────────────── Year. Troy oz. ────────────── 1910 332 1911 470 1912 610 1913 442 1914 244 1915 56 1916 82 1917 259 1918 607 ────────────── _Note._—These figures do not include the osmiridium produced in Tasmania. Recent imports of manufactured platinum were as under: ─────────── Oz. ─────────── 1910 320 1911 504 1912 318 1913 301 1914–15 223 1915–16 89 1917–18 18 ─────────── The question of the refining of platinum in Australia has been under consideration for some time; so far the crude material has all been sent to England. The outlook for future production of crude platinum in Australia is not promising, with the exception of that of Bald Hill district, Tasmania. _New South Wales._—Platinum is obtained at Platina, in the Fifield division, in the east central part of the State, from a buried gravel channel, in which it occurs in association with gold and osmiridium. The rocks in the vicinity of the “leads” consist chiefly of slates, but the source of the platinum is not known[4] p. 557. These deposits were first exploited in 1894, and from that year to 1918 inclusive, the total output of platinum from New South Wales was 14,680 oz.[40]. The gravels have yielded amounts of 6 dwt. platinum and 2 dwt. gold per ton, but according to Government reports the richer deposits are nearly worked out; mining operations are carried on with great difficulty, as there is a great scarcity of water and a deep overburden, varying from 20 to 80 ft. in depth. It is estimated that there are 200 acres of platinum-country available, sufficiently rich to pay, were it worked on a large scale with an abundant supply of water[41]. A new occurrence has recently been discovered about 1 mile distant from the old Platina deep “lead,” the platinum being associated with small quantities of gold. The “lead” has so far been proved to extend over an area about 1 mile in length, and from 60 to 150 ft. in width, the wash varying in depth from a few feet to up to about 80 ft. The pay gravels, which rest on shales and sandstones of Silurian and Devonian age, intruded by dioritic dykes, are stated to be from 1 to 3 ft. thick. The following analysis is representative of the crude platinum produced: