The first finding of native platinum in Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary clay, the gams section, Eastern Alps, Austria

For the first time, native platinum was found by microprobe analysis in the course of detailed studies of a transitional clay bed in the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, the Gams section, Eastern Alps, Austria. The analysis revealed no impurities. The morphology of platinum grains and its occurrence on the surface of a rounded zircon grain point to platinum syndeposition. It is concluded that native platinum formation was related to the action of volcanic aerosol, resulting from mantle plume activity 65 Ma BP.