The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-22
GNeM York Pressl

NA>GM l4ccS(
One of the principal sources of the
worlds supply OF radium ore is a mine
In Colorado. which was abandoned by
Its first owner. 1t was a failure as a
gold mine, but as a producer Of ra-
dium it has made rich the man who
r~cdiscovered it. 1t is the only mine OF
its kind in the western world.
Away back In the sixties a miner in
Central City, Colo. broke into a body
of orc one day that was different from
any other he had ever uncovered. 1t
was massive. extremely heavy. CLASSY
In appearance. hard as quartz and had
a peculiar CLINT. 1t was heavier than
any other ore in the same vein and
in color and appearance 1t was quite
different from any other mineral
known in tho district. The miner took
about 1,200 pounds or eleven sacks, OF
this ore to the local smelter. He did
not know what it was, but he was con-
hdent he was on the highway to for
tune. h manager of the reduction
plant. after examining 1t carefully, an
nounccd 1t was worthless.
The miner had an intuition that
sometimes come to men who dig in the
hills. and which cannot be explain
ed, that somehow or othre the smelter
people We're wrong. He was still ron.
f1dent that the rock contained great
values and said so.
Impressed by the miners earnest.
ness. the manager of the smelter made
another trial and again reported tho
ore worthless. With most miners that
would have settled It.. With this maj
tho case was different. He placed the
ore back in the eleven sacks and ship.
ped them overland by OK teams to st,
Joseph. Mo-. thence by river packet
To st. Louis and New Orleans and by
sailing vessel to a smclter in Swan
sea, Wales. In about six months from
Tho time his ore left Central City ir
tho bottom of a great freighting wa.
o he received n check for s11, 00C
or $1,000 for earh sack he had ship.
ped after all expenses of shipmen,
u smelling had been deducted. Arm
ed with the check he called on the
smeltor man and told his story.
May ] see the a%nalysis?" asked tho
smelter manager.
Here it is" and he passed II owe,
smilingly.
Tho face of the m%etallurgist was
study as his y took in the variou:
items of the analysis of the ore. Ir
the first place the Welsh smclter paid
a hish price for the uranium in the
ore-a far higher figure than the mar.
k"t rate for gold. Uranium was useC
81 hoNs as al dIlOS ~ COIIlpll
with steel for surgical and other in.
strunents to prevent rust. IT, wa.
worth more than its weight in gold
There was gold also in the ore bu,
it was so intimately and chemical,
associated with the uranium that ir
the refining process used at that time
it was weighed in the uranium and
hence no attempt was made to sepa.
rate it.
The result of that shipment Was
fraught with great consequences. I,
changed the ideas of American metal.
lurststs and directed their minds alone
Il new channel. 1t was the b%eginning
OF n great advance that has placed
them i'm the front rank of that indus.
try in the world. Some of the Colo.
RADIO smelters began to buy uranium
but as the gold values in those ores
declined n other sources of ura.
MUM We're found that branch of the
purchasing trade in the United States
fell off. Uranium ceased to rank
among the precious metals and the
mines where it was found were closed
down. That was the fate of the ore
in Central City. which was abandon.
ed and almost forgotten for many
years.
Then the CURES found radium and
the world rams with the news. Out in
Los Angeles there was a miner who
read attentively every scrap of infor-
nation that he could obtain about the
new and strange thing. He noted tina
the world was being searched for ore
that would produce the salts of ra.
dunn. He read that uranium was a
sort of first cousin of radium and thai
Wherever n was found the other wa.
likely to be also. He recalled the story
he had heard of the abandoned uran.
ium mine near Central CITY and i'm.
mediatelv started thither. Only aft.
err dilgent inquiry was he able to 10.
cate the property. 1t had been aban.
doned for many years. At last he stood
in h identical tunnel from which
the ore had been taken out nearly hall