Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-01-16
lOUISlANA'S SULPHUR MINE.
Largest One known-Principal Source
Of Worlds Supply.

1t seems rather odd that so familiar
a substance as sulphur should be
found in paying quantities in very few
localities According to the Logical
Point 1t is now principally supplied
to the world from one mine. located
in Calcasieu Parish. Louisiana.
Until five or six years ago Sicily
was the chief source of supply, but
since the discovery and perfection of
the patented process employed in the
Louisiana deposit, the Sicilian mines
have forfeited their monopoly of the
sulphur production of the world.
Sulphur was discovered in the south
western part of Louisiana in 1858.
while drilling we'll for oil. but no
notice was taken of its value until
after the Civil War. when several un-
successful attempts were made to
sink a shaft to the sulphur deposits
1t is the largest sulphur mine In the
world. the sulphur production of ST.
cily coming from some 700 mines
In 1870 French company began
work on an enormous scale to sink an
eleven foot shaft to the deposit-oe0
feet beneath the surface. 1t was nec-
essary to have cast in France the
rings to be used for the caisson, as
no foundries in the United States
were capable of making satisfactory
casting of the dimensions required
These were eleven feet in diameter
and five feet long. Each casting
weighed seven and one-half tons.
conservative estimate places the cost
OF TRANSPORTATION alone on the mater
ial and machinery brought to the mine
location at 100000. This company
never reached sufficient depth to in
sert any of the cast iron rings.
Several attempts were made by other
companies and altogether S3.Oo0.0O0 or
$4,000, 900 were sunk in the mine. But
while ell of these attempts to secure
the sun, 'ur by shaft mining failed
the subject was discussed in the
scientific papers and came to the no
tice of Herman Frasch. scientist
who had some years previously invent
ed a process for desulphurizipg Lima
oil. task on which the governments
of several European nations had
chemists at work for years.
This process was eventually sold to
the STANDARD Oil Company. as it had
anticipated the successful attempt to
desulphur the oil commercially and
had in storage q, 900, 900 barrels of Lima
oil, for which it had paid IA cents A
barrel, as it was good only for fuel
previous to the invention OF Mr..
Frasch, which not only desuiphur-
lied the oil in commercial quantities
but the process added practically no
extra expense in refining.
1t is significant fact that the
Standard Oil Company today uses the
same process in almost every detail.
Mr Frasch was induced to try his in
ventive genius on the sulphur prob
lem. The success with which his effort
was rewarded is best told in stating
that the assessment of the mine in
1910 was $4,664000.
The sulphur obtained from this mine.
while not only almost chemically pure
(the average test being 99.S per cent?.
contains not trace of either selen-
ium or arsenic. both of which are very
Objectionable. The principal manufac-
turers of sulphuric acid use this sui
phur to the exclusion of the cheaper
pyrites on account of there being alb
solutely no danger of arsenic poisoning,
as might be the case if pyrites was
used.