The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-01
SEARCHING FOR POTASH

III VleW or the nlgn cost or tnlS access sorry of gold mining, renewed efforts are now under way for the purpose of learn ing whether the United States does con- tain resources in crude or native potash
 which science may so treat that it will
 be possible to make good to some extent
 the failure of our potash supplies from Germany.
 Men of science say that there are five known sources from which potash may be obtained in the United States. Curious ly enough, four of these sources are found exclusively in that part of the country in which gold is produced. One is found in the eastern part of the United States, and if science can show the way to extract the potash in the eastern min eral which contains potash, then very likely the United States will hereafter find itself not obliged to rely upon any other country for that article.
 The four sources or elements in which
 potash is found and which exist only in the states of the Pacific slope and the Rocky mountain region or the waters adjacent thereto are kelp, lava, alunite and the beds of ancient lakes such as are found in the far west only.
 In the east, feldspar In inexhaustibIe amounts is found and can be easily mined. The experts say that feldspar con- tains from 10 to F per cent. of potash. In the laboratories of the chemists and men of science, diligent efforts have been Tor some time under way with intent to discover, if possible, the method or apparatus by means of which this field spar potash can be extracted. So far the experiments and resources have not yielded very much encouragement New ertheless, the attempt will not be given up.
 Alunite, which is in it's constituent nartS nnaHQ of cc;,, nius (not using the technical terms of the men of science), is found in large amounts in Utah. This mineral is now thought likely to yield the best results to those who are trying to make good, as far as possible, the loss of the German potash. It would be curious and inter- esting circumstance if a state which is so rich in precious metals as Utah should also contain deposits of mineral which, having been mastered by science, will be aple to furnish potash in sufficient
 Science is convinced that in the sedi- ment or sand of which the bottoms of what were formerly great lakes in the far west were formed are considerable, and it may be very large, potash depos- it's. As yet. however, the men of science have not been able to demonstrate the commercial practicability of these depos- It's so far as extracting the potash is concNrned. That is also true of lava Ioun$ Tn some parts of the far west which tell the story of the volcanic age. The time may come when these lava beds will be worked with commercial practicability so that they will be compelled to yield the potash which is in them.
 The investment of capital and the es- tablishnents of very large plants are nec- essary if the potash which is contained in kelp-of which there is an abundance off the Alaskan coast-can be made avail able. The men of science have no doubt that some day this seaweed will be so treated as to make the extraction of the potash in it commercially available.
 Men of science say that it may be that in the long run our loss of imports of potash from Germany will prove to have been 8 blessing disguise since science may yet point the way by which Ameri- can resources in potash, difficult as they may be to secure, will nevertheless so be mastered that the United States will have the same experience it had with sul- phur-namely, perfect independence of the rest of the world so far as it's potash supplies are concerned.