PLATINUM  OF  BORNEO. 
419 
Berzelius  and  Glaus  (Beitrtige  zur  Qhemie  du  Platin  metalle, 
1854).  The  method  of  Claus  is  highly  commendable  for  the 
ease  with  which  the  separation  of  the  platinum  from  the  iron, 
copper,  and  gold,  is  effected. 
By  the  magnet  no  particles  could  be  separated  from  the  ore. 
It  is  probable  that  this  had  been  done  before  it  was  forwarded 
to  Europe.  It  is  interesting  here  to  remark  on  the  magnetic 
properties  of  platinum.  Berzelius  was  the  first  who  discovered 
that  there  existed  a  magnetic  platinum  ore  and  a  non-magnetic 
ore,  notwithstanding  that  the  latter  contains  nearly  the  same 
amount  of  iron  combined  as  the  magnetic  ore.  His  analysis  of 
the  platinum  ore  of  Nischnei-Tagilsk,  separated  into  the  magnetic 
and  the  non-magnetic  parts,  is  generally  known,  so  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  repeat  it  here.  The  platinum  ore  of  the  Ural,  of 
Pinto  in  South  America,  contains  likewise  a  combination  or  alloy 
of  platinum  and  iron.  The  platinum  ore,  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  is  a  mixture  of  different  alloys,  with  iron,  copper,  and 
the  other  platinoid  metals.  The  natural  combinations  of  plati- 
num and  iron  remind  us  of  the  original  discovery  of  this  valu- 
able metal,  a  century  ago,  when  Buffon  supposed  that  the  white 
gold  or  platinum  was  not  an  element  but  a  compound  of  gold 
with  iron  ;  Bergmann,  the  Swedish  chemist,  succeeded  in  point- 
ing out,  in  1777,  the  elementary  condition  of  the  new  useful 
metal.  Platinum  scales  or  laminse  are  frequently  covered  with 
rusty  spots  from  the  iron,  and  this  is  removed  by  hydrochloric 
acid,  as  stated  in  the  analysis.  The  above  analysis  may  be 
taken  as  the  average  of  several  trials,  because  the  commercial 
plantinum  ore  is  not  regular  in  its  composition.  Several  sam- 
ples of  the  same  ore,  analyzed  in  quantities  of  two  grammes, 
gave  results  as  follows : — 
a.  b.  c. 
Gold,      .       .       .      4.62  .       0.90       .  1.33 
Platinum,         .       .    65.22  .      71.21        .  75.03 
Iridium,   .       .       .       "  .       9.23        .  3.22 
Insoluble  and  osmiridium,  9.61  .        8.13        .  10.15 
Hence  it  follows,  that  Mr.  Claus  was  right,  viz.,  that  an  ana- 
lysis of  platinum  ore  should  not  be  undertaken  with  less  than 
ten  grammes  (J  ounce  Troy). 
For  the  commercial  valuation  I  followed  the  method  of  Sob- 
