New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1901-10-06
UNCOMMON MINERALS.
CRYOLITE. BEAUXITE- MONAZITE AND
SELENIUM, AND THE USES To
WHICH THEY ARE PUT

Greenland for a cargo of cryoite brought into
fresh notice mineral with a rather unfamiliar
name and one which is now rather less in de
mand than it was a few years ago. Cryolte or
kryolite, as it is sometimes spelled is a salt con
tanning both sodium and aluminium Both Of the
latter and some of their compounds have been
obtained from that source. Colorado and the
Cral Mountains produce it in limited quaint
ties, but the largest and most available de
posts yet found are in Greenland. near the
west coast, and this region has been the CHIEF
If not the sole. reliance of commerce
Aluminium is made from aIumna. the oxide
OF aluminium and the process of getting rid or
the oxygen is called reducing In this country
the br~-'-oss is ce--trolled by the Pittsburg Re
duction Company. which for long time pur-
chased its alumina from the Pennsylvania Salt
Company. and the latter manufactured the ar
ticle from cryolite. which it imported from
Ivigtut, Greenland. A. present, however prac-
ticaily all of the alumina made in this country
at least that which is converted into alumni
minis derived from an entirely different ore
beaUNite. of which more anon.
Still in the final separation Of the aluminium
and oxygen by the American system cryoIit- *
used as an important auxiliary. The aIumial
to be treated IS dissolved in bath II he &c.
land mineral melted. and electric current
of enormous volume passed through the hu.d
| In this operation there is little or no waste or
cryoite- 1t is the alumina which needs con
slant renewal
Caustc soda. or the hydrated oxide of so-
diUm. much used in the industries and especially
in the production of Iye for soap. was formerly
made by boiling saked lime with cryolite. Bur
the Sovay and other modern processes Of manu-
featuring soda from common sIIt-chIoride Of
sodium rapidly displacins that
method Again the pure metal sodium is oh
tanned more cheapIy from cryolIte than from
other sources.
Cryohte is a lustrous material. often OF q
pure or grayish white but sometimes possess
Ing a yellow tint. Combined with silica by
melting. it is wrought into a glass resembling
porcelain. and varousIy known as hot east
porcelain and "cryoli:a glass"
Beauxite sometimes spelled bauxite takes
its name from the place where it was first dis
covered in considerable quantities. Beaux.
France II is found abundantly in the
southern part of this country. A few years
ago Alabama and Georgia were the chief pro
ducers. But Edward W Parker managing
editor Of The Engineering and Mining Jour
nal" remarked yesterday that the supply in
that quarter falling off, while Arkansas
is yielding bountifully and seems to have almost
unlimited deposits
ArCther mineral which has come into NOTICE
within the last few years in consequence Of it,
industrial applications is mOnazte. from which
ar obtained the metals thOrium, lantha-
mum and ddymium. used in the manufacture
OF mantles for lighting. Monazte is
found in the form of small crystals mixed
with sand in the beds Of streams where a Ger
tain class OF granite rocks have diSintegrated
and both in Europe and America it seems to
be confined to those regions which have es-
capped glacial action.
Something of a sensation was created in Eng
land year or ago by the widespread sick
ness which apparently resulted from drinking
cheap beer. 1t believed that the trouble
came from the by the brewers of glucose
from which the suphuric acid had been
altogether eliminated The acid. in turn
suspected of being tainted with arsenic. com
mon impurty in that article when manufact-
urCd out of Spanish py-ites. Since the first
sensation over the troubls subsidized the theory
has been advanced that IL selenium and
not arsenic which poisoned the beer. That sub
stance is also present in Spanish pyrites, and
has been recently found in of the products
of British breweries. Thus another compare,
lively unknown metal has been brought TO pub
lie attention. Secnium is only very rare.
but thus far has found little in the arts.
One of its qualities. the variability OF its electric
conductivity under the influence of light, has
been turned to account by many inventors who
were trying to transmit pictures by telegraph.
Selenium costs about $l3 pound just now. and
is therefore more valuable than silver.
In the whole catalogue of chemicals minerals