Scrap Platinum
A considerable amount of platinum in the form of old and worn articles is now collected for return to the refineries, where it is re-treated, and sold again as new metal. The trade in scrap platinum has been particularly active in the United States, official statistics showing that in 1916, 49,400 oz. of refined platinum were recovered.
World’s Output of Platinum
According to J. L. Howe, the estimated limits of the total world-production of crude platinum, up to January 1917, were as follows[[13]]:
| In oz. | (troy) | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum. | Maximum. | |
| Russia | 7,115,482 | 10,128,308 |
| Colombia | 700,000 | 735,000 |
| Borneo | 175,000 | 200,000 |
| United States | 10,000 | 12,000 |
| Canada | 9,000 | 10,000 |
| Miscellaneous | 9,000 | 10,000 |
| Total | 8,018,482 | 11,095,308 |
On the other hand, James M. Hill[[14]] states that possibly 5,000,000 oz. was the total world’s production to June 1917, which he distributes according to the uses made of it as follows:
| Oz. | |
|---|---|
| Chemical and physical apparatus | 1,000,000 |
| Electrical devices | 250,000 |
| Catalyzing | 500,000 |
| Dental uses | 1,000,000 |
| Jewellery | 1,000,000 |
| Minor uses and hoarded (balance) | 1,250,000 |
It is difficult to obtain exact figures of the annual production of crude platinum. This is particularly so in the case of Russia, where there appears to have been a tendency for private enterprises to keep their published outputs as low as possible, in order to avoid registration. The discrepancy between the official and actual figures of production in Russia is variously estimated at from 20 to 60 per cent.
The table on the next page is compiled from the sources considered most reliable.
| World’s Production of Crude Platinum | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In troy oz.) | |||||||||
| 1910. | 1911. | 1912. | 1913. | 1914. | 1915. | 1916. | 1917. | 1918. | |
| Borneo and Sumatra[[C]] | 200 | 200 | [[D]] | [[D]] | [[D]] | [[D]] | |||
| Burma[[E]] | 38 | 57 | 58 | 37 | 18 | 9 | 4 | ||
| Canada[[F]] | 18 | 23 | 15 | 57 | 39 | ||||
| Colombia[[G]] | 10,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 | 17,500 | 18,000 | 25,000 | 32,000 | 27,030 |
| Madagascar[[H]] | 13 | 3 | |||||||
| New South Wales[[I]] | 332 | 470 | 610 | 442 | 244 | 56 | 82 | 259 | |
| Russia[[J]] | 176,334 | 187,008 | 177,596 | 157,735 | 157,182 | 119,789 | 78,682 | 50,000[[K]] | |
| United States[[C]] | 390 | 628 | 721 | 483 | 570 | 742 | 750 | 605 | |
| Victoria[[L]] | 184 | 127 | |||||||