The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-09-01
BEST DESPOS|T OF
ANT|MONY IN WORLD
Experts Agree That Utah Has
Source Of Wealth That Is
Not Surpassed.
JAPAN ONLY COUNTRY
TO COMPARE WITH 1T
Little Appreciated Utah Re,
source Promises to Assume
Very Large Proportions.

It Is not appreciated either at home or
| abroad that the State OF Utah con-
| tains one Of the richest deposits OF
| antimony I'm the world, by all odds the
! richest In the United States, the only
nation on the globe which can present
anything of similar nature to compare
with IL being Japan. Such. however, is
| the plain, unvarnlshed truth, and this Is
vouched for most positively by Thomp-
son Campbell and j. " Keeley, the ex-
| ports who have just returned from this
| Held. The antimony deposits referred to
are situated forty-flve miles south OF
Marysvale, In Coyote canyon. Garfield
county, Utah. and the properties
| examined by these gentlemen are owned
by Benjamin Hampton. They consist
of nine patented claims and four
patented mill sites of Ave acres each
embracing total OF 175 acres.
Mr.. Campbell stated to The Tribune
Friday morning that the sulphide of
antimony, or stibnite. which is abso-
lutely free from other metals. such as
lead. zinc and arsenic. is found in this
district in bedded planes along the
stratihcation in a soft, gray, granu-
lar sandstone. topping a conglomerate
formation resting upon or everything the
gray lime. The pure stibnlte Is found
in the sandstone varying from two
lenzes or strlngers The oxides OF anti
mony through which these lenzes or
stringers occur vary In width from
four 10 sixty feet. These may be
classified as workable ore TO be reduced
on the ground. These ores carry from
10 TO 80 per cent
Chloriders working upon these proper
ties mine only the stibnlte for shipment,
the ores averaging from 90 to 20 per
cent pure antimony. This orc is shipped
by team TO the railroad. thence to San
Francisco and New York, buyers paying
$3.50 per unit When reduced IN the
form Of star antImony, II has a market
value of 25 to so cents pound. The
principal market for the metal is Lon
don. Mr.. Campbell states that the anti
mony, as found in these mines, in
pedded planes, Is most interesting from
the fact that as such 1T is only found In
this Utah district. The ore is found
In quantity, and that limited. only In
Australia and Japan. The high price
paid for antimony has induced prospect
ing IN Nevada and Utah. but ordi-
narlly such as has been found In
vein formations is but a by-product
with other metals, and this is very diff
cult of separation. Hence the scarcity
has raised the price OF two years ago
OF cents to the present price.
Uses of Anthony,
Antlmony has various uses, the more
frequent uses being in the manufacture
Of babbltt metal. In making electrical
appliances, as alloys In hardening iron
in making car wheels. and as an alloy
for many other metals. In the district
mentioned the facilities for reducing
the ores are stated as being abundant.
Coyote creek carrying at least 1000
miners inches of water with an
abundant supply Of timber on the prop
critics and In the vicinity Mr.. Camp
bell states that Prof, w. p. Blake
county for the Government as far back
as 1884, at which early period 1t
was being operated. In the Mineral Re-
sources of the years mentioned Prof.
Blake said:
"a remarkable deposit OF antimony,
with some valentite and some senar-
monte, the result OF the oxidiza-
ton OF the stibnte, are found in southern
Utah in bedded masses following the
stratifcation Of the nearly horizontal
beds. The antlmony ore occurs just
above the junction OF the lImestones
and conglomerate. the limestone pene-
trating lrregularly between the layers.
1t is usually in the llmestones, and not
occupied by any vein stones or gangue
or any evidence OF vein formation. IL is
bedded in the midst of sandstone
parallel with the stratiacatlon, and in
general there Is only one bed or layer,
but there are evidences of the existence
OF two or more layers in some parts OF
the area over which the ore has been
traced"
Subsequent developments through
examinations within the last few days
have determined moro than one layer.
and. in fact. ore has been found under
lying the conglomerate. demonstrating
that successive layers will be developed
by further exploitation)
Huge Masses on Surface.
Large quantities of ore were found in
outlying masses on the surface or slopes
OF the hills, having become weathered
out and detached by the gradual wear
Ing away OF the strata where cut
through by the main canyon or by
lateral gulches. Some OF the detached
masses weighed several tons, and could
not be moved without blasting. One
mass of nearly pure stibnlte weighed
about 5000 pounds. and was sent to New
York and placed In the Central park
museum, This mass. like most of the
ore found In sandstone. has a strongly
defined radial structure, being close ag-
gregations of long needle-ll!1e fbres or
prisms. which are divergent from CEN
trail points or nuclei. giving in the larger
masses the radial flbers eighteen inches
long, and formed In dense aggregations
OF pure orc from eight to fifteen Inches