A world monopoly begins
In 1819, near the city of Yekaterinburg, miners discovered a heavy, silvery metal mixed in with gold placer deposits. Initially, its identity was a mystery, and some miners, finding it difficult to separate from gold, called it "gnioloe zoloto" or "rotten gold." This "new Siberian metal" was soon identified as platinum. By 1824, prospectors uncovered deposits so immense that Russia quickly eclipsed Colombia as the world's primary source. The mines, many owned by the famous Demidov family, began producing on an industrial scale.
The sudden influx of this rare metal was transformative. In 1828 alone, Russian mines produced 1.5 tonnes of platinum, an amount that would have taken South American sources a century to match. At its peak in the early 1900s, the Ural Mountains supplied approximately 95% of the world's platinum. Between 1824 and 1970, records show that about 450 tonnes of platinum were extracted from the region. This massive supply made the metal available for new applications in science and industry, from electrical contacts to laboratory equipment, and set a new standard of value.