Do the platinum minerals occur in mineable quantities, if they do exist?
The answer to this question is a qualified, “No.” To our knowledge there has never been production of platinum from Arizona. The definition of ore is rock that can be mined and will yield its valuable mineral at a profit. To be classified as platinum ore, the platinum content would have to make up a significant portion of the value of the ore. The recovery of trace amounts of platinum group metals from other ores in the final stages of refining does not make the rock platinum ore. Although no one can predict the future, the present knowledge of the geology, mineralogy and economics of platinum and Arizona are not conducive to the discovery of producible quantities of platinum group metal ores in Arizona.
