November 27, 2013

Silver Nitrate

1881: average sample purity, ~ 0.742 Fine Ag

November 25, 2013

Canada, 1888


1888: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Canada: BC Ore Spot) = CAD$ 3.50
1888: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (BC Spot: Ore, .999 ) = CAD$ 5.
1888: 1 Troy Oz. platina (Canada: Export Price) = CAD$ 4.
1888: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (BC Spot: Ore, .999 ) = CAD$ 5.71


1887, 1888:

1887: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Cdn ore, whols.) = C$ 4.0
1888: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Cdn ore, whols.) = C$ 4.0

Citation: Canada Yearbook, p.296




1887:
 
c.1885-8: average price
 
December 1888:
Citation: Annual Report of the Minister of Mines for the Year Ending ...British Columbia. Minister of Mines' Office (1889)







Canada, 1886

1885/6: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Canada: BC 70.6% Ore Spot) = CAD$ 0.50
1885/6: 1 Ozt. Pt (Canada: BC Ore, .999) = CAD$ 0.71

1885/6: 1 Ozt. platina (BC 70.6% Ore, London Mkt) = CAD$ 2.50
1885/6: 1 Ozt platina (London Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 0.25
1885/6: 1 Ozt. Pt (Canada: Ore @ .999?) ~ CAD$ 6.

1885/6: 1 Ozt Pt (Mkt: BC Ore, .999, Net UK Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 5.43

1886: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (US Ore, .999) = $ 6.43
 
 
December 1886:
Citation: Annual Report of the Minister of Mines for the Year Ending ...British Columbia. Minister of Mines' Office (1887)


Citation: White Gold and Black Diamonds: The History of Granite Creek and Coalmont... Ed.Bob Sterne (2011)

Dr. Hugh B. Cameron (in Granite in 1885) was the first man to find platinum on the creek. Other miners, not knowing what it was, were said to have regularly picked it out of their pans and tossed the annoying stuff back into the river. “When a miner brought his gold in to a dealer the dealer would empty the poke out on the counter, brush the...(white gold) out of it on the floor, and of course a little gold would go with it but what was a little gold in those days! Miners who knew its value would separate themselves before bringing their gold in, and save it for a possible market.”18 The Chinese and an infamous Scandinavian prospector named Johanssen decided to keep their “white gold” just in case one day it might have some value. Legend has it that Johanssen collected about 25 pounds of it in a bucket near his cabin at Granite Creek. Other miners laughed at him and tossed any they had into his pail as they went past. Johanssen left Granite Creek in 1907, but because his bucket of “white gold” was too heavy for his pack, he supposedly buried it near his cabin door. He never returned. Late in 1885 Dr. G.M. Dawson, assistant director of the Geological Survey of Canada, decided to test the substance. He suspected it was platinum, iridium or a mixture of the two. Three smart businessmen, Cook, Rabbitt and Blair wisely purchased quantities of the metal for 50¢ per pound. Indeed, it was determined that the mineral was platinum. Dr. Cameron said he sent his samples to Paris for testing and they also proved to be genuine.  Foxcrowle Cook shipped 1,000 ounces of platinum to England for a mere 25¢ per ounce. This barely covered the shipping costs. ... In 1887 the Victoria Daily Colonist reported about the platinum at Granite Creek. They wrote that platinum “is found among the gold and when cleaned out, used to be thrown away, but it will not be thrown away any more, for it is worth about as much as gold, perhaps more.


1886/7?



c.1886: 1 Ozt. platina (BC 70.6% Ore, London Mkt) = CAD$ 3.
c.1886: 1 Ozt platina (London Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 0.25
c.1886: 1 Ozt. Pt (Canada: Ore @ .999?) ~ CAD$ 7.72

c.1886: 1 Ozt Pt (Mkt: BC Ore, .999, Net UK Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 6.63

Citation: Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey, Issue 41 (1902)
 
 
  









Canadian platina, 72% Pt
 




Borneo, 1857

In the 19th C., Borneo's Platinum Yield was never 250 kgs. It was assumed to be 70-82% Pt.


 


Citation: Journal, Vol. 6 (1858)

November 19, 2013

Russia: Weights




St. Petersburg, 1840:
 
1 Фунт = 32 лота = 96 золотников
1 Фунт =  409.5174 g, 13.16627 Ozt
1 золотни = 4.26580625 g, 0.137148857 Ozt, 65.83145 Grains

Citation: 1838 Annuaire du Journal des mines de Russie (1840)
 



Heidelberg, 1829:

1 Фунт =  408.9786 g, 13.148967 Ozt

1 золотни = 4.26019375 g, 0.13696841 Ozt, 65.744836 Grains

1 Gram = 0.2347311082 золотни
1 Ounce Troy = 7.300953484 золотни, ~ 7.3 золотни

Note Error in Calculation of Gram-Weight, below!

