Author’s Note
156 Words
Author’s NoteTHE famous legend of the Golden Fleece was based on the expedition in about 1200 B.C. to seize gold being washed out of the river sands with the aid of sheepskins in the region known as Armenia.
Rich deposits were known in Lydia and the lands of the Aegean besides Persia, India, and China.
Russia became the leading producer of gold in 1823 and for fourteen years provided the majority of the world’s supply.
Copper, the most useful of metallic elements was discovered first in 8,000 B.C. during the Stone Age.
Platinum received little recognition in ancient times, although deposits in heavy river sands were uncovered in the sixteenth century after the Spanish Conquest of South America.
Carl Claus in Russia was the first person to demonstrate the existence of this rare metal in 1844.
It became important to the manufacture of jewellery, and dental alloys consumed large amounts of platinum which, to the ordinary purchaser, was exceedingly expensive.
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