The Washington herald., 1909-02-14
ORE YIELDS RADIUM
Deposits Expected to Make
Substance Cheaper.
WORTH 5000 PER GRAIN
II Brought Within Reach of People
of Average Means, Rsdiuna May
RevoIutionize Medical Practice.
Baths Strengthen and ExhIIarate.
Cornish Mines Promise Well.

From the Chief Europesa Correspondent of tie
Lsiian News BeTssn.
London. Feb. 13-The Phoenicians and
the Romans shO went 10 Cornwall for
their tin many centuries ago could not
guess that they we're handling ore worth
many tlmes4lts weight in precious metals
Their disused copper and tin mines have
been found to contain deposits Of pitch
blende. from which can be extracted "a
dunn worth $500 a grain, or thereabouts.
The Cornish miners of even half a cen
tury ago sought for what are known as
simple ores and threw aside the complex
ones as refractory. In this way they
found uranium ore and sent It to the
smelters as black copper," only 10 have
II returned 10 them as rubbish; and 50
some 40,g99 tons OF ore, containing per-
haps 10 per cent of pitchbIende. estimated
to be worth $50 a pound. has been found
dumped at the head OF the Wheai Tren-
with Mine, near st. Ives How much
mare remains underground untouched By
the pick Of the miner il is impossible 70
estimate. This Cornish ore IS considered
by experts 10 be richer than that from
Bohemia, from which M Curie first ex-
tracted radiun. and Nine. Curie. who has
been experimenting with samples. de-
clares herself as thoroughly satisfied
with its quality.
Researches for Science
Chemists have concentrated their atten-
ton on the production OF radium from
the uranium ore, but up to the present
those researches have been almost purely
for scientific purposes, and Il Is only
- a.
ton has been conducted on a commercial
scale. Sir William Crookes was one Of
the first chemists to extract radium from
pItchblende on the lines laid down By
Nine. Curie; that IS. first Of ali uranium
was extracted, and from the residue the
precious radium was obtained by means
OF acids after great deal Of labor.
4 new, rapid mode Of extracting radium
has just been announced by a young
English chemist, whose process is "a
separate radium as a primary product.
leaving uranium as Z by-prOdUct. instead
Of the other way about. as hitherto From
ton OF ore containing 95 per cent O.
pitchblende he secured one and a half
pounds Of radium-bariUm-chl0rid This
would produce 30 miIligrammes. or LSa
grains, OF radium chloride. and the pro-
cess only takes abOut TWO days, against
over a week by the present method. with
its prolonged boilings and washings IN
the treatment of the residues
Cheaper In Future.
1t is now hoped that radium in the
near future will be brought within the
reach Of the general practitioner. both as
regards quantity and price
An interesting point IS that The Cornish
mines were drained in the days OF their
activity to common center. from which
the water vas pumped. and FOR this puE-
pose they were made 10 communicate Ia
their lower levels, 50 that all thus con-
nected are flooded 20 g certain depth
The waters have now been found 10 be
radioactive, and the establishment OF "a
dium baths Is expected 20 bring increased
prosperity to Cornwall.
The effect Of rsdium bath is to create
a feeling Of exhiiaration and 10 invigor-
ate the bather. though the bath itself.
which creates a p-icking sensation be-
tween the toes and the fingers, and j.
occasionally attended with other senss-
tons that are not altogether pleasant.
may not appeal 20 everybody.