Citation: Handbuch de Naturlehre; G. W. Muncke (1829) pp.147-8




Heidelberg, 1843:



France, 1848, citing Gmelin:


 


1 Poud = 526.64409 English Troy Ounces = 43.887 Troy Pounds (12 Ozt.) = 36.113 Lbs. avoirdupois.

1 Funt = 13.1661177 Ozt. = 1.09717647 Troy Lbs. (12 Ozt.) = 0.90281 Lbs. avd.

1 Poud = 526.64409 English Troy Ounces = 43.887 Troy Pounds (12 Ozt.) = 36.113 Lbs. avoirdupois.

1 Funt = 0.409512031 Kilograms = 0.835833 French Poids de Marc = 13.37332471 Once.  
 



1840:





Russia: 1 Funt = 13.1665 Ozt
1 Ozt = 7.2912 Zolotnik

November 18, 2013

Russia, 1859

Where 1 Poud (= 3,840 Zolotnik) = 2,941 руб Kr. (1859) and 1 English Troy Ounce = 7.2914432 Zolotnik, the Funt (presumed by 'fine,' by Specific Gravity 21.5) cost £ 10.19 - £ 10.65 at prevailing exchange.  Poud rates were for un-worked ore, at assumed Fine rates.*

1857: The cost of '1 kg platina' (@SG 21.5) 181.77 руб Kr. + Assumed Refining Cost (35 руб Kr.) = ~217 руб Kr./kg. (+ Duties?) = 6.75 руб/Ozt. (~ -30% lower than the 1828 Price)

*At SG 20, a 'kilogram of raw, assumed platinum' in ore sold much much lower; actual mass of the raw platina varied considerably, containing other PGMs.  For example, worked ingot Platinum was assumed 21.35 in 1835. If Ural platina was just 81.5% those metals (Pt, Ir, Au) to that SG, or ~ 80% - 80.5% pure Pt.  So ore merchants must have adjusted accordingly: to produce 1 kg. Pt @ .999 actually required ~1.25 Kg of Ural Ore (.805 Fine Pt).

1857:  1 Ozt Platinum (SPb: Scrap .95 Pt, Very Lg. Bulk) = 6.687 руб Ag. (£ 1.03

1859: 1 Troy Ounce Pt (SPb, Bulk Ore) = 5.5844 руб Kr. (£ 0.7737 - £ 0.8086 )
1859: 1 Ozt. platina (SPb, Bulk Ore)4.6630 руб Ag (£ 0.745 - £ 0.760 )

1859: 1 Ozt Platinum (SPb, Bulk Refined) ~ 6.70 руб Kr. (£ 0.9283 - 0.9701)
1859: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb, Bulk Ore) ~ 5.60 руб Ag (£ 0.8947 - 0.9127)


1862:  1 Ozt Platinum (SPb: Scrap .95 Pt, Very Lg. Bulk) = 6.1842 руб Ag. (£ 0.8947

  Citation: Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, Vol. 9 (May 31, 1904) p.568


1859: Au Yield = 1,542 Poud = 61,680 Funt = 812,100.16 Ozt.= 25,258.7 Kgs.
 

Canada, 1859: Toronto Catalogue Prices



Citation: A General catalogue of books in every department of literature for public ... By Canada. Dept. of Public Instruction for Upper Canada (1859), p.33

November 17, 2013

Russia, 1878




1878: Pt Yield = 126.33 Poud = 5,053.3 Funt = 66,532 Ozt.= 2,069.37 Kgs. 






Russia, 1875

DSQ



1875: Pt Yield = 94.185 Poud = 3,767.4 Funt = 49,602 Ozt.= 1,542.8 Kgs. 

















Russia, 1874

1874: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Ural: 83%, Mkt/Poud) = 9.11 руб Kr. 
($ 5.44, USD$ 6.05)

1874: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (Ural: .999, Mkt/Poud) = 11.115 руб Kr. 
($ 6.63, USD$ 7.38)
 



1874: Pt Yield = 122.91 Poud = 4,916.3 Funt = 64,729 Ozt.= 2,013.3 Kgs. 

