Platinumis a chemical elementwith the chemical symbolPtand an atomic numberof 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, gray-white transition metal. Its name is derived from the Spanish termplatina, which is literally translated into "little silver". [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Platinum is a member of the platinum groupof elements and group 10of the periodic table of elements. It has six naturally occurring isotopes. It is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crustwith an average abundance of approximately 5 μg/kg. It occurs in some nickeland copperores along with some nativedeposits, mostly in South Africa, which accounts for 80% of the world production. Because of its scarcity in the earth's crust, only a few hundred tonnesare produced annually, and is therefore highly valuable and is a major precious metal commodity. Platinum is the least reactive metal. It has remarkable resistance to corrosion, even at high temperatures, and is therefore considered a noble metal. Consequently, platinum is often found chemically uncombined as native platinum. Because it occurs naturally in the alluvial sandsof various rivers, it was first used by pre-ColumbianSouth American natives to produce artifacts. It was referenced in European writings as early as 16th century, but it was not until Antonio de Ulloapublished a report on a new metal of Colombianorigin in 1748 that it became investigated by scientists.