Platinum ore. Platinum ores

Prepared detailed guide on ore farming in Kul Tiras and Zandalar: we found out how to speed up the farming process and which route is best to choose in each location.

Skill Levels

Any ore in Battle for Azeroth can be farmed with skill 1, but to increase the efficiency of mining, it makes sense to study levels 2 (requires 50 skill units and completing the quest) and 3 (145 skill units and completing the quest):

Ore	Exercise
Monelite Ore	Who's getting the firewood? (level 2)
Storm Silver Ore	Preparing for the ritual (level 2)
Platinum Ore	Item An exceptionally large piece of platinum that can be dropped during ore mining. Requires approximately 130 Mining Units (Level 2) Where to farm ore in Kul Tiras and Zandalar The first type of ore that you can mine in Battle for Azeroth locations is monelite ore. It is from it that improvements can be made to speed up the farming process. The next type of deposit is storm silver ore. This is a rare Monelite spawn, i.e. After mining ore from a monelite deposit, a deposit of storm silver ore will appear in the same place with a probability of 35-40%. Thus, it is recommended to mine all Monelite that comes your way. And finally, platinum ore is the rarest deposit in Battle for Azeroth, used to craft the most valuable items. Ore mining route in WOW Battle for Azeroth Nazmir Here you will need either a mount with the ability to walk on water, or a corresponding ability specifically for the character - otherwise, farming ore will be more difficult. If you notice that the ore is not having time to spawn, try changing the route by adding a red path to the yellow one. Drustvar The principle is the same - if the ore does not have time to spawn, increase the route. Stormsong Valley Several deposits are located underground, in caves - remember that it does not always make sense to waste time on them. Tiragarde Sound Both routes are good, but it's better to use the first one.

Platinum ores are natural mineral formations containing platinum metals (Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, Os, Ru) in concentrations at which their industrial use is technically possible and economically feasible. This means that accumulations of platinum ore in the form of deposits are very rare. Deposits of platinum ore can be primary and alluvial, and in composition - actually platinum and complex (many primary deposits of copper and copper-nickel sulfide ores, alluvial deposits of gold with platinum, as well as gold with osmic iridium).

Platinum metals are distributed unevenly within platinum ore deposits. Their concentrations vary: in primary platinum deposits from 2-5 g/t to units of kg/t, in primary complex deposits - from tenths to hundreds (occasionally thousands) g/m; in placer deposits - from tens of mg/m3 to hundreds of g/m3. The main form of occurrence of platinum metals in ore is their own minerals, of which about 90 are known. The most common are polyxene, ferroplatinum, platinum iridium, nevyanskite, sysertskite, zvyagintsevite, paolovite, frudite, sobolevskite, plumbopalla-dinite, sperrylite. Of subordinate importance is the dispersed form of occurrence of platinum metals in platinum ore in the form of an insignificant impurity contained in the crystal lattice of ore and rock-forming minerals.

Primary deposits of platinum ore are represented by bodies of platinum-bearing complex sulfide and platinum chromite ores of different shapes with massive and disseminated textures. These ore bodies, genetically and spatially closely related to intrusions of mafic and ultramafic rocks, have an advantage. igneous origin. Primary deposits of platinum ores are found in platform and folded areas and always gravitate towards large faults in the earth's crust. The formation of these deposits occurred at different depths (from 0.5-1 to 3-5 km from the surface) and in different geological eras (from the Precambrian to the Mesozoic). Complex deposits of copper-nickel sulfide platinum ores occupy a leading position among the raw materials sources of platinum metals. The area of ​​these deposits reaches tens of km2, while the thickness of industrial ore zones is many tens of meters. Their platinum mineralization is associated with bodies of solid and disseminated copper-nickel sulfide ores of complexly differentiated gabbro-dolerite intrusions (deposits of the Norilsk ore district in Russia, Insizwa in South Africa), stratiform intrusions gabbro-norites with hyperbasites (deposits of the Merensky horizon in the Bushveld complex of South Africa and Monchegorskoye in the CIS), layered massifs of norites and granodiorites (Sudbury copper-nickel deposits in Canada). The main ore minerals of platinum ore are pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, pentlandite, cubanite. The main metals of the platinum group of copper-nickel platinum ores are platinum and palladium, which predominates over it (Pd: Pt from 3: 1 and higher). The content of other platinum metals (Rh, Ir, Ru, Os) in the ore is tens and hundreds of times less than the amount of Pd and Pt. Copper-nickel sulfide ores contain numerous minerals of platinum metals, mainly intermetallic compounds of Pd and Pt with Bi, Sn, Te, As, Pb, Sb, solid solutions of Sn and Pb in Pd and Pt, as well as Fe in Pt, arsenides and sulfides of Pd and Pt.

Placer deposits of platinum ore are represented mainly by Mesozoic and Cenozoic eluvial-alluvial and alluvial placers of platinum and osmic iridium. Industrial placers are exposed on the surface (open placers) or hidden under 10-30 m of sediment (buried placers). The largest of them are traced for tens of kilometers in length, their width reaches hundreds of meters, and the thickness of productive metal-bearing layers is up to several meters; they were formed as a result of weathering and destruction of platinum-bearing clinopyroxenite-dunite and serpentine-harzburgite massifs. Industrial placers are known both on platforms (Siberian and African) and in eugeosynclines in the Urals, Colombia (Choco region), Alaska (Goodnews Bay), etc. Minerals of platinum metals in placers are often intergrown with each other, as well as with chromites, olivines and serpentines.

In the Urals, the first information about the discovery of platinum and osmide iridium as gold satellites in the placers of the Verkh-Isetsky district (Verkh-Neyvinskaya dacha) appeared in 1819. A few years later, in 1822, it was discovered in the dachas of the Nevyansky and Bilimbaevsky factories, and in 1823 in the Miass gold placers. The “white metal” concentrates collected from here were analyzed by Varvinsky, Lyubarsky, Gelm and Sokolov. The first platinum placer itself was discovered in 1824 along the Orulikha River, the left tributary of the Baranchi River north of Nizhny Tagil. In the same year, platinum placers were discovered along tributaries of the Is and Tura rivers. And finally, in 1825, uniquely rich platinum placers were discovered along the Sukhoi Visism and other rivers 50 km west of Nizhny Tagil. Entire platinum mining areas appeared on the map of the Urals, the most famous of which were Kachkanarsko-Isovskaya, Kytlymsky and Pavdinsky.At this time, the annual extraction of platinum from placers reached 2-3 tons.

