XVI. 



NOTE 



ON THE 



DISCOVERY OF PLATINA IN AVA. 



By JAMES PRINSEP, f.r.s., Sec. Ph. CI, 



The first suspicion of the existence of Platina in the Gold Dust of Ava, 

 occurred to Mr. Charles Lane, a merchant residing at the Burmese 

 capital, Amerapura, in 1830. That gentleman transmitted through Major 

 BuRNEY, the Resident, a small button of the suspected metal, along with 

 other minerals, to Mr. George Swinton, who presented them to the 

 Asiatic Society on the 1.3th January, 1831. 



A Note on the examination of this button was published by myself in 

 the Gleanings in Science for the following mouth, in which it was shewn 

 that the metallic bead was a fused alloy of platina, goM and iridium, with 

 iron, arsenic and lead. It had a specitic gravity of 17.'2. and was fusible 

 at a forge heat into n ronnd hufton. At a tcinpe rat urc of 1m:)0^ nnik'r a 

 mufile, it assumed a dull giannl:u spongy tt-xt'irr and a dark lihick rcdour, 

 vithout loss of weight. TIk^ bad had no do bt been aildcd i i render 

 the metal fusible: ai.d \\licn once unilnl, tl.cre is known lo be great 



