copper/Nickel ore. (Cornelious Hurlbut Jr, Dana's manual of mineralogy 17th edt., c1958, john Witey & Sons, p.232). |
| South Africa became the leading producer of Platinum in the 1950's. This lead in World Production comes as a by-product of gold mining on the Rand. The chief source in Africa is the Merenshy Reef, coming from basic rocks of the Bushveld igneous complex. |
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Palladium (pd) was first discovered in the 1803 and named after the "Pallas" asteroid. It is found with members of the Platinum group in the placer deposits of the USSR, North and South America, Ethiopia and Australia. South American and Canadian Palladium is commonly found associated with Nickel or Copper. It's separation depends on the ore in which it is found. Palladium does not tarnish in air, it is the least dense and has the lowest melting point of the group. |
| Palladium has the unusual property of absorbing (at room temperature) up to nine hundred times its volume of Hydrogen. When Palladium is heated it diffuses the Hydrogen thus purifying the gas. |
EconomyThe largest exporters (top 5 of 1999):Platinum
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| Japan is the leading industrial consumer of Platinum and Palladium. Canadian nonferrous producers recover a large amount of Platinum Group Metals by recycling domestic and imported post-consumer materials. South African mining is the only body that is mined primarily for its Platinum Group Metals. Most other countries produce Platinum Group Metals as a byproducts of other mining. |
| Due to an 11% increase in Platinum demands last year (2000) the prices of Platinum "reached a 12-year high of $19.67 US/g ($612 US/oz)" (Mining Engineering, Platinum, palladium demand outstrips supplyin 2000, December 2000, p.7) prices are expected to remain in the $18 US to $20 US/g ($560 US to $630 US/oz) range for the next six months. Palladium demand is declining and has been forecast to fall around 10%. Demand for Palladium, in the auto and dental industries, is declining due to its high price. The sole area in which palladium demand is increasing is the electronic industry, this is caused by the increased production of capacitors. |  |
| The Platinum Group Metals have a variety of uses in todays world. Their use in many diverse fields is due to it's high melting point of 17550 °C, on their high resistance to chemical attack, and to their superior hardness compared to other metals. |
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Platinum Group Elements are used for a variety of thing such as:
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They are used in:
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| For more information on Platinum Group Elements visit: www.ecomed.de/journals/espr/ |