However, at first after the discovery of the Ural placers, platinum did not yet have widespread industrial use. Only in 1827 did Sobolev and V. Lyubarsky independently propose a method for processing platinum. In the same year, engineer Arkhipov prepared a ring and a teaspoon from platinum, and a tabernacle from an alloy with copper. In 1828, the government, represented by Count Kankrin, wanting to sell Ural platinum, organized the minting of coins from it, and the export of metal abroad was prohibited. About 1,250 poods (about 20 tons) of raw platinum were used to produce coins issued from 1828 to 1839. This first major use of platinum caused a rapid increase in production. However, in 1839, the minting of coins was stopped due to the unstable exchange rate for platinum and the import of counterfeit coins into Russia. This caused a crisis, and in 1846-1851. metal mining practically ceased.

A new period began in 1867, when a special decree allowed private individuals to mine, refine and process platinum, and also allowed the free circulation of raw platinum in the country and its export abroad. At this time, the main center for the extraction of alluvial platinum in the Urals became the areas in the basin of the Is and Tura rivers. The significant size of the Isovo placer, stretching over a distance of more than 100 km, made it possible to use cheaper mechanized mining methods, including dredges, which appeared at the end of the 19th century.

In less than a hundred years since the discovery of platinum deposits (from 1924 to 1922), according to official data, about 250 tons of metal were mined in the Urals, and another 70-80 tons were mined illegally in a predatory manner. The Ural placers are still unique in terms of the number and weight of nuggets mined here.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Nizhny Tagil and Isovsky mines produced up to 80% of the world's platinum production, and the contribution of the Urals as a whole amounted, according to experts, from 92 to 95% of the world's platinum production.

In 1892, 65 years after the start of placer development in the Nizhny Tagil massif, the first radical manifestation of platinum was discovered - the Serebryakovskaya vein in the Krutoy Log. The first description of this deposit was made by A.A. Inostrantsev, and then academician A.P. Karpinsky. The largest platinum nugget recovered from the primary deposit weighed about 427 g.

In 1900, the Geological Committee, on behalf of the Mining Department and at the request of several congresses of platinum industrialists, sent N.K. to the Urals. Vysotsky to compile geological maps of the Isovsky and Tagil platinum-bearing regions, which are the most industrially important. The military topographer of the General Staff, Khrustalev, carried out a continuous topographic and linear survey of the areas where placers developed. On this basis, N.K. Vysotsky compiled standard geological maps that have not lost their significance to this day. The result of this work was the monograph “Platinum deposits of the Isovsky and Nizhne-Tagil regions in the Urals”, published in 1913 (Vysotsky, 1913). Soviet time it was revised and published in 1923 under the title “Platinum and its mining areas.”

Around the same time, from 1901 to 1914. With funds from platinum mining companies, Louis Duparc, a professor at the University of Geneva, and his staff were invited to study and compile maps of the more northern regions of the Urals (the former Nikolae-Pavdinskaya dacha). The data obtained by researchers from L. Duparc's group formed the basis for large-scale survey and search work carried out in the Northern Urals already during the Soviet period.

In the twenties of our century, the primary deposits of the Nizhny Tagil massif were intensively explored and studied. Started my life here labor activity as a local geologist, future academician, leading specialist in the field of geology of ore deposits A.G. Betekhtin. Many came from his pen scientific works, but the monograph “Platinum and other minerals of the platinum group”, written on Ural material and published in 1935, occupies a special place. A.G. Betekhtin was one of the first to substantiate the late magmatic genesis of the Ural platinum deposits, clearly showed the widespread participation of fluids in the process of ore formation, identified the types of chromite-platinum ores and gave them material, structural and morphological characteristics.A huge contribution to the exploration of Nizhny Tagil platinum deposits and the study of host rocks was made by Academician A.N. Zavaritsky, who actively worked in the Urals in the first half of the twentieth century.

By the middle of the last century, the primary platinum deposits in the Nizhny Tagil massif were completely depleted, and no new manifestations were discovered, despite active search, carried out from the 40s to the 60s. At present, only alluvial deposits continue to be exploited, and work is carried out mainly by small mining teams within the old mining allotments, i.e. The dumps of once world-famous platinum mines are being washed away. In the second half of the twentieth century, the largest platinum placers in Russia were discovered in the Khabarovsk Territory, Koryakia and Primorye, but primary deposits similar to those developed in the Urals have not yet been found. It is absolutely true that this type of deposits received its own name in the special geological literature - “Ural” or “Nizhny Tagil” type of deposits.

Extraction methods

Platinum ore is mined using open and underground methods. Open way Most of the alluvial and part of the primary deposits are being developed. When developing placers, dredges and hydromechanization are widely used. The underground mining method is the main one in the development of primary deposits; sometimes it is used to mine rich buried placers.

As a result of wet enrichment of metal-bearing sands and chromite platinum ores, a concentrate of “raw” platinum is obtained - a platinum concentrate with 70-90% platinum metal minerals, and otherwise consisting of chromites, forsterites, serpentines, etc. Such a platinum concentrate is sent for refining. Enrichment of complex sulfide platinum ores is carried out by flotation followed by multi-operational pyrometallurgical, electrochemical and chemical processing.

Figure 1. "Dredge for washing platinum-bearing sand"

Figure 2. "Workers at the washing station

Figure 3. "Prospectors with troughs"

Geological and industrial types of PGMs and the main objects of their production

Platinum group metals in certain geological settings form significant local accumulations up to industrial deposits. According to the conditions of origin, four classes of platinum metal deposits are distinguished, each of which includes groups.

Given the significant diversity of geological settings for the occurrence of platinum group metals (PGMs) in nature, the main global source of their production is the magmatic deposits themselves. Confirmed reserves of PGMs in foreign countries at the beginning of the 90s amounted to more than 60 thousand tons, including about 59 thousand tons in South Africa. Over 99% of the reserves of foreign countries (South Africa, Canada, USA, Australia, China, Finland) are accounted for low-sulfide platinum-metal proper, sulfide platinoid-copper-nickel and platinoid-chromite deposits. The share of other sources is less than 0.3%.

In some countries, associated production of platinum metals has been established during the metallurgical processing of ores of other metals. In Canada, when processing polycomponent copper ores over 700 kg of platinum-palladium alloy is produced, containing 85% palladium, 12% platinum and 3% other platinoids. In South Africa, for every ton of refined copper there is 654 g of platinum, 973 g of rhodium and up to 25 g of palladium. During copper smelting in Finland, approximately 70 kg of PGMs are recovered annually as a by-product. Along the way, platinum group metals are also mined in some CIS countries. In particular, at the Ust-Kamenogorsk plant (Kazakhstan), about 75 kg of platinum metals are annually extracted from pyrite-polymetallic ores. In Russia, over 98% of proven PGM reserves are concentrated in Arctic zone, while more than 95% of the production of platinum metals is carried out from sulfide copper-nickel ores of the Norilsk industrial region.

Getting Platinum

Separation of platinum metals and their production in pure form quite labor-intensive due to the great similarity of their chemical properties. To obtain pure platinum, the starting materials - native platinum, platinum concentrates (heavy residues from washing platinum-bearing sands), scrap (unusable products made of platinum and its alloys) are treated with aqua regia when heated. The following goes into the solution: Pt, Pd, partially Rh, Ir in the form of complex compounds H2, H2, H3 and H2, and at the same time Fe and Cu in the form of FeCl3 CuCl2. The residue, insoluble in aqua regia, consists of osmic iridium, chromium iron ore, quartz and other minerals.

Pt is precipitated from solution in the form of (NH4) 2 with ammonium chloride. But to prevent iridium from precipitating along with platinum in the form of a similar compound, it is first reduced with sugar to Ir (+3). Compound (NH4) 3 is soluble and does not pollute the sediment.

The resulting precipitate is filtered off, washed with a concentrated solution of NH4Cl, dried and calcined. The resulting sponge platinum is pressed and then melted in an oxygen-hydrogen flame or in a high-frequency electric furnace.

(NH4) 2 =Pt+2Cl2+2NH3+2HCl

Introduction

Platinum ores

History of discovery and platinum mining in the Urals

Extraction. Extraction methods

Geological and industrial types of PGMs and the main objects of their production

Getting Platinum

Use of platinum

Automotive industry

Industry

Investments

Conclusion

Literature

Introduction

Platinum gets its name from the Spanish word platina, a diminutive of plata - silver.

This is how the Spanish conquistadors, the colonizers of South America about 500 years ago, called the light gray metal, which was occasionally found among gold nuggets, so dismissively. No one could have imagined then that in our time platinum (Pt) and platinum group elements (PGEs): iridium (Ir), osmium (Os), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh) and palladium (Pd) would be widely used in various branches of science and technology, and their value will exceed gold.

But in the future, when humanity switches to hydrogen energy, we may face a situation where the world’s platinum reserves are simply not enough to make all cars electric.

Platinum has been used for jewelry making since ancient times. High-grade platinum alloy is considered a classic jewelry material for making products with precious stones. But its use in jewelry has decreased significantly. Platinum has found wide application in various fields of industry. For example, Japan and Switzerland are characterized by a narrow specialization - the use of platinum mainly for jewelry and instrument making, while the USA, Germany, France and some other countries are characterized by a wide and very variable range of applications

Physicochemical properties of platinum

Platinum is one of the most inert metals.

It is insoluble in acids and alkalis, with the exception of aqua regia. At room temperature, platinum is slowly oxidized by atmospheric oxygen, giving a strong oxide film.

Platinum also reacts directly with bromine, dissolving in it.

When heated, platinum becomes more reactive. It reacts with peroxides, and upon contact with atmospheric oxygen, with alkalis. A thin platinum wire burns in fluorine, releasing a large amount of heat. Reactions with other non-metals (chlorine, sulfur, phosphorus) occur less readily.

When heated more strongly, platinum reacts with carbon and silicon, forming solid solutions, similar to the iron group metals.

In its compounds, platinum exhibits almost all oxidation states from 0 to +8, of which +2 and +4 are the most stable. Platinum is characterized by the formation of numerous complex compounds, of which many hundreds are known.

Many of them bear the names of the chemists who studied them (salts of Cossus, Magnus, Peirone, Zeise, Chugaev, etc.). A great contribution to the study of such compounds was made by the Russian chemist L.A. Chugaev (1873−1922), first director of the Institute for the Study of Platinum, created in 1918.

Platinum hexafluoride PtF6 is one of the strongest oxidizing agents among all known chemical compounds.

With the help of it, in particular, the Canadian chemist Neil Bartlett in 1962 obtained the first true chemical compound of xenon XePtF6.

Platinum, especially in a finely dispersed state, is a very active catalyst for many chemical reactions, including those used on an industrial scale.

For example, platinum catalyzes the reaction of hydrogen addition to aromatic compounds even at room temperature and atmospheric pressure hydrogen. Back in 1821, the German chemist I.V. Döbereiner discovered that platinum black promotes a number of chemical reactions; however, the platinum itself did not undergo changes. Thus, platinum black oxidized vapors of wine alcohol to acetic acid already at normal temperature. Two years later, Döbereiner discovered the ability of spongy platinum to ignite hydrogen at room temperature.

If a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen (explosive gas) is brought into contact with platinum black or spongy platinum, then at first a relatively calm combustion reaction occurs. But since this reaction is accompanied by the release of a large amount of heat, the platinum sponge becomes hot and the explosive gas explodes.

Based on his discovery, Döbereiner designed the “hydrogen flint,” a device that was widely used to produce fire before the invention of matches.

Platinum ores

Platinum ores are natural mineral formations containing platinum metals (Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, Os, Ru) in concentrations at which their industrial use is technically possible and economically feasible.

This means that accumulations of platinum ore in the form of deposits are very rare. Deposits of platinum ore can be primary and alluvial, and in composition - actually platinum and complex (many primary deposits of copper and copper-nickel sulfide ores, alluvial deposits of gold with platinum, as well as gold with osmic iridium).

Platinum metals are distributed unevenly within platinum ore deposits.

Their concentrations vary: in primary platinum deposits from 2-5 g/t to units of kg/t, in primary complex deposits - from tenths to hundreds (occasionally thousands) g/m; in placer deposits - from tens of mg/m3 to hundreds of g/m3. The main form of occurrence of platinum metals in ore is their own minerals, of which about 90 are known.

The most common minerals are polyxene, ferroplatinum, platinum iridium, nevyanskite, sysertskite, zvyagintsevite, paolovite, frudite, sobolevskite, plumbopalla-dinite, sperrylite. Of subordinate importance is the dispersed form of occurrence of platinum metals in platinum ore in the form of an insignificant impurity contained in the crystal lattice of ore and rock-forming minerals.

Primary deposits of platinum ore are represented by bodies of platinum-bearing complex sulfide and platinum chromite ores of different shapes with massive and disseminated textures.

These ore bodies, genetically and spatially closely related to intrusions of mafic and ultramafic rocks, have an advantage. igneous origin. Primary deposits of platinum ores are found in platform and folded areas and always gravitate towards large faults in the earth's crust. The formation of these deposits occurred at different depths (from 0.5-1 to 3-5 km from the surface) and in different geological eras (from the Precambrian to the Mesozoic).

Complex deposits of copper-nickel sulfide platinum ores occupy a leading position among the raw materials sources of platinum metals.