Russia, 1877


1877: 1 Troy Oz., Platinum (Paris: Refined, Mkt.) = 11.57 руб Kr. (Fr 31.73)

1877: 1 Ozt. Platinum (London: Semi-Mfg, Trade-Ret.) = 15.23 руб Kr. (£ 1.65)
1877: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SF: Refined) ~19.37 - 22.13 руб Kr. (USD$ 12.)

Assuming the Zolotnik rate (corrected: per 4.266 Grams) and purchased in late 1876,

 
1876: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (SPb: Imported, Mfg) = 17. руб Kr. 2.00)
1877: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Imported, Mfg) 16.5 - 19. руб Kr. (£ 2.00)

Citation: The Chemical News and Journal of Industrial Science; Vol 35 No. 901 (1877) p.88


The German Mark was conveniently assumed to be equal to 1 English Shilling, therefore:

1877: 1 Kilogram platina (Russia: 74.8% ore) ~ руб 95.71 (95.71 / 84. - 112. руб)

1877: 1 Ozt. platina (Ru: Contract 74.8% ore) ~  руб Kr. 2.613 - 3.503
1877: 1 Ozt. Pt (Ru: Intrinsic) ~ руб Kr. 3.493 - 4.683
1877: 1 Ozt. Platinum (UK: Semi-Mfg, Trade) = руб Kr. 13.20 - 17.70 (£ 1.65) 
 
In 1867-77, the firm of Johnson Matthey & Co. paid ℳ 210/kg. for the unprocessed ore, and after 1877, ℳ 315/kg.  In 1895/6,  ℳ958/kg.




1877: Pt Yield = 105.407 Poud = 4,216.3 Funt = 55,512 Ozt.= 1,726.62 Kgs. 

 

November 16, 2013

Russia, 1889













1889: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (SPb mkt) = 13.8613 руб Kr.

1889: Pt Yield = 160.9 Poud = 6,436 Funt = 84,740 Ozt.= 2,636 Kgs. 

Citation: Archives des sciences physiques et naturelles, Vol. 15 1903

1889? or earlier


Russia, 1888


Presumably at the Poud Rate (1 Poud platina = 3,375 руб; 1 Poud Pt @ 4,511 руб) where 1 Kg Ural Ore ~74.8% cost 206 руб Kr. at the source, Fine Pt cost ~ 275.42 руб Kr. 


1888: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (Ural Spot, ~74.8%) = 6.408 руб Kr (ℳ 12.130)
1888: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Ural Ore, .999) = 8.566 руб Kr
 
Citation: Revue mensuelle suisse d'odontologie, Vol. 15/15 (1905) p.83


1888: Where the Pood was 526.64 English Troy Ounces, the total export (exceeding official annual production) of 229 Poud = 120,600 Ozt.

1888: 1 Kilogram Ore ~74.8% = 318.84 руб Kr (£ 29.80, Fr 295.5, ℳ 603.6)
1888: 1 Kg. Pt .999 = 426.25 руб Kr (£ 39.84, Fr 528.2, 806.9)
   
1888: 1 Troy Oz. platina (SPb: Export) = 9.917 руб Kr (USD$ 5.40)
.... (£ 0.9268, Fr 9.19, ℳ 18.77, USD$ )
1888: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (SPb: Export) = 13.258 руб Kr 
.... (£ 1.124, Fr 16.43, 25.1, USD$ 7.21)

1888: Pt Export = 229 Poud = 9,160 Funt = 120,601.6 Ozt.= 3,751.13 Kgs.
.... Pt (.999) Yld = 171.3 Poud = 6,851.7 Funt = 90,210 Ozt.= 2,805.8 Kgs. 

"Report for the Year 1888, Trade of the District Taganrog"

Citation: Diplomatic and Consular Reports. Annual Series, Issues 491-570 ; Foreign Office (1889) p.15


1888: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (SPb mkt) = 10.4435 руб Kr.


1888: Pt Yield = 165.881 Poud = 6,635.25 Funt = 87,360.5 Ozt.= 2,717.2 Kgs.
.... Pt (.999) Yld = 124.079 Poud = 4,963.2 Funt = 65,345.6 Ozt.= 2,032.5 Kgs.

Best data:



Data: Russian platina was 74.80% pure.





Citation: Archives des sciences physiques et naturelles, Vol. 15 1903





1888: Au Yield = 2,349 Poud =93,950 Funt = 1,237,000 Ozt.= 38,480 Kgs.  




Intrinsic metal, erroneously calculated in 1897 Gold-Roubles?