The suburban citizen., 1901-11-30
UNFAMILIAR MINERALS
TRANCE USES FOUND FOR cRYo.
LITE, BEAUXIrE AND SELENlUM.

iryolite Used as an Important AuNihary 'h
the Manufacture Of fAluminum-Beaux-
ite Mined in Alabama, Georgia anu AT
kansas-"InfusoriaI Earth" Puzzle
The announcement made few days
ago by the press of the loss OF snip
which had gone to Greenland for a
cargo of cryolte brought into fresh
aotice a mineral with rather unfa-
miliar name, and one which is now
FATHER less in demand than 1t was
sew years ago. Cryollte, or kryolite,
as it is sometimes spelled, is a salt
containing both sodium and aluminium.
Both of the latter and some Of their
compounds have been obtained from
that source. Colorado and the Ural |
Mountains produce 1t in limited guam
titles, but the largest and most avail |
!, able deposits yet found are in Green
N land, near the west coast, and this re-
N gon has been the chief, If not the
"A sole, reliance Of commerce.
Aluminium is made from alumina,
the oxide of aluminium, and the pro-
cess of getting rid Of the oxygen Is
called reducing In this country the
business is controlled by the Pittsburg
Reduction Company, which for a long
time purchased it's alumina from the
PENNSYLVANIA Salt Company, and the
latter manufactured the article from
cryolite, which 1t imported from lvig-
tut, Greenland. At present, however,
practically all of the alumina made in
this country-at least, that which is
converted into aluminum-is derived
from an entirely different ore, beaux-
ite, of which more anon.
Still in the final separation of the
aluminium and oxygen by the Ameri-
can system cryolite is used as an i'm,
portant auxiliary The alumina to be
treated is dissolved in a bath of the
Greenland mineral melted, and an
electric current of enormous volume
passed through the fluid. In this op-
Grafton there is little or no waste Of
cryolite. 1t is the alumina which
needs constant renewal.
Caustic soda, or the hydrated oxide
of sodium, much used in the indus
tries, and especially in the production
of lye for soap, was formerly made by
boiling slaked lime with cryolite. But
N the SOlvay and other modern pro-
cesses of manufacturing soda from
4 common salt-chloride of sodium-are
x now rapidly displacing that method.
N Again, the pure metal sodium is OBJ
tained more cheaply from cryohte than
from other sources.
Cryolite is a lustrous material, often
of a pure or grayish white, but some
times possessing yellow tint. Com
bined with silica by melting, it is
wrought into a glass resembling porce-
lain, and variously known as "hot
cast porcelain" and "cryolite glass"
Beauxite, sometimes spelled bauxite,
takes it's name from the place where
it was first discovered in considerable
quantities, Beaux, France. 1t is now
found abundantly in the southern part
of this country. A few years ago Ala
bama and Georgia were the chief pro-
ducers. But Edward w. Parker, man
aging editor of the Engineering and
Mining Journal, remarked that the
supply in that quarter was falling of,
while Arkansas is yielding bountifully
and seems to have almost unlimited
deposits
Another mineral which has come
into notice within the last few years
in consequence of its industrial appll-
cations is monazite, from which are
obtained the rare metals thorium, Ian
thanum and didymium, used in the
manufacture of mantles for gas light
ing. Monazte is found in the form of
small crystals, mixed with sand, in the
beds of streams where q certain class
of granite rocks have disintegrated,
and both in Europe and America 1t
seems to be confined to those regions
which have escaped glacial action
Something of a sensation was created
in England a year or so ago by the
widespread sickness which apparent
ly resulted from drinking cheap beer
It was believed that the trouble came
from the use by the brewers of glU
cose from which the sulphuric acid
had not been altogether eliminated
The acid in turn, was suspected OF
being tainted with arsenic, common
impurity in that article when manu-
factured out Of Spanish pyrltes. Since
the first sensation over the trouble
subsided the theory has been advanced
that it was selenium and not arsenic
which poisoned the beer. That sub
stance is also present in Spanish py
rites, and has been recently found in
some of the products of British brew
cries. Thus another comparatively
unknown metal has been brought to
public attention. Selenium is not only
very rare, but thus far has found lit
tie use in the arts. One of its quail
ties, the variability of its electric con
ductivity under the influence Of light
has been turned to account by many
inventors who were trying to transmit
pictures by telegraph. Selenium costs
about $13 a pound just now and Is
therefore, more valuable than silver.
In the whole catalogue Of "chemi
calls, minerals and rare clements" the
prices of which are quoted every week