Platinum is regarded as an extremely rare metal, that occurs as only 0.003 ppb in the crust of earth. It is frequently found in chemically un-combined state as native platinum. It also occurs in alloyed form with iridium as platiniridium. The occurrence of native platinum is usually in the secondary deposits while the alloyed form platinum is found in alluvial deposits. These alluvial deposits were used by pre-Columbian people and still form a good source for platinum group metals. Apart from it, other large alluvial deposit was found in Russia within the Ural Mountains and this source of platinum is still unmined.
Platinum group metals occur in nickel and copper deposits as sulfides, tellurides, antimonides and arsenides. They form end alloys with nickel or copper. One of the major sources of platinum associated with nickel ores is Platinum arsenide that is found in the Sudbury Basin deposit in the Ontario region of Canada. The rare sulfide mineral cooperate contains platinum in addition to palladium and nickel. It is found in the Merensky Reef in the Bushveld complex of South Africa.
The chromites were identified in the Bushveld region in 1985 and later platinum was discovered in 1906. The Bushveld complex in South Africa is the largest known primary reserves of platinum all over the world. Apart from it, the other large deposits include the Sudbury Basin, Canada and copper–nickel deposits around Norilsk in Russia.
The huge quantities of nickel ore are processed in the Sudbury Basin and it suggests that platinum is a rare element with only 0.5 ppm of it is present in the ore. Some of the smaller reserves of platinum are found in the Absaroka Range in Montana region of United States. The South Africa is the top producer of platinum followed by Russia and Canada. Platinum is also found to occur in abundant quantities on the moon and meteorites.
Related posts:
