==='''What is the platinum situation among precious metals? '''==
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This is pretty hard to tell, since platinum has been harvested only for 300 years, so I do not what was his position in ancient societies. However platinum is often associated with gold, as a trace elements but it was not especially exploited. Platinum is clearly like metals more precious than iron as copper, silver… "''
“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.”- Edmund Burke
The platinum economy is clearly linked to our modern world. Platinum production, platinum utilization, and platinum waste are topics belonging to the modern era. Though the issue remains, the problematic concern every society living on earth. What platinum can achieve for us (see its detailled utilizations), how platinum is produced (see its production conditions) and what could happen if we don't find a solution to recycle it is the matter of everyone.
Such issues are not new to the mankind. Platinum was not much exploited in the past but others precious metals such as Gold, Silver, Copper always were. So to assess the relevancy of our project and the importance of the problematic it could resolve we ask somes questions to Mr. Nicolas Minvielle, a history PhD student specialist of mining exploitation during middle age, working in the French laboratory [http://la3m.cnrs.fr/pages/accueil.php LA3M].
He has enlighten us about how metals exploitation has always been a issue a the center of the developement our societies and civilizations, triggering, sophistication, advances, and better living conditions but also wars, conflicts and environnement destrcution.
Interview
Full Dialogue
What were the impacts that precious metals had on the development of ours society ?
"This is a really opened question, since metals are at the very base of our society. Metals are used for working, clothing, building… Since the end of prehistory, metals are harvested, especially since the copper age and then metals will be more and more exploited in order to craft items, clothes, tools, currency, building items even cooking accessories…So it is the fundamental basis of all societies and as far as I know them this is very odd that a society didn’t ever use metals. This is a key element in our history. "
The value of a metal comes from his rarity. Is it still the same nowadays?
"Yes rarity confers the market value to something, the rarer it is the more expensive it is if, of course this thing as a utility for anyone, if there is someone knowing how to use it … There are special characteristic about a metal and if those characteristic give to it a potential role, if people can use it, then this metal will seek for it. Moreover if reserves are not spanned all over the world, then this metal should be precious one. That is the difference between metals called polymetallic metals (silver, copper, lead) and iron. Iron is widely spread all over the world and is harvested pretty easily as copper, silver, lead, are more concentrated at some points at the surface of the earth and their exploitation can be a bit more complicated. So they are precious because of their rarity and their utility. "
The ownership of gold was source of war. Does this phenomenon still exist?
"If a resource is rare and searched, conflict will appear for its exploitation, between exploiters themselves, to possess the richer fields, and between authorities to tax exploitation, to control it. So in precious ore fields as gold or silver there will be conflicts."
=What is the platinum situation among precious metals?
"
This is pretty hard to tell, since platinum has been harvested only for 300 years, so I do not what was his position in ancient societies. However platinum is often associated with gold, as a trace elements but it was not especially exploited. Platinum is clearly like metals more precious than iron as copper, silver… "
