As one of the lesser-known but nonetheless vital
precious metals, platinum has a long history of being used for jewelry and ornamentation,
reaching back to the ancient Egyptian empire, having been discovered on a coffin unearthed in
Thebes estimated to be from the 7th century BC. Platinum is a metal that
represents power, prestige, and a sense of great accomplishment. It has come
to symbolize a high level of status in society, as evidenced by top tier credit cards
and membership programs using its name, but platinum is so much more than just a status
symbol. Modern day uses of platinum include being a key element in catalytic converters for
vehicles, as it converts car exhaust gases into less harmful substances, as a catalyst in
the chemical industry, and even in the creation of life-saving anti-cancer drugs. But that's
just scratching the surface. On today's episode, we explore this exclusive metal that befuddled
miners and scientists alike when it was first discovered. Dubbed platina, or 'little silver',
by the Spanish conquistadors, the truth is it's so much more than meets the eye. Time
to dig into platinum, on Commodity Culture. Platinum is a gray-white precious metal and
one of a group of six elements known as the platinum group metals. The other metals in the
group are iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium. Platinum is the most common of
the group and sees the most use. Platinum's atomic number is 78, it has an atomic mass of 195
units, a melting point of 1768 degrees celsius, and is resistant to corrosion,
stable at high temperatures, and has stable electrical properties. The name
platinum comes from the spanish word platina, basically translating to little silver. This
somewhat derogatory word was coined by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century as they
had no idea of platinum's uses or true value and considered it an annoyance that interfered
with their attempts to mine gold. In those times, it was widely believed that platina was young
gold and that given time, it would turn yellow as it matured but until then, better to toss it
aside and get back to mining for the real thing. Platinum is rarely found on its own. It
is often deposited alongside gold, copper, iron nickel, and of course the other platinum
group metals. When discovered, platinum can be quite inconspicuous at first glance, with nuggets
having a dull gray or black hue. One thing that can help identify it is its incredible heft when
held and if iron is also present in the alloy, it will be slightly magnetic. Some of the first
known platinum jewelry was crafted by the ancient indigenous peoples of Ecuador, with estimates
placing their culture several centuries before the Spanish conquest of South America in 1492.
It was particularly in the province of Esmeraldas where some of the most striking pieces were found,
leading anthropologist William Farabee to declare: "The native Indian workers of Esmeraldas
were metallurgists of marked ability. They were the only people who manufactured
platinum jewelry." Considering platinum is far more difficult to forge and manipulate than
say, gold or silver, the method these ancient peoples used to work such a problematic metal
was nothing short of incredible and a testament to their dedication to their craft. Platinum
fragments were coated with gold dust then heated by blowpipe on pieces of wood charcoal. The
molten gold then caused the platinum to sinter, meaning coalesce into a porous mass through
heating, which then allowed it to be forged. Being the rarest of all the precious metals, along with
its incredible strength as the hardest among them, has led platinum to being one of the preferred
forms of jewelry throughout the ages. In addition, it is highly resistant to scratches and other
blemishes and does not wear away easily. Platinum, along with the other platinum group metals
has strong catalytic properties, meaning it can accelerate or trigger a chemical process
without becoming permanently changed or consumed. For this reason, it is employed widely in
the manufacturing of catalytic converters for use in exhaust systems in internal combustion
vehicles. Platinum present in exhaust systems helps curb vehicle pollution and contributes
to enhanced air quality. Catalytic converters represent a whopping 50 percent of platinum
demand each year. Due to its high melting point, platinum is indispensable in chemical laboratories
for electrodes and for crucibles and dishes in which materials can be heated to high
temperatures. In addition, platinum is used in the chemicals industry as a catalyst to produce nitric
acid, benzene, and silicone. It is also used as a catalyst to improve the efficiency of fuel cells
and for electrical contacts and sparking points, as it resists both the high temperatures and
chemical attack of electric arcs. Platinum finds use in the electronics sector in the manufacturing
of computer hard disks and thermocouples, is used to make optical fibers and LCD screens,
turbine blades, spark plugs, pacemakers, and like other precious metals, is used widely in dentistry
