Platinum has an important use in dentistry, though in emergencies palladium-gold alloys have been used as substitutes. Seemingly, however, the substitutes are not entirely satisfactory, and it may be necessary to go back to platinum for certain dental uses. The chief uses are for pins for crown work, pins for fastening artificial teeth to plates, and foil for making molds of cavities in which to bake porcelain fillings. For the time being, the palladium-gold substitutes can be used and perhaps they will be developed so that the use of pure platinum in the future may not be necessary.
The non-essential use of platinum metals is in jewelry, and it seems certain that this misuse of platinum metals must be stopped in order that industrial development may continue. It is estimated that for a number of years 50 per cent. of the platinum consumed in the world went into jewelry. A large part of platinum-mounted jewelry is in private ownership, and as the value of the metal in a jewel is approximately 35 per cent. of the total cost, it is evident that it would be difficult, if not impossible, in case of necessity to recover more than a small proportion of the large quantity of platinum that is in the form of jewelry.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
The relative importance of the platinum-producing countries of the world can best be judged by the past output, which is shown in the following [table],[181] and graphically in the chart.
[181] Hill, J. M.: “Platinum and Allied Metals,” U. S. Geol. Survey, “Mineral Resources, 1916,” Pt. 1, 1917, p. 3.
The platinum field of Russia is in the Ural Mountains, north of Ekaterinburg. In Colombia, South America, the chief production of platinum has come from the headwater streams of the San Juan River, which enters the Pacific near Buena Ventura; some platinum is found in the upper reaches of the Atrato River, which enters the Caribbean Sea near the east end of Panama. A small amount of platinum and osmiridium has come from New South Wales and some osmiridium from Tasmania. Some of the placers in southwestern Oregon and northern California carry platinum as well as gold. Platinum has recently been determined in concentrates from several localities in Alaska and Canada, and is known in some placers in Borneo and India.
Table 72.—Estimated World’s Production of Crude Platinum, 1909-1917
(In troy ounces)
| Country | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borneo and Sumatra | 500 | 200 | ... | ... | 200 | [182] | [182] | [182] | [182] |
| Canada | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 50 | 30 | 100 | 60 | 80 |
| New South Wales and Tasmania | 440 | 332 | 470 | 778 | 1,500 | 1,248 | 303 | 222 | [182] |
| Russia | 264,000 | 275,000 | 300,000 | 300,000 | 250,000 | 241,200 | 124,000 | 63,000 | 50,000 |
| United States | 672 | 390 | 628 | 721 | 483 | 570 | 742 | 750 | 605 |
| Totals | 271,642 | 285,952 | 313,128 | 313,529 | 267,233 | 260,548 | 143,145 | 89,932 | 82,685 |
[182] No basis for estimate.