The Delta independent., 1915-02-05
COLORADO RADIUM TO SUPPLY
WORLD WITH THIS METAL.
(From Denver Post.)

The eyes of the world will be turn
ed upon Colorado as the source of its
radium supply within very few years
provided the government does not sue
ceed in shutting out private enter
prise by taking over all lands bearing
carnotite ores, according to Joseph
NJ. Flannery, president of the Standard
Chemical company at Naturita.
This one company, which has con-
centrating mill in the Paradox valley
in Montrose county, and several re-
fineries in Pennsylvania, produced 80
per cent of the worlds supply of rad
ium last year, and every ton of the
ore from which the health-giving min
eral was refined was taken from Colo
RADIO mines.
With ten counties of the state yield
ing carnotite ores, Colorado's greatest
future development lies not in it's gold
and silver production, according to
Flannery, but in radium. In fact, he
predicts that in five years, if the gov
ernment is unsuccessful in it's effort
to withdraw the radium lands from
private enterprise, the production of
radium will be more than that of gold
and silver combined and in ten years
the state will be supplying the worlds
demand.
Several days ago Flannery came to
Denver to make arrangements to build
several new concentrating mills in
the Club ranch district of the Paradox
valley, where one mill of the Standard
Chemical company has been operating
for a year. The investment in build
ings and machinery. which will be
made unless the radium conservation
bill is passed, will amount to over a
quarter of a million.
Scientists in the employ of the com
pany are working on a few new pro-
cesses of refining the ore which, If
successful, will result, according to
F'lannery, in the building of a refin-
ing mill in the same district of the
state at a cost of $750,000 The com
pletion of the process would mean
that instead of being shipped from
this state to Pennsylvania, the ores
would be treated here. With the pres
ent process this is impossible since
all the chemicals used would have
to be shipped here from the east. AS
the amount of chemicals used is three
~, bn nf n frpafQd
the expense of freight and hauling
would be prohibitive.
Colorado has a great future before
her il this radium conservation bill
does not go thru" said Flannery. I'm
der private enterprise these radium
lands soon will be developed to the
point where the gross production OF
the state will amount to from $780,
900, 900 to $25,000,000 a year.
Think what that would mean to
the state. Today the agriculturists
know Colorado for its agriculture. the
mining men know it for its gold pro-
duction, and the country at large
knows 1t for its wonderful climate.
But with its radium lands properly
developed the world as far east as
Japan and farther would know Colo
RADIO as the source of its radium sup
ply.
e"Just what radium can accomplish
the people are only beginning to real
ize. The majority of the people think
of it in connection with the cure for
cancer. That is the only disease which
is treated in the dispensaries which
the company maintains. Neuralgia,
high blood pressure.
which results in apoplexy and arthri-
tbs, all can be cured by radium.
TT also has been learned by expert
that persons addicted to
the drug habit can be cured in this
way. At Sing Sing the doctors found
that high percentage of the inmates
were addicted to the use Of some
drug. Radium has been
used with such remarkable results
that these have not been published un-
til they can be verified with further
cures.
II do not think that the government
bill will go thru" said
FTannery. "A year ago 1t was given
out by the government that process
had been discovered which would
greatly reduce the present cost OF
production. The government did not |
have the process at that time and II |
hasn't 1t today"