The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-11-05
GREATEST RADIUM MINES.
Will be Developed in The Paradox
Valley of Colorado.

An experimental plant using entire
ly new methods developed by the
United States Bureau of Mines. TO,
mining radium, will be erected in tn,
Paradox Valley of Colorado by the
National Radium Institute, recently
organized in Delaware with Dr. How
ard a. Kelly, of Baltimore, as one OF
the directors, says i dispatch from
The Suns Washington Bureau. The
ridum found in the mines of Colora-
do, as announced last week, will be
devoted to experiments in radium
therapy, especially the curing of can
Ger and to investigate the physical and
chemical effects Of radium rays.
DR.. Charles l.. Parsons, chief of
the Division of Mineral Technology of
the Bureau Of Mines, who is one of
the directors of the National Radium
Institute, holds that the Paradox
Valley of Colorado is the richest ra-
um-bearing field in the world. The
institute has obtained the right to
mine ~ claims in this valley. 1t is
amply supplied with funds to carry
out it's purpose. The radium is to be
used for humanitarian purposes and
Will not be offered for sale.
DR.. Parsons, in a recent prelimi-
fO
three times as much radium being
made from the carnotite ores Uf Colo
rado and Utah as from all other
sources in the world. This ore has
been sold to European manufacture
ers at prices commensurate with it's
radlum value, while much of the low
grade ore was discarded and wasted.
Many of the old dumps are now be-
ing reclaimed for the purpose of re-
covering the material thrown away.
DR.. Parsons, in Bureau Of Mines
statement recently published, says:
THE popular belief that the chief
sources of radiun. is the mineral
pitchblende, especially from mines at
Joachimsthal. Bohemia, which are
under the control of the Austrian gov
eminent, is inaccurate. Some pitch
blende has been produced from mines
In Gilpin county, Col, and autunite,
another radium- bearing mineral, has
been found in South Australia and in
Portugal, but carnotite, the most i'm
portant ore Of radium, is found, out
side Of the United States, only in South
Australia and Russian Turkestan. The
Paradox Valley region of Colorado is
the richest raidum- bearing field in
the world. etf
"CarnOtite is lemon-yellow mineral
containing the rare metals uranium
and vanadium,' and in Colorado and
Utah is usually found in pockets in
sandstone. 1t can be told by it's col
or and appearance. and especially by
it's being radioactive. If a photo
graphic plate be wrapped. in several
+ er metallic object placed, on the pa
per, the two or three ounces Of car
nOtite be suspended above the whole
in a light-tight box, and then, after
three or four days, the plate develop.
ed, an image of the key or other OBJ
ject will be found on the plate. The
radium is associated with the uranium
in the ore, and can be separated from
vanadium, uranium and other metals
by chemical treatment.
The price Of radium is about $120
per milligram Of radium metal, which
is equivalent to approximately $91,-
600 per gram of radium chloride, or
$4,000 per gram of anhydrous ra l..
dunn bromide, the forms in which
radium is sold.
The total quantity Of the ore in
Colorado and Utah regions, because Of
it's pockety nature, cannot be esti d.
mated with any accuracy, but al
though the money value of the ore
mined in single year will never ap-
proach that of this cOuntry's output of
several of the common metals, yet the
value to the public of these depo it's
is not to be measured in dollars and
cents.
Developments in the application OF
radium to medicine are coming fast,
and with the production Of a sufficient
quantity Of radium in this country,
cures may be affected that have been
impossible with the smaller amounts
heretofore available to physicians.
1T is doubtful if at present there is
! in the hands Of the medical profession