The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-12-17
SURVEY KEEPS THE
POTASH TRAIL WARM
Search for Valuable Deposits
Being Conducted in East
and West.

The United states geological survey Is
issuing another preliminary report on its
potash Investigations under the speclai
appropriation made last winter TO a'o
I'm the search for an American supply Of
potash Special interest attaches 10 the
statistics contained in this report for
they show q phenomenal increase IN or
purchases OF German potash in l9li'
According TO the ngurcs compiled oy the
bureau OF statistics OF The dcpartment o'
commerce and labor, the imports OF pot
ash for tho fiscal year ending June "V,
1911 were valued at sl4.oOO,ooo' FROM
the figures available II seems likely ina,
the imports for the calendar year 1911
win reach nearly sl6 900. 900. an Increase
over those Of tho preceding year Of almost
So 600 900.
During the year . geolosIst OF the. sur
yey, w, C. Phalen. visited practicaily
all the salt plants In the eastern part o,
the United States where there seenen
any likelihood of obtaining information
that would lead 90 discoveries Of beds ni
potash salt Ordinary rock salt may
ovcrlie soluble potash salts. as wnii as
underlc them. Both these condition
saws Mr. PheIan. exist al Stsssfurt. This
report treats briefly Of the geology OF
several Of tho salt producing areas. sam
Concentrated liquors after the eHtractlon
| OF tho salt Al some Of the salt works are
being carefully aualYzed by The bureau
or soils Of the department or asr'rutnry' ai
Some Of these show considerable per
| centagcs of potash snlis
/ OHIO Bittern Promising.
In connection with the subject ~ bit :
tors. a natural highly concentrated blt .
torn from northern Ohio seems TO hold our
suficIent promise to warrant further at :
tcntIop. This hi,tern Is a "bushear 10
The salt industry Of this part Of that
from which the salt is made 1t renders
the brine bitter and spoIls the salt As
a coutainer Of potash salts however. tn.s
hittnrn may prove 10 ne thG r,nuerS nrr
| ing il UP for potash salts. The common
salt and gypsum will first he scparatso
! from IL, leaving combination or the SallS
of potash. lime and magnes'a In solhtion
| Potassium chloride constitutes nearly
pcr cont Of the total solid residue from
this solution. The extraction OF the po-
| or The suitability OF the combination as a
fertilizer either with or without Its con
| tent of lime salts offers an interesting
problem for some tcchnologic chemist ic
] work out
Possible Eastern Deposits.
While the salt producing industry o.
! the United states is important and vel
oistrihm cd. little mr no attention has
been paid heretofore 10 the possible oc-
! currcnce of potash salts in connection
with salt. There is possibility. how
ever that potash deposits may exist III
the eastern portions of the lnltcd state
AS well as III lnG ARD region ! ne ''I
man deposits arc in region subject tc
conpars t'vcly heavy rainfall the potash
beds being: however. protected by al
everything clay. It should he noted. too
that the discovery of the Stassfurt pot
ash beds was In the nature Of an acci
dent. In fact. says Mr. Phalen, the drill
ing which the German government prose
cutcd for five wears was intended for Tho
development OF the salt Industry and The
drln actually passed through n deposit
of so-called ''Abraumsalze, or rofusr
salts. consisting largely or compounds o.
potash and magnesium. then. consjdere'
| worthless 1t is therefore possible, h.
states. that largo potash deposits NAV
exist in connection with any N the sal
mines now being operated. The repor
briefly describes salt-bearing strata N
New York. Michigan. Ohio West Nr
| Ginia. Kansas and Louisiana. II con
| tains a number of analyses, chiefly q
bitierns. made by the bureau OF soils. hu
owing to the care necessary In makini
such analyses only n few are vet avail
abc 4 copy of Mr.. Phalen's report ms'
he obtained on application 10 the direCto
n! the geological survey Washington
~, O. ,