The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-11-13
Little Known Minerals.

The announcement made a few days ago
by the press OF the loss OF a ship which
had gone 10 Greenland for cargo Of
cryolite brought into fresh notice "A min
ersl with rather unfamiliar name. and
one which is now rather less in demand
than IL was few years ago. Cryolite or
kryolts. as IL Is sometimes spelled is "A
salt containing both sodium and alumni
um. Colorado and the Trial mountains pro-
duce IL I'm limited quantities. hat the larg-
est and most available deposits yet found
are I'm Greenland
Aluminium Is made from alumlns which
formerly was manufactured from cryolte
At present, however, practically all Of the
alumina made in this country-at least,
that which is converted into aluminium
is derived from an entirely different ore.
beauxite.
Caustic soda. much used In the indus
tries and especially In the production Of
I've for soap. was formerly made by boil
ing slaked lime with cryolite. But mod
ern processes OF manufacturing soda from
common salt-chloride OF sodum-are now
rapidly displacing that method Again.
the pure metal sodium is obtained more
cheaply from syrolite than from. other
sources
Cryolite In a lustrous material. often of
pure or grayish white. hut some times
possessing a yellow tint. Combined with
silica by melting, 81 is wrought into a
glass resembling porcelain and vsriously
known as hot cast porcelain and cyrolite
glass
Beauxite, sometimes spelled bauxite
takes its name from the place where IL
was first discovered In considera BILE
quantities. Beaux. France A few years
ago Alabama and Georgia were the chief
producers, but the supply i'm that quarter
il falling or. while Arkansas ~ yielding
bountifully and seems to have almost un-
limited deposits
Another mineral which has come into
notice within the last few years an con-
sequence OF it's industrial application is
monaZite, from which they obtained the
rare metal thorium, lanthanum and d-
dNmium. used I'm the manufacture of
Welsbach mantels for gas lighting Mona
zite is found I'm the form OF small crystals.
mixed with sand in the beds OF streams
where certain class OF granite rocks
have disintegrated The workable deposits
in the United States are limited 10 four
or five counties in North Carolina and
three IN South Carolina The precious
grains are discovered by washing the river
beds AS In gold placer mining
Selenium Ia not only very rare, but
thus far has found little use I'm the arts.
One or its most unique qualnies the va
rsbihty OF it's electric conductivity under
the influence of light. has been turned 30
account by many inventors who were try
ing 10 transmit pictures by telegraph.
Selenium costs about sS pound just
now. and is. therefore. more valuable than
silver
In the whole catalogue Of chemicals
minerals and rare clements the prices
OF which are quoted every week BY trade
journals, perhaps no name is more puz-
zinG 20 the uninitisted than "infusoria
earth Still n he knows much about
dynamite. he is aware that this is the
stun employed as an absorbent TO hold
tho nitroglNcerine OF that famous eNplo-
sive. IL WAS Nobel. the great Swedish
engineer who founded number of at
tractive prizes 90 encourage scientific pro-
gress who first discovered tho trick by
which nitroglycerine could he safely
handled. Infusortal earth II composed az
the sliceous shells or minute vegetable
organisms distoms which reveal wonder
fully complicated and beautiful structures
under the microscope. IL ~ found I'm mod
crate quantities in Maryland. Virginia.
North Carolina aud New hampshire An
other use to which this material Is put Is
Tte nnsnufacture or POLISHING powders
Kansas city Star.