The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-02-16
RARE EARTHS
ARE FOUND
Geological Survey Has Dis
closed Columbite.
OTHER VALUABLE DIRT
May Be No Gold but There
Are CompenSationS.

Washington, Feb. 15.-One crumb Of
! comfort the government assayers have for
mineral prospectors in the Wichita
mountains district of Oklahoma. The
chemists of the United States Geological
Survey could find no trace of gold in al
the Il samples from that district that
they assayed for the yellow metal. Ten
samples were examined for silver. but in
only two samples was any indication OF
silver detected These showed only Oh
OF. and 092 o. per ton respectively. In
two other samples copper was found, o50l
per cent in one sample and 1O.d per cent
in the other One sample also showed
363 per cent Of lead. In these cases. how
ever. the small amount of ore available
more than offsets the value.
Disappointing as the results of this in
vestigation must be to the people of Ok
lahoma. some basis for their hope OF
mineral wealth may be contained in the
statement that, although no precious
metals were found in the samples eN-
arnined. discovery was afterward made III
one of the samples of the interesting min
eraI called columbite 1t is not known
that columbite has any specific value OF
its own. but it's presence is always sig
nificant. for it is known to have fond
ness for the society of certain minerals
that contain rare and valuable earths.
Among these is samarskite, the source of
thorium which is in demand for use in
the manufacture of mantles for Welsbach
lights Pitchblend another of these min
erals, is the principal source of radium,
and shines nowadays with more than
usual effulgence in the nrmanent OF MIN
eral substances. 1t may therefore come
TO pass that a small quantity of rare
earth is worth almost as much to Okla
homa as a large quantity of precious
metal Requests have been made by the
survey for other samples from near
Roosevelt, the locality whence came the
sample containing the columbite.
1t was Mr. II. Foster Balm of the
United States Geological Survey who, at
the request of the secretary of the inter-
ior. made a reconnaissance of the Wichita
mountains last fall, with the especial pur-
pose of studying the reported occurrence
of ores of copper, lead, and precious
metals. He collected large number OF
samples which were carefully assayed
by Mr. Eugene T. Allen, chemical
SeOIO2iSL OF the SURVEY III view VI tt-N
absolutely uniform absence of even
trace of gold and only the occasional
presence of a small quantity of silver,
copper, or lead, Mr.. Balm was forced to
report that none of the prospects examined
showed any ore in the proper sense OF
the term and that none of them had
any present or probable future value.
He added that it was impossible to say
whether future prospecting might not re-
veal other occurrences which do have
value 1t is believed. however, that the
prospects examined were fully represen-
tative and had in many cases been de
veloped enough to allow a proper judS-
ment to be made as to their value In
no case do they offer any encouragement
whatever for additional prospecting
Mr. Balm expects to discuss the matter
more in detail in a paper to be included
in a bulletin entitled Contributions to
Economic Geology. 1893 which will prob
ably be ready for distribution about May
/. one significant discovery made by Mr.
Balm was the occurrence Of molybdenite,
which would seem to lend some plausi-
bility TO the consoling theory that in de-
priving the Wichita mountains Of the
precious metals it could so easily have
harbored. Nature made what amends she
could and granted them a few rare earths
to take the place of ore-bearing rocks