The area of ​​these deposits reaches tens of km2, while the thickness of industrial ore zones is many tens of meters. Their platinum mineralization is associated with bodies of solid and disseminated copper-nickel sulfide ores of complexly differentiated gabbro-dolerite intrusions (deposits of the Norilsk ore district in Russia, Insizwa in South Africa), stratiform intrusions gabbro-norites with hyperbasites (deposits of the Merensky horizon in the Bushveld complex of South Africa and Monchegorskoye in the CIS), layered massifs of norites and granodiorites (Sudbury copper-nickel deposits in Canada).

The main ore minerals of platinum ore are pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, pentlandite, cubanite. The main metals of the platinum group of copper-nickel platinum ores are platinum and palladium, which predominates over it (Pd: Pt from 3: 1 and higher).

Platinum, white gold of the Urals.

The content of other platinum metals (Rh, Ir, Ru, Os) in the ore is tens and hundreds of times less than the amount of Pd and Pt. Copper-nickel sulfide ores contain numerous minerals of platinum metals, mainly intermetallic compounds of Pd and Pt with Bi, Sn, Te, As, Pb, Sb, solid solutions of Sn and Pb in Pd and Pt, as well as Fe in Pt, arsenides and sulfides of Pd and Pt.

Placer deposits of platinum ore are represented mainly by Mesozoic and Cenozoic eluvial-alluvial and alluvial placers of platinum and osmic iridium.

Industrial placers are exposed on the surface (open placers) or hidden under 10-30 m of sediment (buried placers). The largest of them are traced for tens of kilometers in length, their width reaches hundreds of meters, and the thickness of productive metal-bearing layers is up to several meters; they were formed as a result of weathering and destruction of platinum-bearing clinopyroxenite-dunite and serpentine-harzburgite massifs.

Industrial placers are known both on platforms (Siberian and African) and in eugeosynclines in the Urals, Colombia (Choco region), Alaska (Goodnews Bay), etc. Minerals of platinum metals in placers are often intergrown with each other, as well as with chromites, olivines and serpentines.

Figure 1. "Native platinum"

History of discovery and platinum mining in the Urals

In the Urals, the first information about the discovery of platinum and osmide iridium as gold satellites in the placers of the Verkh-Isetsky district (Verkh-Neyvinskaya dacha) appeared in 1819. A few years later, in 1822, it was discovered in the dachas of the Nevyansky and Bilimbaevsky factories, and in 1823 G.

in the Miass gold placers. The “white metal” concentrates collected from here were analyzed by Varvinsky, Lyubarsky, Gelm and Sokolov. The first platinum placer itself was discovered in 1824.

along the river Orulikhe, the left tributary of the river. Baranchi north of Nizhny Tagil. In the same year, platinum placers were discovered along the tributaries of the river. Is and Tura. And finally, in 1825, uniquely rich platinum placers were discovered along the Sukhoi Visism and other rivers 50 km west of Nizhny Tagil.

Entire platinum-mining regions appeared on the map of the Urals, the most famous of which were Kachkanarsko-Isovskoy, Kytlymsky and Pavdinsky. At this time, the annual extraction of platinum from placers reached 2-3 tons.

To main

§ 5. Mining and receipt of precious metals

It is believed that the first metal discovered by man was gold. Gold nuggets could be flattened, holes made in them, and used to decorate weapons and clothing.

Mostly native gold is found in nature - nuggets, large grains in sands and ores.
Even in ancient times, gold was mined and processed by many peoples. To Russia until the 18th century. gold was imported. In the middle of the 18th century. Erofei Markov discovered the first gold deposits near Yekaterinburg.

In 1814, a placer gold deposit was discovered in the Urals. Gold mining in Russia was artisanal in nature. They tried to extract gold in the most in a simple way- from placers, the methods of its processing were also very imperfect.
After the Great October Revolution socialist revolution There have been fundamental changes in the gold mining industry. Gold mining is now highly mechanized.

Placer gold is mined mainly in two ways - hydraulic and using dredges. The essence of the hydraulic method is that water under high pressure, eroding the rock, separates gold from it, and the remaining rock goes for further processing. The second method of gold mining is as follows. A dredge (a floating structure equipped with a chain of buckets) removes rock from the bottom of reservoirs, which is washed, resulting in the precipitation of gold.

The bulk of gold is obtained from ore deposits and is mined using more labor-intensive methods. Gold ore is delivered to special metallurgical plants. There are several methods for extracting gold from ores. Let's consider two main ones: cyanidation and amalgamation. The most common method, cyanidation, is based on dissolving gold in aqueous solutions of cyanide alkalis.

This discovery belongs to the Russian scientist P.R. Bagration. In 1843, a message about this was published in the Bulletin of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In Russia, cyanidation was introduced only in 1897 in the Urals. The essence of this process is as follows. As a result of processing gold-bearing ores with cyanide solutions, a gold-containing solution is obtained, from which, after filtering the waste rock with metal precipitants (usually zinc dust), gold is precipitated.

Then, impurities are removed from the sediment with a 15% sulfuric acid solution. The remaining pulp is washed, filtered, evaporated and then fused.

Amalgamation has been known for more than 2 thousand years. It is based on the ability of gold, under normal conditions, to combine with mercury. Mercury, in which a small amount of gold is already dissolved, improves the wettability of the metal.

The process takes place in special amalgamation machines. The crushed ore is passed along with water over the amalgamated surface of mercury. As a result, gold particles, wetted with mercury, form a semi-liquid amalgam, from which the solid part of the amalgam is obtained by squeezing out excess mercury. Its composition may contain 1 part gold and 2 parts mercury. After such filtration, the mercury is evaporated, and the remaining gold is melted into ingots.

None of the above methods for obtaining gold produces a metal of high purity. Therefore, to obtain pure gold, the resulting bars are sent to refineries.
Native silver is much less common than native gold, and this is probably why it was discovered later than gold. Native silver production accounts for 20% of all silver production. Silver ores contain up to 80% silver (Argentine - compounds of silver and sulfur), but the bulk of silver is obtained as a by-product during the smelting and refining (purification) of lead and copper.

Silver is obtained from ores by cyanidation and amalgamation. For silver cyanidation, in contrast to gold cyanidation, more concentrated cyanide solutions are used. Once silver bars are received, they are sent to refineries for further purification.
Platinum, like gold, occurs naturally in nuggets and ores.

Platinum was known to man in ancient times; the nuggets found were called “white gold,” but no use was found for it for a long time.