crowns, bridges, pins, and other dental equipment, as well as fillings, all employ platinum as a key
component. But one of its most impactful uses to humanity is in the creation of chemotherapy drugs
used to treat cancer, of which platinum compounds are an important building block. I'm willing
to bet you didn't think platinum was such an essential element to our day-to-day lives but the
truth is, it's a metal that is as practical as it is prestigious. Next up, let's explore the mining
methods used to extract platinum from the earth. Being one of the rarest metals on earth,
platinum is almost never found on its own but is generally found alongside platinum group
metals, nickel, iron, gold, and other metals. Although pure platinum deposits have
been discovered, they are the exception rather than the rule. One of the earliest
platinum mining methods is placer mining. Like gold, platinum particles can accumulate
in alluvial sands in rivers and streams. Placer deposits are concentrated sand and gravel
beds in streams and rivers created when old rock is eroded from its source and further ground into
pieces as it is washed away by the water. Most of the world's placer platinum is found in Russia
and back in the 19th century, alluvial deposits located in the Ural mountains were heavily
mined by both small-scale family operations and more official mining operations. Placer mining
for platinum was also common in South America, especially in the Rio de la Plata, or the river
of silver, located between Argentina and Uruguay. Placer mining involves using dredges to scoop
platinum-bearing sand or gravel from river beds and washing it until platinum grains or nuggets
are captured and separated from the surrounding material. In today's world, the vast majority
of platinum deposits are located underground and this is mined very similarly to gold,
silver, and other underground metal deposits, namely, with strategically placed explosives.
Miners drill holes into the mine walls and pack explosives into them before detonating the rock,
blasting it into small pieces and hauling it up to the surface to be loaded onto trucks, which
then take it to a facility to be processed. Most platinum mining in the modern era is done
in South Africa, which accounts for a whopping 80 percent of world platinum production. The story
of the man who first identified platinum and began to make it known to the greater world is no less
fantastic than the element itself, involving an adventure across continents, a capture and
daring escape on the high seas, and a scientific discovery that would begin platinum's journey to
becoming the dynamic metal we know it as today. Antonio de Uloa of Spain was only 19 years
of age when he was promoted to the rank of Frigate Lieutenant and sent on what would be a
life-altering expedition to Quito in Ecuador, led by French geographers Charles Marie
de la Condamine and Pierre Bouguer. Antonio departed Spain in May of 1735, not knowing
he wouldn't see his motherland again for more than a decade. The mission was a monumental one,
to help determine whether the earth was flat, as was popularly believed throughout most of
human history up to that point or whether it was a sphere, as suggested by Sir Isaac Newton.
To this end, it was necessary to measure the length of a degree of longitude at the equator,
of which Quito was the closest city, and again it's somewhere as near as possible to one of the
poles. An expedition to the far north of Sweden was also dispatched for this purpose but our story
shall leave that journey to the pages of history. As Antonio accompanied the geographers in Ecuador,
their task proved epic indeed and with great struggle, they finally completed their work around
1745. Over the course of this decade, Antonio had plenty of time to explore the territory and the
people there, recording his more interesting observations in various papers he carried with
him. As the expedition finally departed back to Spain, their mission accomplished, Antonio
must have been filled with strong emotions, as he was at long last headed home. Fate
however, had other plans in store for him. As they made their way, sailing around Cape
Horn, they were chased down north of the Azores by an English privateer, and their ship was
captured. However, they managed an escape and as luck seemed to be on their side, they evaded
their captors and seemed to leave danger behind. But God seemed intent to test their wills and
as they'd reached Louisburg in Nova Scotia, their vessel was once again captured, this
time by a British naval vessel and escape was out of the question. Antonio and his companions
were taken to London and imprisoned, while the admiralty confiscated nearly a decade's worth
of notes from Antonio's time spent in Ecuador. Things looked grim for our Frigate Lieutenant as
he sat in a cell, awaiting his fate. But when God closes a door, he is known to open a window, and
good fortune came in the form of the president of the Royal Society, Martin Folkes, who came to
know Antonio and his story, and befriended him. The Royal Society were a group of
