Gilpin observer., 1914-02-26
THE WONDERS
OF RAD|UM
BY Alfred Ske els.


high grade uranium ores in the form
of pitchblende, known to exist any
where in the world, should be and
is of far reaching interest to those
who have devoted their life work to
the mining of precious minerals un-
der the leasing, or tribute system.
The mining conditions under which
pitchblende is found in the fissure
vein system of our county, particular
ly appeals to the tributer or lessee,
equipped as he is, with practical
knowledge and mining experience
that makes success in the extraction
of high grade gold ores, with a mini
mum of waste and expense by hand
tion as to the use of powder and
practical judgment in confining most
of the work to the simple tools as
CAD, gouger, etc., is as necessary in
mining pitchblende as for high grade
gold ores That the practical miner
of our county, thus equipped and
with working knowledge of under
ground conditions as they exist, is
in the best possible shape to success
fully cope with the problem, if CIV
en- the opportunity, of furnishing sci
ence and suffering humanity with the
raw material for the extraction of
radium element Owners of mines,
wherein is the possibility of finding
pitchblende in paying quantity, should
take into consideration the necessary
dead work in clearing old slopes and
drifts in the search for this much
wanted mineral.
Pitchblende, having been deposited
in the earlier fissures or fractures
in the rock formation favorable to
it's existence, together with the fact
that in nearly every instance the ori-
and the more recent gangues and
sulphide deposits in the subsequent
disturbances that enlarged the fis-
-sures and crowded back the original
vein filling makes the prospecting
for pitchblende matter of careful
discrimination. The offshoots, slips
and small feeders appearing in the
walls in old workings. where the
country rock is favorable to pitch
blende, should be prospected first to
determine the existence of the ore,
before going to any great expense in
opening up new ground. Then again,
many of the original fissures were
not disturbed in the subsequent up
heaval and cooling that made new fis-
sures and enlarged old ones. These
veins or veinlats should be sought
for and prospected and viii be found
below the slide and in solid rock for
nation. This opens up new field
for the daylight" miner wEo may
prospect on what heretofore has been
passed IN as mere mineral seams
.and not the real vein.
TIC encourage those who are will
irg to expend their capital in the
form OF skilled labor and acquired ex-
perience in the mining of pitchblende
a fair and just standard of royalties
of same should be established The
Kirk, which is considered one of our
most valuable mines for its pitch
blende product, has lain idle for the
past year simply because the own
er demanded the excessive royalty of
10 per cent on all pitchblende mined.
Had a more reasonable royalty basis
been submitted by the owner to the
working miner, the mine would have
been transformed into a busy hive of
industry. filled with skilled miners,
adding greatly to the wealth of our
county in valuable mineral produc-
ton.
The price obtainable for the ore
produced is Of paramount interest
20 both the mine owner and lessee
Heretofore the price paid for uran-
ium ores varied greatly, partly on
account of the inexperience of the
producer, who was in ignorance as
to the best methods to reach the ul-
innate buyer, with the result that
four or five middlemen handled the
shipment. each taking their profit
and passing 1t on to the next.
Carnotite ores carrying 28. uranium
oxide, have firm and broad market
at $500 per pound for the U3 OS
content. That is, $50 90 per ton for
the crude ore, f. o b. New York.
Taking this as n basis, minimum
price of $4,000 unit should be in
sisted upon by the local producer.
our pitchblende, much higher price
is obtainable, especially for clean,
high-grade product. To the small OPP
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