They began to mine platinum in the middle of the 18th century, but for another half a century they experienced difficulties with its use due to high temperature melting. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Russian scientists and engineers A. A. Musin-Pushkin, P. G. Sobolevsky, V. V. Lyubarsky and I. I. Varfinsky developed the fundamentals of methods for refining and processing platinum metals. And since 1825, systematic mining of platinum began in Russia. The main methods of platinum extraction are: washing platinum-containing sands and chlorination.

Platinum is also obtained from the electrolysis of gold.
As a result of washing platinum-containing sands, platinum is obtained, which is subjected to further purification at refineries.

Platinum is obtained by chlorination as follows: the ore concentrate is subjected to oxidative roasting in furnaces. After firing it is mixed with table salt and placed in an oven filled with chlorine and kept for 4 hours at a temperature of 500 - 600°C.

The resulting product is treated with a solution of hydrochloric acid, which leaches platinum group metals from the concentrate. Then, sequential precipitation of the metals in solution is carried out: platinum group metals are precipitated with zinc dust, copper with limestone, nickel with bleaching lime. The sediment containing platinum metals is fused.

Further purification and separation of platinum group metals is carried out at the refinery.
The use of precious metals as currency and for the preparation of alloys requires that they be obtained in a state of high purity. This is achieved through refining (purification) at special refineries or in the refining shops of metallurgical enterprises. Refining techniques are based primarily on electrolytic separation or selective precipitation of metal chemical compounds.

The main raw materials entering the smelting for refining are: spot metal obtained during the enrichment of placers; metal obtained by processing cyanide residues; metal obtained by distilling mercury from amalgam; metal scrap of jewelry, technical and household products.

Metals containing gold and silver are subjected to receiving smelting before refining to assess the composition of the metal in the resulting ingot. Platinum scorch metal and platinum sludge from the receiving smelting do not go through, but go directly to processing.
Refining of silver and gold alloys is carried out by electrolysis: silver alloys containing gold - in nitrate electrolyte, gold alloys containing silver - in hydrochloric acid.

Electrolysis in a nitrate electrolyte is based on the solubility of silver and the insolubility of gold at the anode in a nitrate electrolyte and on the precipitation of pure silver from solution at the cathode.

The anode is cast from the metal being refined, and the cathode is cast from silver, or a metal insoluble in nitric acid (for example, aluminum). The electrolyte consists of a weak solution of silver nitrate (1 - 2% AgNO3) and nitric acid (1 - 1.5% HNO3) - The silver deposited as a result of electrolysis, after filtration and washing, is pressed and sent to smelting. The gold mud is washed and treated with one of three substances before smelting: nitric acid, sulfuric acid or aqua regia.

When treated with nitric acid, the silver contained in the sludge is completely dissolved. It is used when the content of tellurium and selenium is low. Sulfuric acid is used when the content of tellurium and selenium is high, since they dissolve in strong sulfuric acid. Aqua regia is used to obtain platinum metals from silver electrolysis sludge along with gold.

Gold refining by electrolysis is carried out in a solution of gold chloride and hydrochloric acid. The anodes of such baths are cast from the metal supplied to the refining plant, and the cathode for gold deposition is made from corrugated gold tin. The gold obtained at the cathode as a result of electrolysis has a purity of 999.9 purity. Gold sludge that falls to the bottom of the bath in the form of a fine powder is subject to additional processing. Platinum and palladium accumulated in the electrolyte are precipitated with ammonium chloride, dried and, calcined, turned into a metal sponge, which is sent for refining platinum metals.

The main sources of raw platinum and its satellites are: sludge from the electrolysis of nickel and copper; schlich platinum obtained by enriching placers; crude platinum is a by-product of gold electrolysis and various scrap materials. When refining concentrate metal, the main preparatory operation is dissolution in aqua regia (4 g HCl per 1 g HNO3). In this case, osmium remains in the insoluble part of the minerals, and platinum metals are successively precipitated from the resulting solutions.

First of all, platinum is deposited. To do this, add a solution of ammonium chloride to the solution, thereby obtaining a precipitate of ammonium chloroplatinate. The precipitate is washed with a solution of ammonium chloride and then with hydrochloric acid. After processing, the precipitate is dried and calcined, obtaining after melting technical platinum, the purity of which is 99.84 - 99.86%.

Chemically pure platinum is obtained by additional dissolution and precipitation.
Iridium precipitates from solution more slowly.

In this case, in addition to iridium, which is precipitated in the form of ammonium chloroiridate, the platinum remaining in the solution is also precipitated in the form of ammonium chloroplatinate. Calcination of the precipitate produces a sponge containing a mixture of iridium and some platinum.

Major platinum deposits in the world

To separate iridium from platinum, the sponge is treated with diluted aqua regia, in which only platinum dissolves.

Then she is besieged.
After precipitation of platinum and iridium from solution, the solution is acidified with sulfuric acid and subjected to cementation with iron and zinc to precipitate the remaining metals.

Precipitated black precipitates are filtered off and washed hot water, dried and calcined.
The calcined sediment is treated with hot dilute sulfuric acid to remove copper. The precipitate cleared of copper is treated with diluted aqua regia, resulting in a solution containing palladium and part of platinum, and insoluble black containing iridium and rhodium.

The black material is separated by filtering through paper and washed with hot water. Platinum is precipitated from the solution after dissolving the precipitated metals and filtering it with ammonium chloride. Palladium is precipitated in the form of chloropalladosamine, for which the solution is neutralized with an aqueous solution of ammonia and then acidified with hydrochloric acid.

The precipitate is calcined, crushed, and palladium is reduced in a stream of hydrogen.
The modern electrolytic method provides a high degree of purification, greater productivity and is harmless.

History of the discovery and mining of platinum in the Urals - Local history site “Poselok Is”

Geological structure of the platinum-bearing Tagil region, where last years I have studied the primary deposits of platinum, they are quite well studied. As is known, the Tagil dunite massif, which serves as a reservoir for these deposits, is one of ten such massifs, the largest in size.

These massifs are located as separate centers near the western edge of a wide zone of gabbro rocks stretching along the Urals for a known distance of more than 600 km.

in length (Fig. 1). This zone either narrows or expands. According to her eastern outskirts In some places, acidic plutonic rocks of the granite type and, intermediate between them and gabbro rocks, diorites appear. All these rocks, from dunites to granites, form, in all likelihood, a single plutonic complex of rocks that are genetically related to each other.

The main feature of this complex is the predominance of gabbro-type rocks over all others. Of course, the solidification of different rocks here did not occur simultaneously, sometimes more acidic rocks are introduced into more basic ones, sometimes the relationships are reversed and more complex, but there is still no sufficient reason to see two different and independent formations in the rocks of this complex.....

Synonyms: white gold, rotten gold, frog gold. polyxenes

Origin of name. Comes from the Spanish word platina - a diminutive of plata (silver). The name "platinum" can be translated as silver or silver.

