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Opening Atlantic Leaves Scots Isle Platinum Rich
February 08, 1999The Platinum Group Elements (PGEs) are contained in mineral grains from the Rum Layered Intrusion, which represents the eroded roots of a once large volcano. They were formed deep in the crust as a plume of molten rock pushed up from deep within the Earth, causing huge volcanic eruptions, as well as hastening the break-up of North America from Eurasia.
This activity also gave rise to the massive swarms of vertical sheet intrusions (dykes) and lavas that together make up the Tertiary Volcanic Series covering much of northwest Scotland and Northern Ireland. It includes the famous columnar lavas of Fingal's Cave, Staffa, and Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim. In addition it also formed extensive lavas in East Greenland, where similar rocks to these in Rum have already yielded gold and palladium. The horizons on Rum where the platinum was discovered also contain significant quantities of the other PGEs, ruthenium, osmium and iridium, along with gold, silver, chromium and nickel.
This discovery is of more than scientific importance. Although the size of the deposits on Rum are small and would not be viable to mine, the potential remains for the discovery of other PGE deposits in NW Scotland or Greenland. Rum is widely recognized for its International significance as a national nature reserve, owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. The discovery of platinum further enhances the importance of this island for geological science.
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