The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1914-03-14
RAD|UM HUNTING
SOMEWHAT RISKY
V. G. WARD CITES INSTANCES OF
ELUSIVE NATURE OF
METAL

located claims, in most cases taken
up by inexperienced persons, V. G..
Ward, in a recent interview in the
Salt Lake Herald Republican, said:
"Radium has had s. much recent
limelight a little caution in refer
ence to visionary fortunes in store
for radium prospectors might be
worth considering at this time. Es-
pecially as so many u~nscientific for
tune hunters have spread their loca-
ton filing notices promiscuously
over the deserts of Utah wherever the
canary color OF supposed carnotite de-
posts has dazzled their hopes of sud
den wealth. Many a sack of samples
of iron stained sandstones has found
its way for scores of weary miles on
the back of sheepherder or mountain
rancher only to be found worthless
when analysed. Many others, too,
have found the real stuff. But, alas.
the location is SO far from railway
the freight charges would more than
eat up all possible profits. They had
forgotten to count the cost.
1T is a pity to blast the fond hopes
Of such men, but even should their
find be near enough to railway their
time has been wasted unless they o.
their personal friends can command
sufficient capital to open up and de
velop the property, for there are no
outside buyers who have any real
money to invest in claims which are
simply prospects,
"Radium is indeed a ARE mineral,
and of far greater value than dia-
monds, but its ultimate commercial
value is today but a fantastic guess.
The fact that there may exist a GER
tain amount of radium in an ore is no
assurance whatever that n known
chemist can evolve a formula by
which the radium can be profitably
extracted. A formula that will work
for the ores of one district may be
worthless for the ores of any other
district. For that reason the chem
ist who after years of experiment
may have solved the scheme for a
certain class of ores will be infinite
ly more anxious to work out all of the
ores of that district rather than
to take the chances of failure on
ores from elsewhere. Thus a new
district starts off with a great handi-
cap.
"A man who simply makes a To-
GATORS fling notice on a radium
claim, hoping that some investor will
come along and offer him a lot of
DIN for it, will find out sooner or
later that investors are only look
ing for developed properties, and,
too, only in proven districts. Up to
the present time their favorite meth
cd of payment is a certain amount
per ton on each ton of ore the wner
will guarantee to deliver until the
purchase price is cleared.
Tie Up Claims
Il know of one district where 200
claims were thus tied up for two
years under options on an outside
advance payment of $40 each. Not
a ton of ore was shipped during tn,
entire time.
There are no great corporations
that are engaged in the extraction of
radium such as we know of in the
business of smelling of gold, silver
copper, lead, zinc and iron. The ra-
dunn business is too new for great
aggregations of capital to have got
ten started.
The actual amount of recoverable
radium in a carload OF high-grade ra-
dunn ore is so enthusiastically small
the securing of any appreciate
amount of it is like hunting a needle
in a haystack, with the chances a
thousand to one hat the trail will
be lost at some one or other of the
many and varying chemical changes
through which the material must
be worked.
One London firm has solved the
problem for the ores of the San Ra-
fael reef radium ore district in
Emery county, but failed to save
much value from ores tried from
claims of a few miles further away.
Whaever radium there is in any
radium ores, is so infinitely attached
to the very minutest atoms few chem
lists can calculate it's content with any
sort of accuracy, and the associate
oxides of uranium and (sometimes)
vanadium are seldom but guessed at
by ordinary a~ssayers. l have seer
one assay report hat showed that
100 times the amount of uranium
that finally conceded to be correct,
and two assays by the same chemist
from two pieces of the same or emade
at different time, one showing ten
times the amount of the other. Such
facts show the folly of sending I'M
scientific men to look for radium
ores.
Radium PeculiaritieS
New peculiarities of radium are
oo-r4nnAlr boinn diroAuornd ;r