Platinum

Symbol: Pt

Atomic Number: 78

Atomic Weight: 195.084


Platinum (atomic number 78, symbol Pt) is a precious, dense metal and one of the rarest elements on earth. It is found in gold-bearing deposits in the USA, Columbia, and the Ural Mountains. Platinum is ductile, malleable, silvery-white or gray-white in color, and non-reactive.

It occurs as a free element and in the composition of the mineral sperrylite. Platinum is a byproduct from the extraction and processing of copper and nickel. When copper is electro-refined, platinum group metals, gold, silver, tellurium, and selenium settle in the form of anode mud. Platinum group metals are obtained during the next steps of...Read More