P. F. Chabaneau

During that same period, the French professor and researcher Pierre François Chabaneau made another important discovery in the Royal Seminary of Bergara. Up until the 1880s platinum wasn't considered important. Since no practical applications had been found for its use, it wasn’t given much attention.

In the mines, platinum was found alongside gold and diamond in dust or sponge form, and since it has a high melting point it was hard to find it in a pure state. Chabaneau envisaged extensive potential uses for platinum, which drove him to discover a simple and effective method for eliminating impurities. Thus, in the Royal Seminary he succeeded in manufacturing the first ingot using a pure and malleable platinum mass.