The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-19
MINERAL WAX is
PRODUCT OF UTAH
State Is One Of Two Localities
in World to Show
Deposits.
PRICE OF 0X0kERlTE
Is ADVANCING
Interesting Data on Formations
Peculiar to Rare
Mineral.

In only one place in the United States
has ozokcri;c, or mineral wax, been
found in apprcciab!c quantities, and
that place is in Utah. Concerning the
product, w. II. MacFarrcn. writing IN
Mining and Scientific Press says:
"Ozokcritc may be characterized as
mineral wax or paralln occurring IN
veins in tho earth. usually in the vicln'
ity of bituminous and petroleum dcpos-
its, Ii varies in color from brown to
black, and has the appearance and con
sistcncy Of wax. spcrmacctl or parat-
fin. Analysis gives approximately 50
per cent carbon and - hydrogen. Its
specific gravity is 0sS5 TO U.hO, and ITS
melting point 30 TO 20 degrees cent?
grade. The fact that it is lighter than
wafer and mclts It Il lower temperature
than water volatilizcs, plays an import
ant part in the process Of separating the
WAX from the rock gang1Ic with which
it occurs. While oZol5critc can be put
to practically all of the uses 10 which
para film iS applied, being essentially
II parailin. there arc some uses for Uzok-
critic for which there is no substitute.
such as in the manufacture of certain
kinds of shoe blacking and Insulating
material. and making Photographic rec
ordS. Ii is refined into ccrcSin 10 be
made into fine candles. ointmcnts, pom
AIDES. floor wax, and similar Objects or
10 be used rs a substitute for bees
wax.
Where Found.
II is found in paving quantities in
two localities only. in GalicIa III Aus
tria aud in Utah in the United States.
The Galician deposits have been and
still are the principal source Of sup
ply. The wax occurs there in oil hear
ING sandStones. shalcs, and sandy clays
Of the Tertiary age, rs stringers Of wax
along tho stralitcation Of irregular fis-
suTcS The ore j. mined by lcSsces
working small blocks of ground. After
sorting out the waste, the ore is boiled
i'm water i'm kettles, the WAN rising
to the top and being SKINNED
As q result Of the leSscning Weld of
this field the pricc of high-grade crude
ozokeritc has risen in late years from
Il TO l6c per pound. Ozollerite rs found
in the vicinity Of Soldier Summit and
Cotton. Utah, on the Denver & Rio
Grandg railroad, 100 miles south Of Salt
Lake. 1t is noteworthy that il occurs
here under the same geologic conditions
as in faT.away Galicia-in shalcs Shaly
sandstones. and limestones of thc Ter.
iiary period. and contiguous 10 great
deposits of carbons and hydrocarbons.
The wax is not found in the strata
To The same extent as in Galicia, but
rather in vertical fssuus that cut the
strata.
Wax Formations
These assures form shcar.zoncs. one
wall of which is usually perfect, while
the other is coarscIy broken or brecci-
atcd. The wax is found as sheets or
films between the walls, and as string
crs throughout tho brccciatcd mass for
"a few feet away from the main frac-
turc II also occurs pcrmeating the
ground-up mass. These sheets arc usual.
" a fraction of an inch in thickness,
but have been known to widen 10 form
pockets of wax two or three feet across
In the museum of the California State
Mining bureau. Ferry building. san
Francisco, is a sheet Of wax three. quar-
tors of an inch in thickness that was
taken from a Utah mine, which shows
the characteristic occurrence of oZokcr.
ltc. These mineTalizcd assures are gen
orally of great length, and il is pre-
sumed of depth also, but uncertain as
80 width and percentage of wax.
Plants for extracting ozolieritc have
been erected in Utah. resulting in the
production Of several hundred tons of
wax. None of these is now operating
The reason that moro has not been
done is simplc-no extensive bodies of
commercial orc have been found it is
impossible to say Just what percentage
of wax the present known bodies con
tam, but ii can be understood that with
ozokerite at l6c per pound f. o. b.
New York City, . per cent wax would
be valuable Prospecting for ozokeritc
is being carried on in many localities