The Washington herald., 1913-11-30
Bureau Of Mines Has Estab-
ished MIL, with Labora-
tory for Denver for Work
ing Colorado Deposits.

OF mining for radium. Fifty-seyen claims
yielding rich Mountaineering ore. already
taken up. will be worked in the Paradox
Valley of Colorado. under the direction
OF government experts. The Bureau Of
Mines has established a mill out there, 20
handle and concentrate the raw material,
and experimental work will be done in
a laboratory at Denver. with a view TO
tnding out new methods whereby this
most precious of all substances may be
most economically separated from -he
materials with which In nature 1t Is found
combined.
Starting from PlacerviIIe. and follow
ing the San Miguel River for a distance
Of twelve miles, the traveller finds him
self at the entrance OF this wond srtIi
valley, which is a canyon, its precipitoIs >
walls rismC LOO to LOO feet No N )re
picturesque region could be imagined. for
the walls are of brilliant colors, s.au,sd
by strata Of red sandstone, white sand
stone. and other strikingly-contrasted
mineral formations. The precipices are
SO steep that prospectors hunting for ra-
dium are obliged to climb along them
Ike flies, making trails as they 20.
What they look for is yellowish-green
rocks. Such stains are made by oxides
OF uranium and vaHadium. which are
always associated with radium. The pros
pector, his attention drawn by such an
Indication. blasts a tunnel into the cliff.
In the hope of discovering a pocket of
ore-the latter being mineral known as
"carnotite." which contains uranium and
vanadium. together with more or less
radium. There are many such pockets.
diGNnNarNr ~ shav f9 l..
in cases OF accidental exposure.
Now. 1t Is popularity supposed that ores
OF radium are mostly found in Europe,
and that the precious element is extracted
chiefly from ''pitchbIende"-a hard.
blue-black mineral mined in Bohemia,
where, at Joachimenthal, the radium-
deposits are controlled by the
Austrian government. But the fact Is
that the principal source of the supply
for a number OF years past has been
"carnotite"-a lemon-yellow ore which,
occurring in pockets in sandstone. has
never been found in considerable quanti-
ties anywhere outside of Colorado. This
Is the stun for which the prospectors
hunt in the Paradox Valley. which Is by
far the richest radium-bearing district in
the world.
Colorado's Past Productions.
AAc iOIGlbH OF
during past years have quietly bought up
all the carnotite they could get hold OF.
and have shipped It abroad, where the
radium has been extracted from II by
laboratory methods more or less secret ]
In this way Colorado has been furnishing
annually three times as much radium
as all the rest of the world put together
the substance being separated out and
sent back to us, or sold in other countries
hzE
ever, We shall henceforth be in a position
to control the radium market: and the
reason why Of the governments taking
such an interest IN the mining OF the sub
stance needs no further explanation.
The rocky stratum which contains the
pockets Of the radium-oearing ore is far
down beneath the surface of the earth.
But in the canyons, where rivers have
cut through the mountains as a knife
cuts through cake. this stratum Is ex-
posed to view and rendered accessible.
In Montrose and San Miguel counties
(Colo), and to the northwest, in Utah,
deposits of carnotite are found. and,
before radium had been thought of, they
were mined for uranium. Fourteen years
ago specimens were sent to France by
two Frenchmen named Poulot and Voil-
leque, and were recognized as a mineral
new to science, being thereupon named
after President Sadi-Carnot
The total quantity OF radium in the
State OF Colorado has been estimated at
a little less than two pounds, 1t Is be-
lieved by the Bureau of Mines, however,
that this is an over-estimate. The sub
stance has never been separated out in
a pure state, but a gram OF radiunt
chloride today has a market value Of
SSl ,OO0-at which rate a single ounce
would be worth somewhat over s. 10000.
Supposing, then. that in Colorado there
is total of only one procurable pound
Of radium. it ought TO sell for SfO,oOO.0 900
at the current price.
In all likelihood radium will never be
cheaper than 1t is at present. The car
notite Is much more easily treated for
its extraction than pitchblende, and in
future We shall hold our ores for higher
prices than foreign buyers have been
paying for them hitherto, while pro-
ducing our own supplies of the precious
substance at home. There is no question
that the production OF radium will In
crease. The available supply being so
limited, with no large resources in sight
outside Of Colorado. the industry is worth
promoting.
Ready Market for Ores.
Meanwhile, there is ready market
for the uranium and vanadium, the for
mer being in demand by manufacturers
OF iridescent glass, who use its salts
in the production Of such delicate and
beautiful ware. while the latter gives q
quality to ''vanadium steel"
il has been newly discov-
cred that vanadic acid, mixed with
fine powder with varnishes, affords a
cheap and admirable substitute for gold
bronze" giving most decorative effects.
The Aforementioned fifty-seven claims
n the Paradox Valley have been ac-
luired, not by the government, but by
! number OF wealthy men in New York,
Boston. and elsewhere. who. purely for
reasons, are anxious to pro-
cure radium in quantity. When they
rave got It, they propose to place it In
he hands OF the medical profession, es-
,ecially for dealing with cancer, and,
With this idea in view, the requisite
clinical arrangements have already been
made at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in