Under exogenous conditions, in the process of destruction of bedrock deposits and rocks, platinum placers are formed. Most of the minerals of the subgroup are chemically resistant under these conditions.

Place of Birth

Large deposits of the first type are known near Nizhny Tagil in the Urals. Here, in addition to primary deposits, there are also rich eluvial and alluvial placers. An example of deposits of the second type is the Bushveld igneous complex in South Africa and Sudbury in Canada.

In the Urals, the first discoveries of native platinum that attracted attention date back to 1819. There it was discovered as an admixture to placer gold. Independently rich platinum placers, which are world famous, were discovered later. They are common in the Middle and Northern Urals and are all spatially confined to outcrops of massifs of ultrabasic rocks (dunites and pyroxenites). Numerous small primary deposits have been established in the Nizhny Tagil dunite massif. Accumulations of native platinum (polyxene) are confined mainly to chromite ore bodies, consisting mainly of chrome spinels with an admixture of silicates (olivine and serpentine). From the heterogeneous ultramafic Konder massif in the Khabarovsk Territory, platinum crystals of cubic habit, about 1–2 cm in size, come from the edge. A large number of palladium platinum is mined from segregation sulfide copper-nickel ores of the Norilsk group deposits (North Central Siberia). Platinum can also be extracted from late magmatic titanomagnetite ores associated with the main rocks in such deposits as, for example, Gusevogorskoye and Kachkanarskoye (Middle Urals).

An analogue of Norilsk is of great importance in the platinum mining industry - the famous Sudbury deposit in Canada, from whose copper-nickel ores platinum metals are extracted along with nickel, copper and cobalt.

Practical use

During the first period of mining, native platinum did not find proper use and was even considered a harmful admixture to placer gold, with which it was caught along the way. At first, it was simply thrown into a dump when panning for gold or used instead of shot when shooting. Then attempts were made to falsify it by gilding it and handing it over to buyers in this form. Among the very first products made from Ural native platinum, stored in the St. Petersburg Mining Museum, were chains, rings, hoops for barrels, etc. The remarkable properties of platinum group metals were discovered somewhat later.

The main valuable properties of platinum metals are infusibility, electrical conductivity and chemical resistance. These properties determine the use of metals of this group in the chemical industry (for the manufacture of laboratory glassware, in the production of sulfuric acid, etc.), electrical engineering and other industries. Significant quantities of platinum are used in jewelry and dentistry. Platinum plays a critical role as a catalyst surface material in oil refining. The mined “raw” platinum is sent to refineries where complex chemical processes are carried out to separate it into its constituent pure metals.

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Production

Platinum is one of the most expensive metals, its price is 3-4 times higher than gold, and about 100 times higher than silver

Platinum production is about 36 tons per year. Largest quantity platinum is mined in Russia, Republic of South Africa, Kaiade, USA and Colombia.

In Russia, platinum was first found in the Urals in the Verkh-Isetsky district in 1819. When washing gold-bearing rocks, white shiny grains were noticed in the gold, which did not dissolve even in strong acids. Bergprober of the laboratory of the St. Petersburg Mining Corps V.V. Lyubarsky examined these grains in 1823 and found that “the mysterious Siberian metal belongs to a special kind of raw platinum containing a significant amount of iridium and osmium.” In the same year, the highest order was issued to all mining chiefs to look for platinum, separate it from gold and present it to St. Petersburg. In 1824-1825, pure platinum placers were discovered in the Gorno-Blagodatsky and Nizhne-Tagil districts. And in the following years, platinum was found in several more places in the Urals. The Ural deposits were exceptionally rich and immediately brought Russia to first place in the world in the production of heavy white metal. In 1828, Russia mined an amount of platinum that was unheard of at that time - 1550 kg per year, about one and a half times more than was mined in South America for all years from 1741 to 1825.

Platinum. Stories and legends

Humanity has been familiar with platinum for more than two centuries. It was first noticed by members of the expedition of the French Academy of Sciences sent by the king to Peru. Don Antonio de Ulloa, a Spanish mathematician, was the first to mention it while on this expedition in his travel notes published in Madrid in 1748: “This metal has remained completely unknown since the beginning of the world until now, which is without a doubt very surprising.”

Under the names "White gold", "rotten gold" platinum appears in XVIII literature century. This metal has been known for a long time; its white, heavy grains were sometimes found during gold mining. It was assumed that it was not a special metal, but a mixture of two known metals. But they could not be processed in any way, and therefore platinum was not used for a long time. Until the 18th century, this most valuable metal, along with waste rock, was thrown into dumps. In the Urals and Siberia, grains of native platinum were used as shot for shooting. And in Europe, dishonest jewelers and counterfeiters were the first to use platinum.

In the second half of the 18th century, platinum was valued at half that of silver. It alloys well with gold and silver. Taking advantage of this, platinum began to be mixed with gold and silver, first in jewelry, and then in coins. Having learned about this, the Spanish government declared war on platinum "damage". The Kopolevsky decree was issued, which ordered the destruction of all platinum mined along with gold. In accordance with this decree, officials of the mints in Santa Fe and Papayan (Spanish colonies in South America) solemnly, in front of numerous witnesses, periodically drowned the accumulated platinum in the Bogota and Cauca rivers. Only in 1778 this law was repealed, and the Spanish government itself began to mix platinum into gold coins.

It is believed that the Englishman R. Watson was the first to obtain pure platinum in 1750. In 1752, after research by G. T. Schaeffer, it was recognized as a new metal