natural philosophers and physicians and not only did Martin free Antonio from his
chains, he got all his papers returned to him and even made him a fellow of the Royal Society
in 1746. He was then allowed to return to Spain. Finally back after his long mission, he set to
work compiling an account of his adventures which he published in 1748, first in Spanish and then
had it translated into several other languages.For the purposes of our subject today, one passage in
particular stands out: "In the district of choco are many mines of lavadero, or wash gold. Several
of the mines have been abandoned on account of the platina, a substance of such resistance that
when struck on an anvil of steel, it is not easy to be separated nor is it calcinable, so that
the metal enclosed within this obdurate body could only be extracted with infinite labor
and charge." Shortly after releasing his book, Antonio was tasked with a new mission by the
king of Spain himself, King Ferdinand VI, to travel throughout Europe and study scientific
developments across the continent. His travels brought him to Sweden in the autumn of 1751 and he
was welcomed with open arms by Swedish scientists. Shortly after his arrival, he was duly elected
to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in October of the same year. During his time
there, he met with mathematician and chemist H.T. Scheffer. Scheffer was a former mine and
metal works manager, as well as an assayer at the mint, and so had quite a vested interest
in metals. There is no official record of what exactly was said in that meeting, but shortly
thereafter in November of 1751, Scheffer produced a paper titled "The White Gold, or Seventh
Metal, Called in Spain Platina del Pinto, Little Silver of Pinto, its Nature Described,"
and submitted it to the academy. Scheffer was already familiar with platinum before encountering
Antonio as he himself had received samples of it just a year earlier in 1750, from the West
Indies, but his time with Antonio undoubtedly influenced his writing. In the paper, he came
to the following conclusions about platinum: "That this is a metal hard but malleable,
but of the hardness of malleable iron. That it is a precious metal of durability, like
gold and silver. That it is not any of the six old metals since first, it is wholly and entirely a
precious metal, containing nothing of copper, tin, lead, or iron, because it allows nothing to be
taken from it. It is not silver, nor is it gold, but it is a seventh metal among those which are
known up till now in all lands." In addition, he recommended a potential practical application for
platinum when he wrote: "This metal is the most suitable of all to make telescope mirrors, because
it resists as well as gold the vapors of the air. It is very heavy, very dense, colorless and much
heavier than ordinary gold, which is rendered unsuitable for this particular use by lacking
these two latter properties." Although attempts were made in the years that followed, platinum
never found its place in telescopes of the era, although Scheffer would be delighted to
know the metal did eventually find use in the construction of X-ray telescopes
centuries later. Nonetheless, his paper sparked the imaginations of scientists across the world
and a flurry of research into platinum began, leading it to be established as the multi-faceted
metal that we know in the modern era. Although the recent trend towards electrifying
vehicles seemingly puts platinum's use in traditional gasoline-powered catalytic converters
at risk, we need to step back and look at the bigger picture. In the coming years, auto-catalyst
demand for platinum is actually likely to rise, as recent legislation to curb pollution from
gasoline and diesel engines is boosting the demand for cleaner emissions, which is platinum's forte.
Either way, platinum will have a role to play in a carbon neutral future as it is needed for
hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles. These use a propulsion system similar to that of
electric vehicles, where energy stored as hydrogen is converted to electricity by the fuel cell, and
these vehicles are already becoming available in California and a few other places. Platinum is
also playing a role in the greater energy economy, as platinum-based fuel cells are a cost-effective,
clean, and reliable off-grid power source that is currently seeing use in some remote areas
such as rural South Africa. These fuel cells can help provide greater energy access to communities
who might not normally be able to get a steady source of electricity. This includes electricity
for schools, improving the quality of education, and provides the ability to pump water for
irrigation, facilitating agriculture. Its other myriad of uses also aren't going away and for this
reason, platinum will remain an essential metal to our modern civilization for as long
as we can extract it from the earth. Commodity Culture is a series that covers the
history and culture surrounding commodities and natural resources. If you enjoyed this
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