The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-06-15
MORE ABOUT TUNGSTEN
PRODUCTION AND USE
FORMS OF MINERAL
AND WHERE FouNo-PRo-
DUcTloN INCREASES.
Mining and Scientific Press)

The reviews of mining progress in
the western states, as published per-
iodically in this paper, have made fire.
quent mention of a metal that was
scarcely known to the average miner
a couple of years ago, nor for the mat
ter of that to persons supposedly even
better informed, for in the latest is
sue of The Annalist we read about
tungsten as a mineral and are told
that it is converted into an acid for
the hardening of steel tools" BY this
time our readers know all about the
minerals in which the metal tungsten
exists as an acid radical, tungstc OK
ide Tungsten is a Swedish word
meaning heavy (tung) stone (sten).
The chemical symbol w Is taken from
the Latin wolframium. In California
the chief ore is the tungstate of lime,
scheeite, and it is a noteworthy fact
that during recent months the most
profitable mine in the state has been
a tungstate enterprise, the Atolia
Mining company in San Bernardino
county. In Arizona hubnerite and
wolframite, the tungstates of man
ganese and iron. share economic i'm
portance with scheelite, while in Col
orado particularly in Boulder county,
the mineral ferberite, a tungstate of
iron, is the characteristic product. In
all these minerals the content of
tungsten trioxide (WO3D ranges from
rs to 80 per cent, the actual treatment
of the ore yielding a concentrate con-
tanning 60 to 65 per cent. This con-
centrate is reduced with carbon, to-
gether with iron ore, in an electric
furnace, the resulting ferro-tungsten
rs to so per cent tungsten.
This is added to the charge when ma
king certain kinds of steel. Alloy
steel, especially for high speed cut
ting tools, consumes most Of the pro-
duction. Another important use is as
wire in making of filament for mean
descent lights; when used for this
purpose a pure tungstic oxide is OBJ
tanned by chemical process and then
reduced at a temperature of 1000 de-
grees c. by hydrogen or pure carbon,
a black powder that is press
ed into bars through which an cleo
trio current is passed in order that
the heat may agglomerate the metal
lie particles SO that the bar can be
shaped, becoming so ductile that it
can be drawn into wire Previous to
the war; the world output of tungsten
was about 10000 tons of so per cent
concentrate; and out of this total
Burma contributed 200 tons, the
United States 1890 tons, and Portu-
gal 1880 tons. At the end of 1913,
Portugal's output was increasing the
most rapidly, having nearly trebled in
five years. Until recently the manu-
facture of ferro- tungsten was main
ly a German industry; now England
Is making supplies for herself and her
allies. The placing of an embargo on
the shipment Of tungsten ores and
products from England or her over
seas dominions has had beneficial
effect in stimulating the mining and
metallurgy of tungsten in the United
States, where the making of high
speed tool steel Is at it's maximum
Hence the extraordinary rise in price.
During 1918 the price ranged between
Sc and 81 per unit of go per cent con-
centrate. In 1914 the average was 81
per unit. By the middle of February,
1915, the quotation was $40 rising
slowly to $50 in February of this year,
when jump to sos per unit or $5.25
per pound was recorded. Whereupon
there ensued veritable scramble for
tungsten ore all over the west; the
resulting production, together with
large shipments from South America,
flooded the market so that the price
declined rapidly until now 1t Is at
about $40 per unit. That incorrigible
ratio of supply and demand has way
of asserting itself, despite all we
may hope or dream.