Platinum ores

(a. platinum ores; n. Platinerze; f. minerais de platine; And. minerals de platino, menas de platino) - natural mineral formations containing platinum elements (Pt, Pd, Jr, Rh, Os, Ru) in such concentrations, at which their industrial properties. use is technically possible and economically feasible. M-nia P. p. There are primary and alluvial deposits, and in composition - actually platinum and complex (many primary deposits of copper and copper-nickel sulfide ores, placer deposits of gold with platinum, as well as gold with osmic iridium).
Platinum minerals are distributed within the P. p. deposits. unevenly. Ix industrial concentrations range from 2-5 g/t to n kg/t in primary platinum deposits, from tenths to hundreds (sometimes thousands) g/t in primary complex deposits and from tens of mg/m 3 to hundreds of g/m 3 in placer deposits. Main The form of occurrence of platinum elements in ore is their own minerals (more than 100 are known). The most common are: ferrous (Pt, Fe), isoferroplatinum (Pt 3 Fe), tetraferroplatinum (Pt, Fe), osmiride (Jr, Os), (Os, Jr), (PdBi 2), (PtSb 2), (PtAs 2), (RuS 2), (Rh, Pt, Pd, Jr)(AsS) 2, etc. The dispersed form of occurrence of platinum elements in P. p. is of subordinate importance. in the form of an insignificantly small impurity enclosed in a crystalline. lattice of ore (from tenths to hundreds of g/t) and rock-forming (from thousandths to units of g/t) minerals.
Primary deposits P. p. are represented by bodies of platinum-bearing complex sulfide and platinum chromium ores of different shapes with massive and disseminated texture. These ore bodies, genetically and spatially closely related to intrusions of basic and ultrabasic rocks, have an advantage. igneous origin. Such deposits are found in platform and folded areas and always gravitate towards large, long-developing deep faults. The formation of deposits occurred at depth. from 0.5-1 to 3-5 km in different geological conditions. era (from Archean to Mesozoic). Complex deposits of copper-nickel sulfide P. p. occupy a leading place among the exploited raw materials sources of platinum metals. The area of ​​these deposits reaches tens of km 2 with industrial power. ore zones are many tens of meters. Platinum is associated with bodies of continuous and disseminated copper-nickel sulfide ores of complexly differentiated gabbro-dolerite intrusions (Insizwa in South Africa), stratiform intrusions of gabbro-norites with hyperbasites (in South Africa), layered massifs of norites and grano-diorites (Sudbury , Canada). Main ore minerals P. p. they contain chalcopyrite and cubanite. Ch. platinum group metals - platinum and (Pd: Pt from 1.1:1 to 5:1). The content of other platinum metals in the ore is tens and hundreds of times less. In copper-nickel sulfide ores there are numerous. platinum element minerals. B main it is intermetallic. compounds of palladium and platinum with bismuth, tin, tellurium, arsenic, lead, antimony, solid solutions of tin and lead in palladium and platinum, as well as iron in platinum, and sulfides of palladium and platinum. When developing sulfide ores, platinum elements are extracted from their own minerals, as well as from minerals containing platinum group elements as impurities.
Prom. reserve P. p. are chromitites (Bushveld) and associated copper-nickel (Stillwater in the USA); Of interest are the fields of cuprous shales and copper-bearing black shales with associated platinum and oceanic minerals. ferromanganese and crusts. Placer deposits are represented by Ch. arr. Mesozoic and Cenozoic placers of platinum and osmic iridium. Prom. (streamy, ribbon-like, intermittent) are exposed on the day surface (open placers) or hidden under 10-30 m or more thick sedimentary strata (). The width of the largest of them reaches hundreds of meters, and the productive strata - up to several. m. They were formed as a result of weathering and destruction of platinum-bearing clinopyroxenite-dunite and serpentinite-harzburgite massifs. Prom. placers lying on their primary source (platinum-bearing massif of ultrabasic rocks) are mainly eluvial-alluvial and eluvial-deluvial, have small peat thicknesses (the first m) and a length of up to several. km. Unconnected with their primary sources there are allochthonous alluvial platinum placers, industrial. representatives of which have a length of tens of kilometers with a peat thickness of up to 11-12 m. Industrial. placers are known on platforms and in fold belts. Only platinum element minerals are extracted from placers. Platinum minerals in placers are often intergrown with each other, as well as with chromite, olivine, serpentine, clinopyroxene, and magnetite. Platinum nuggets are found in placers.
Extraction of P. p. carried out by open and underground methods. The majority of alluvial deposits and some of the bedrock deposits are mined using the open-pit method. When developing placers, dredges and hydromechanization are widely used. The underground mining method is the main one in the development of indigenous deposits; sometimes it is used to mine buried placers.
As a result of wet enrichment of metalliferous sands and crushed chromite P. p. they obtain “platinum platinum” - platinum with 80-90% of platinum element minerals, which is sent for refining. platinum metals from complex sulfide P. p. carried out by flotation followed by multi-operational pyro-, hydro-metallurgical, electrochemical. and chem. processing.
World platinum metals (without socialist countries) are estimated (1985) at 75,050 tons, incl. in South Africa 62,000, USA 9300, 3100, Canada 500, Colombia 150. Based on these reserves account for platinum (65%) and palladium (30-32%). B South Africa all stocks of P. p. are contained in the platinum deposits of the Bushveld complex. Cp. the ore content is 8 g/t, incl. platinum 4.8 g/t. In the USA, P. p. reserves are concluded preferentially. in copper ores deposits zap. states, and only slightly. quantity accounts for the share of alluvial deposits in Alaska (cp. content approx. 6 g/m 3). In Zimbabwe main. resources P. p. enclosed in chromites of the Great Dyke. The ores contain a large amount of platinum in association with palladium (their total content is 3-5 g/t), nickel and copper. In Canada P. p. in the main are localized in the sulfide copper-nickel deposits of Sudbury (Ontario Province) and Thompson (Manitoba Province). In Colombia the deposits of P. p. concentrated ch. arr. to the west slopes of the Cordillera. Reserves have been calculated for placers in the valleys of pp. San Juan and Atrato in the departments of Chocó and Nariño. The platinum content in placers in rich areas reaches 15 g/m 3 , and in dredge sands 0.1 g/m 3 .
Ch. P. producing countries p. - South Africa and Canada. In 1985, global production of platinum group metals from ores and concentrates (excluding socialist countries) amounted to more than 118 tons, incl. in South Africa approx. 102, Canada approx. 13.5, Japan approx. 1.1, Australia 0.7, Colombia 0.5, USA approx. 0.4. In South Africa, almost all production was carried out from deposits of the Merensky horizon. In Canada, platinum metals were extracted as a by-product during the production of nickel from the ores of the Sudbury and Thompson deposits, and in the USA they were obtained from placer deposits in Alaska as a by-product during the refining of copper. In Japan, the production of platinum metals was carried out from imported and own. copper and nickel ores.
Secondary sources account for 10 to 33% of the annual global production of these metals. Platinum exporting countries in 1985: (45%), USA (40%), UK, Netherlands, Germany, Italy. Literature: Razin L. V., Deposits of platinum metals, in the book: Ore deposits CCCP, vol. 3, M., 1978. L. B. Razin.

Mountain encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by E. A. Kozlovsky. 1984-1991 .

See what “Platinum ores” are in other dictionaries:

PLATINUM ORES contain platinum metals in primary deposits from tenths of g/t to units of kg/t; in placers from tens of mg/m3 to hundreds of g/m3. Main minerals: native platinum, polyxene, ferroplatinum, platinum iridium. World... ... Modern encyclopedia

Mineral formations containing platinum metals in industrial concentrations. The main minerals: native platinum, polyxene, ferroplatinum, platinum iridium, nevyanskite, sysertskite, etc. Primary deposits are mainly... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

platinum ores- ores containing Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh, Os, Ru in such concentrations at which their industrial use is technically possible and economically feasible. Deposits of platinum ores are primary and alluvial, and in composition... ...

