The first documented discovery of platinum was discovered by the Spaniards in the 1500's, in the alluvial gold mines of Rio Pinto, Columbia. They use to call it Platina Del Pinto, from platina, which means Little Silver, thinking that it was an impure ore of silver. It was not recongnized as a distinct metal until 1735. Its rather an opaque, silvery grey, and markedly dense. Platinum usually occurs as disseminated grains in Iron and magnesium rich igneous rocks, and sometimes in quartz veins that are associated with hematite, chlorite, and pyrolusite. When rocks weather, the heavy platinum accumulates as grains, and nuggets in the resulting placer deposits. Crystals are rare, but when found the are rather cubic. Most platinum for commercial use is recovered from primary deposits. Native platinum typically contains iron, and metals such as Palladium, Iridium, and Rhodium.
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