Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1911-09-02
AMBLYG0NlTE AND ITS USE.
DR.. Reinbold Recites Some Facts in
Regard to Lithia.

DR.. Herman Rsinbold, President of
the Reinbold Metallurgical company, OF
Omaha, was in Custer recently. He
went to Deadwood few days ago with
Mr.. Edward N. Davis (who is superin-
tendent of the company's mines at Key
stone) to look over the properties of the
Omaha Gold Mining & Milling company
in the Maitland district. DR.. Reinbold
10 director of this company and will
make arrangements toward patenting
the ground.
Speaking of the lithia situation DR..
Rsinbold stated, that while he was ship.
ping large quantities of amblygonite ore
the wrong impression prevailed as to Its
use. While during the last five years
his company had been the largest pro-
ducer of lithia in the United States
amblygonits is used mainly for the man.
ufacturs of phosphoric acid and alunina
compounds of exceptionally pure quail
ity for medicinal and technical purposes,
the lithia being merely q by-product.
The ore consists of 85 per cent. alumina
and phosphoric acid, while the lithia
contents only amount to per cent. The
percentage of phosphoric acid exceeds
that of the best Tennessee Rock by Is
and the 3S per Genital of alumina serve as
base for very pure alum, aluminium
sulphate and other salts, which are sold
by the ton and car load, while lithia is
sold by the ounce and pound. While
he had placed several hundred thous.
ands Of pounds of lithia on the market
during the last few years, it has had
simply the effect to reduce prices to the
point where it was sold at the expense
of the legitimate profit of the main con-
stituents Of the ore. AS the demand for
lithia is limited and even decreasing on
account Of the many coal tar products
placed on the market from Germany as
remedies for which lithia is used it has
simply had the result, that large guam
titles of it have been bought up and
stored by the few manufacturers OF pro-
who make large profits by selling them
under their labels. For this reason DIR.
Reinbold's company is devoting its at
tention to the manufacture of the main,
staple chemicals; and has discontinued
the making of lithia by discarding and
storing the lithia residues for an indefi-
mite period, unless market conditions
materially change.
There have been many experiments
made to use lithia for new purposes and
II seemed for time that it could be uti-
lized for storage batteries. 1t has how
ever been found, that it has no advan-
tage over the other alkalies like potash
and soda. On the other hand, alum,
aluminium sulphate and the phosphoric
acid products from amblygonite can be
sold at staple prices and the working up
of thousand tons of this ore per annum
only represents the natural increase in
demand and will not have any influence
on prevailing prices.
As to the recent sale of the Eta mine
to the Standard Essence company in
New York, DR.. Reinbold thought that as
a cheap source of lithia spodumene was
the ideal ore even now; it was him who
opened up the Eta mine and made
spodumene a commercial ore. The
Standard Essence company is among the
largest users of lithia in the United
States and by buying the Eta they have
an independent supply of raw material
for many years.