How is platinum extracted?

Most of the mining for platinum ore occurs deep underground. To extract the mineral-rich materials, miners pack explosives into holes drilled in the rock and blast it into smaller pieces. The broken rock is then collected and transported to the surface for processing.

How is platinum obtained?

Platinum is found uncombined in alluvial deposits. Most commercially produced platinum comes from South Africa, from the mineral cooperite (platinum sulfide). Some platinum is prepared as a by-product of copper and nickel refining.

What chemicals are used to extract platinum?

The platinum is precipitated from solution with ammonium chloride, and the resulting crude platinum salt is recovered by filtration and then heated to decompose it to a powdered metallic form. The metal is redissolved in aqua regia, then reprecipitated with ammonium chloride and calcined to pure metal.

How are platinum group metals extracted?

Platinum-group metals, that is, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir, Ru and Os, are predominantly extracted from sulfide ores from South Africa and Siberia. Their extraction always involves smelting followed by hydrometallurgical refining.

How is palladium extracted from its ore?

The production of palladium starts usually from the residue of the production of another metal, typically nickel. The chemical differences between the metals in this residue is used to separate them. The first step is dissolving the residue in aqua regia, which will allow all the metals to form their nitrates.

Interesting to Know. Mining and production of platinum metals

How do you separate gold from platinum?

If it is desired to remove both the gold and platinum, I place the material in a vessel and add boiling concentrated sulfuric acid. This will dissolve the silver, zinc, copper and other impurities.

How do you refine platinum ore?

Is platinum more expensive than gold?

Is platinum more valuable than gold? Platinum is generally valued higher than gold. This is because platinum is rarer than gold, has a higher density and is purer. Platinum rings require more platinum than gold rings require gold, which can increase the overall cost.

Where is platinum mined?

80% of the world's current production comes from South Africa and the Sudbury Basin of Canada. Smaller reserves can be found in the United States, Zimbabwe and Australia. Platinum is also attained through recycling.

How is platinum made naturally?

The metal is formed when minerals are eroded from their original spot and then carried by water somewhere else (this is called stream bed mining or alluvial mining). Workers sift through the sand or mud looking for gold, diamonds or platinum. Nowadays, platinum is more likely to be mined as ore from deep underground.

Is platinum a rare metal?

If translated into numbers, platinum—for all of its known deposits—is considerably more rare than gold and is the rarest metal of all. And it is, truly, a gift from the heavens.

Is platinum better than gold?

Platinum is almost always more valuable than gold. It's a rarer metal, and platinum rings have higher densities and purities than gold rings. You also need more platinum to make a ring, so they often cost 40-50% more than gold. Platinum also has a sense of prestige.

Is platinum a white gold?

While Platinum is a naturally white metal, White Gold is made by combining pure gold (which is yellow in colour) with alloying metals such as Palladium. Because of the yellow metal content, White Gold is actually slightly grey/off-white in colour. This can be corrected by a surface treatment called Rhodium plating.

Why is platinum so valuable?

Platinum is a light gray metal between silver and nickel, and it's harder than both silver and gold. Platinum is valuable because it's rare and it's used in many items. Nearly two thirds of the supply comes from South Africa, and Russia is the second-largest supplier. There are very few North American platinum mines.

Why is platinum expensive?

Reason for being so expensive

The mines of Platinum are rare in comparison to gold. Nearly 1,782 tons of gold mined, only about 133 tons of platinum are mined annually. It is estimated that there are more than 5 billion ounces of gold above ground. There are only an estimated 200 million ounces of platinum.

How do you harvest platinum from catalytic converters?

Is platinum mining bad for the environment?

The environmental impacts include high waste rock and tailings generated (about 98% of the ore becomes tailings), high electricity consumption (average 175 GJ/kg PGM), water usage (average 400 m 3 /kg PGM) and CO 2 e emissions (average 40 t CO2_e/kg PGM) (Glaister and Mudd, 2010). ...

What is rose gold?

Rose gold is an alloy made from a combination of pure gold and copper. The blend of the two metals changes the color of the final product and its karat. For example, the most common alloy of rose gold is 75 percent pure gold to 25 percent copper, which makes 18k rose gold.

Can platinum rust?

Known as the precious metals, platinum, gold and silver are all pure metals, therefore they contain no iron and cannot rust.

Why platinum has no resale value?

Platinum also has poor resale value as only a limited number of shops buy it back. Besides, compared with gold jewellery, making charges, close to Rs 500 per gram, are much higher for platinum jewellery. Buyers also need to be cautious when it comes to the purity of the metal and what it is mixed with.

Can you make platinum?

It can take up to 6 months and 7 to 12 tons of ore to produce one troy ounce (31.135g) of pure platinum. The first step in this process is to crush platinum containing ore and immerse it in the reagent containing water; a process known as 'froth flotation'. During flotation, air is pumped through the ore-water slurry.

What color is pure platinum?

Platinum is a color that is the metallic tint of pale grayish-white resembling the metal platinum.