The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-04-01
MINING LEAVES MONEY
TO ENRICH THE STATE
MONTANA PRosPEcToR WANTS
TO KNOW PRACTICAL AND
COMMERCIAL FEATURES
butte Miner.)

he knows of the presence of radiun
bearing ores in southern Montana. ha,
asked the mining editor to publish
some facts concerning the methods O
practical mining of such ores, as it i,
done in Colorado. He also asks FOL
information concerning the marketing
= and value of such ores
The Standard Chemical company
produces radium from canotite, q
| ranium Vanadate from Colorado anG
Utah. The company owns many
| claims in these caronotite areas anG
mines its own ores. At present from
six or ten tons of ore must be mined
in order to secure one ton of ship
ping ore. After mining and sorting
the ore is packed by burro to the foot
of the trails and from there it is
hauled 60 miles by wagon to the near
est rail station, from whence it is sent
to the cOmpany's reduction mill at
ICanonsburg Pa, where the ore is
treated. After the radium has been
extracted from the ore, together with
the barium, the radium- barium salt
Is sent to the radium research labora-
tory in Pittsburg, Pa, where it is
subjected to long process of concen-
tratiOn, the radium finally being sep
arated in the form OF 60 to IS per cent
pure radium salt.
TO produce radium from carnotite
| involves the treatment Of enormous
quantities of ore, because the greater
amount of carnOtite ore Is of a very
low grade, ore containing | to L.
per cent of uranium oxide (U3OS) can
be worked although 2 per cent ore
| is more desirable. The worlds future
supply of radium will probably come
from these carnotite deposits in Colo
RADIO and Utah and will be necessary
to work up material containing l per
cent or less of radium oxide. To pro-
! duce gram Of radium salt requires
The working up of 400 to 900 tons of
| ore, and the treatment involves the
use of almost twice this weight of
| emicales-exclusive of water-and
lbout $50 days are required for the
production of the finished radium
ready for delivery.
Prices and Grade.
From this standpoint of cost of pro-
! duction the present price of radium
is exceedingly low. At present the
market price is 1920 to $3.50 per MILL
| grams of radium element contained in
a preparation. Barring few sales by
the Curse of Giesel in the earliest
days of radium roduction-where the
selling price bore no relation to the
cost Of production-the price for ra-
dunn in the past few years has been
between 1887 and $3.50 per supposed
lmilligram of radium element.
! Much Of the radium sold earlier than
1912 and some in the market since,
has been found to have been greatly
)verrated as regards purity. Now that
the international radium standard has
been prepared, all preparations are
standardized by gamma ray compari-
son on this basis, and purchasers
should demand a guarantee of the ac,
tual radium element content of prep
aration Of certificate of measure
ment by the bureau of standard in
order to assure themselves of what
they are getting.
In spite Of the great difficulty in
preparing radium, and the really small
quantity of it in an available form,
great deal of work has been carried
out since 1903 on the therapeutic APP
plications of the radium rays, and it is
now conceded that radum has a def
nate place in therapy. 1t has been used
very successfully in the treatment of
certain forms of cancer and in the
treatment of a great many nonmalig-
nant skin growths. In spite of the
price radium is even finding a consid-
cradle use as internal medicine.
The Producing.
To produce radium from such ores as
the carnotites Of Colorado and Utah re-
lquires first, that a sufficient supply of
the ore be assured, since the handling
Of the ore necessitates the investment
OF much capital in expensive equip
ment. Because the Standard Chemical
company has assured itself of a supply
| of ore adequate to its needs for some
| years to come it has been unjustly ac-
Icused Of seeking a monopoly in this
| field. The present price Of radum is
called eXOrbitant, in spite of its being
the lowest in years, and in spite of the
| fact that radium salts are now guar
anteed to contain radium-whereas in
the past they were supposed to contain
this element-and usually were great
| ly overrated as regards content Of ra-
dunn element, and in spite of the fact
that radium Is now being made from
a grade ore which is much more
Expensive to treat.
| The war abroad will cause no ra-
dunn famine in America-and If the
radium industry is to grow-if radium
| is to be produced from American ore
in America for Americans, as the sec