Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-07-11
NEWLY DISCOVERED METAL.
Rare entails Were Until Recently lss,
In Mines Dump Heap.

Not so long ago such metals a. tune.
stem, molly bdenum, vanadium and nrs
MUM were so rare that the Commerce.,
world knew nothing about them, ana =
rule only students were aware fbss
they had been discovered. Few peonIs
ever saw boron. silicon, titanium ans
chromium except in museums, saya ~.
Chicago Inter-Ocean. 'he
Goethe's dying cry for more Iirb,.,
has been echoed around the world untu
cities now blaze at night with the rjorv
OF the MONDAY sun, and this has he.,s
made possible by some OF these rare ~
metals that temper and tougher steel n
other industries also these metals play
an important part. v
Until comparatively short time a..
these rare metals were left in the dnrso
heap at the mines. being deemed nat
only valueless but actually detriments,ii
considered of value. In Boulder COUNT
Col, the miners used to throw ave-.
what they called black jack. Now liz,
they know black jack to be wolframts'
smelling the dump heaps. as tungsten
forms valuable branch Of mining
In Cornwall. England, the miners found
tungsten ore. but called It mock lead b..
they, too, left 1t in the dumps Iynor
learning the value Of the stun they a. ~
working over the refuse heaps to -.
cover the valuable tungsten.
mine at Trumbull, Conn. and Ebsn
Smith discovered it In 1870 in ColorsSaa
but IT is only within the decade that i
has become of value commercially. IN
through Okanogan county. Wash, SWss
pick. shovel. drill and powder. staksd
claim which abounded in new ore thai
they believed to be filled with gold and
pockets and FASTENED to an assayer '' u
Loomis to secure an analysis
When neither gold nor silver wa,
found they gave up their claim. But ths
the ore and proceeded to investigate. ana
found 1t impregnated with tungstic acS
When this fact became known there va,
soon a new industry for the region
descent lamp filaments. In the form Q,
sodium tungstate fireproofing Of yalv S
Is produced. Tungsten brought joy n
the heart of the housewife in TIA, /,
Silk merchants rejoiced. for other tuns s
stem salts added weight to silk. "s
Tungsten steel is extremely tough
projectiles made from it have penetrat1
NOR plate. Tungsten compass needle,
are the best on the market.
In the form of ferrotungsten II has
produced a high speed tool steel thai
Even pianos have been benefited, !,
tungsten gives added strength and quail.
ty to the wires Its high melting G DON'T
gives 1t value in the manufacture OF ths
highest grade crucibles.
Tungsten ores have been melted in
electric furnaces, but the problem now
IS OF produce it by direct pig iron bias,
furnace. smelling. The American Smelt.
l prep and Kei1nng fSompany recently
on the treatment of tungsten ores
tungsten is now mined in Arizona.
California. Nevada. Montana. Idaho and
the output. The tungsten belt in Color.
40 Is three miles long and eight miles
wide. The worlds production Of this ora
IN and 1872 w y.aS ss aI tons, in 1905 a ton,
a and IN lsoi S' 1891 tons The production in
and the market for tungsten has be.
come almost as staple as that for cor.
per. zinc or lead.
, Though tantalum has been known for
a century. it was not commercially useful
until Moissan in 1908 brought it into tbs
Ilmelight through the electric furnace
II is found in the Black Hills Of Dakots,
eolumbite and tanalite. small quantity
mas been kept in this country for experi.
mental work. but the yearly OUTPUT
amounting to several tons, has been
shipped to Germany.
I'm, Inc most important use to which tanta.
Ium is put Is in the manufacture of fila.
ments for incandescent lamps. They
, were put on the market in Germany in
t ~ ana in the United States in 1906 The
raHi.alum lamp scores on these three
points,high efficiency. ability to with
light. anu ""'''neS' !"
Vanadium in small ouant;tiss 10 d,,.
tributed in sandstones, limestones and
lgneous rocks. It's greatest value, when
aalioyed with iron as ferrovanadium. is in |
me making of steel. The addition Of
f Sm,en.n 70 one-half of 1 per cent Of
the strength. toughness and elastic limit
VI me resulting steel products.
ne automobile business has greatly
snars as ,,sad me market "a for vanadium, The
ing yacht shamrock III were of vanad-
um l steel. and so We're those on Emperor
wIl4lllam.s yacht Meteor
interantIn IN many respects the NOSE |
ateognized as an element in 17S2 by the e,
chemist Klaproth, who named II after Inc i
p,amet Uranus. The chief ore of uranium
and pr fra' commonly called pitchblende
Uranium is found in Joachimsthal 3D.
EEs nnI: IN Saxony, Germany; in Cornwall
England. and in Gilpin county. Caiifornh,
h Mne re. It Is said to have been discovered
many. Two of its oxides produce pure
sa1ts glaze for porcelain, and some Of It's
s sass are used in ,photograp ply. It isI
to va nasgdener but is in no way superior
stem In I'm chromium. nickel or tuns'
I'M I'M, gas NANTES its presence is said to
III! the properties Of thoriun1. cen.
same san ahn n,, Zlreontun salts. applied for Tho
duction at the present time oniy amounts
~ soout 500 tons of ore yielding from
70 - per cent. of the metal.
sch nomIa az r. F. Walsh has endowed tn,
research fund for the 0 Special 1 purpose d
pettomoting interest among the mine opsr.
a atoIs and prospectors in the search fsr
ers bi1f The fund pays the ASSAY.
CoIorad, AS result of this generosity
FOR pitchblend e''''' p'0'pe'"