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IS IT PLATINUM, LEAD, OR MERCURY COATED GOLD?

PLEASE NOTE: mercury is POISONOUS! And burning mercury can create toxic fumes. The following page is for information purposes only. My intention is to demonstrate the differing characteristics of similar metals, not to imply, nor suggest that you should attempt burning anything suspected of having a mercury composition.

The table below shows the six Platinum Group Metals (PGM's), in descending order of Specific Gravity (SG - the number in the middle). The number to the right is the melting point. The three to the left are considered the "Heavy" PGM's, while the three to the right are the "light" PGM's

Iridium 22.6 4,500deg.C

Osmium 22.6 4,500deg.C

Platinum 21.4 3,800deg.C

Ruthenium 12.4 2,310deg.C

Rhodium 12.4 1,960deg.C

Palladium 12.0 1,552deg.C

Let's start by looking at the five nuggets to the right. Grayish, dull, little texture and not much life to their appearance. Hold them in your hand and they easily bend. Stick them under a propane burner or a lighter, and within seconds they begin to melt. With a SG of only 11, they're only 60% of the density of gold, and tend to roll around in the pan easier than gold. Not much here!     That's just lead.

Now!    What about the five guys to the left? They appear to be sparkling and shining back at you. In fact, if the picture were better, they would even look brighter.  Touch the nuggets together and they often stick to one another, like a magnet! Mercury loves mercury!    Stick them under your lighter or burner and within ten to fifteen seconds you have a piece of gold.   SG for gold is 19

And now the guys in the middle! Their color and brightness is somewhere in between the two other guys. A grayish, white appearance, not so "liquid" and shiny as the mercury. Some pieces are jagged and some smooth (depending on their composition), but none of them have the sparkle of mercury. PGM's have a SG of up to 22.6 times that of water; are the heaviest of all elements; have a price range of $350/oz. - $2000/oz.* ,and with a melting point of up to 4,500 degrees Centigrade your talking about one hot fire.

Unless Tim the Toolman has been tinkering with your BIC, you aint going there!
So is it platinum?   Well, to be honest, without an actual assay, we have no idea. We do know for sure it is a PGM, and since it is heavy we also know it's main composition is one of the three to the left, but since platinum is the most common, it's just standard to call it platinum. It could actually be a combination of any of the PGM's. Also, most of the platinum here is from known sources where actual platinum was mined in the past, or has been considered for mining.

* Prices based on spot values 03/01

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