Natural mineral formations containing Platinum metals (Pt, Pd, lr, Rh, Os, Ru) in such concentrations at which their industrial use is technically possible and economically feasible. Significant accumulations of P. r. V… …

Mineral formations containing platinum metals in industrial concentrations. Ch. minerals: native platinum, polyxene, ferroplatinum, platinum iridium, nevyanskite, sysertskite, etc. Indigenous opinions. igneous origin contain from... ... Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

Chemical elements of group VIII of the periodic table: ruthenium Ru, rhodium Rh, palladium Pd, osmium Os, iridium Ir and platinum Pt. Silvery-white metals with various shades. Due to its high chemical resistance, refractoriness and beautiful... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (platinoids), chemical elements Group VIII of the periodic table: ruthenium Ru, rhodium Rh, palladium Pd, osmium Os, iridium Ir and platinum Pt. Silvery-white metals with various shades. Due to its high chemical resistance, refractoriness and... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Platinoids, chemical elements of the second and third triads of group VIII of the Mendeleev periodic system. These include: ruthenium (Ruthenium) Ru, rhodium (Rhodium) Rh, palladium (Palladium) Pd (light P. m., density Platinum metals 12 ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

ferrous metal ores- ores that are the raw material base of the World Cup; including Fe, Mn and Cr ores (See Iron ores, Manganese ores and Chrome ores); See also: Commercial ores, siderite ores... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Metallurgy

PLATINUM ORES (a. platinum ores; n. Platinerze; f. minerais de platine; i. minerales de platino, menas de platino) - natural mineral formations containing platinum elements (Pt, Pd, Jr, Rh, Os, Ru) in such concentrations at which their industrial use is technically possible and economically feasible. platinum ores are primary and placer, and in composition - platinum proper and complex (many primary deposits of copper-sulfide ores, placer deposits of gold with platinum, as well as gold with osmic iridium).

Platinum metals are distributed unevenly within platinum ore deposits. Their industrial concentrations range from 2-5 g/t to n kg/t in primary platinum deposits, from tenths to hundreds (sometimes thousands) g/t in primary complex ones and from tens of mg/m 3 to hundreds of g/m 3 in placer deposits. The main form of occurrence of platinum elements in ore is their own minerals (more than 100 are known). The most common are: ferrous platinum (Pt, Fe), isoferroplatinum (Pt 3 Fe), native platinum, tetraferroplatinum (Pt, Fe), osmiride (Jr, Os), iridosmine (Os, Jr), frudite (PdBi 2), geversite (PtSb 2), sperrylite (PtAs 2), laurite (RuS 2), hollingworthite (Rh, Pt, Pd, Jr) (AsS) 2, etc. Of subordinate importance is the dispersed form of occurrence of platinum elements in platinum ores in the form of a negligible impurity , enclosed in the crystal lattice of ore (from tenths to hundreds of g/t) and rock-forming (from thousandths to units of g/t) minerals.

Primary deposits of platinum ores are represented by bodies of platinum-bearing complex sulfide and platinum chromium ores of different shapes with massive and disseminated textures. These ore bodies, genetically and spatially closely related to mafic and ultramafic rock intrusions, are predominantly igneous in origin. Such deposits are found in platform and folded areas and always gravitate towards large, long-developing deep faults. The formation of deposits occurred at a depth of 0.5-1 to 3-5 km in different geological eras (from Archean to Mesozoic). Complex deposits of copper-nickel sulfide platinum ores occupy a leading place among the exploited raw materials of platinum metals. The area of ​​these deposits reaches tens of km2, while the thickness of industrial ore zones is many tens of meters. Platinum mineralization is associated with bodies of solid and disseminated copper-nickel sulfide ores of complexly differentiated gabbro-dolerite intrusions (Insizwa in South Africa), stratiform intrusions of gabbro-norites with hyperbasites (Bushveld complex in South Africa), layered massifs of norites and granodiorites (Sudbury, Canada) . The main ore minerals of platinum ores in them are chalcopyrite, pentlandite, cubanite. The main metals of the platinum group are platinum and (Pd: Pt from 1.1:1 to 5:1). The content of other platinum metals in the ore is tens and hundreds of times less. Copper-nickel sulfide ores contain numerous platinum element minerals. These are mainly intermetallic compounds of palladium and platinum with bismuth, tin, tellurium, arsenic, antimony, solid solutions of tin and lead in palladium and platinum, as well as iron in platinum, and palladium and platinum. When developing sulfide ores, platinum elements are extracted from their own minerals, as well as from minerals containing platinum group elements as impurities.

The industrial reserve of platinum ores are chromitites () and associated copper-nickel sulfide ores (Stillwater complex); Of interest are fields of cuprous shales and copper-bearing black shales with associated platinum content and oceanic iron-manganese nodules and crusts. Placer deposits are represented mainly by Mesozoic and Cenozoic placers of platinum and osmic iridium. Industrial placers (streamy, ribbon-like, intermittent) are exposed on the day surface (open placers) or hidden under 10-30 m or more thick sedimentary strata (buried placers). The width of the largest of them reaches hundreds of meters, and the thickness of productive formations is up to several meters. They were formed as a result of weathering and destruction of platinum-bearing clinopyroxenite-dunite and serpentinite-harzburgite massifs. Industrial placers lying on their primary source (platinum-bearing massif of ultrabasic rocks) are mainly eluvial-alluvial and eluvial-deluvial, have small peat thicknesses (a few meters) and a length of up to several km. Out of touch with their primary sources are allochthonous alluvial platinum placers, the industrial representatives of which are tens of kilometers long with a peat thickness of up to 11-12 m. Industrial placers are known on platforms and in folded belts. Only platinum element minerals are extracted from placers. Platinum minerals in placers are often intergrown with each other, as well as with chromite, olivine, serpentine, clinopyroxene, and magnetite. Platinum nuggets are found in placers.

Platinum ores are mined using open and underground methods. The majority of alluvial and some primary deposits are developed by open-pit mining. When developing placers, dredges and hydromechanization are widely used. The underground mining method is the main one in the development of primary deposits; sometimes it is used to mine buried placers.

As a result of wet enrichment of metal-bearing sands and crushed chromite platinum ores, “platinum concentrate” is obtained - a platinum concentrate with 80-90% of platinum element minerals, which is sent for refining. The extraction of platinum metals from complex sulfide platinum ores is carried out by flotation followed by multi-operational pyro-, hydrometallurgical, electrochemical and chemical processing.