Gunnison news-champion., 1918-03-22

glazed porcelain. Ths blaelter the
streak the higAer tie grads II IL
lcre. The color varies from esaytsA-
black to bluish-b -blaek. Ths mfnsral II
usually Of crystalline or grannlar
structure. Az il il produet of tie
wearing and disintegratioa ef roeas, II
!: often found ct the sarfaes, souse-
times bedaed in clay. Black lumps
or grains in clay sheald always be
tested for Manganese by ths prospse-
tor. This association Of clay and man-
eanese ore 10 quite common N certain
localities. PyTulusits u rather soft,
cet has . high specific gravity. about
-. The latter property 10 of valne IN
gravity methods Of concentration.
When pure the mineral contains e3.2
per cent Of manganese. Il II usually
MIXED with one or more Of the other
oxides OF manganese.
Psilomelane, MnO2 (Mn. K2, Ba)i
OnHeO. This II also grayish-blaek
or bluish-black. like pyroiusite, bat
unlike It, 10 not erystalline, but II
amorphous and often occurs in round
ed or shell-hke Inasses or eoneretions.
It is much harder than pyrolusite, bat
Is somewhat lighter. The specific
gravity ranges from 81 to ~. Ths
chemical composition ID rather indeiA-
its, n the oxides Of manganese, pot
ash. and barium, and the amount Of
water occur in varying proportions.
The percentage Of Manganese ranges
from Is to 60. The mineral IL often
found associated with pyrolusite. By
far the greater part Of the worlds
production Of manganese comes from
these two oxides.
Foreign Deposits Of Manganese Ore.
For many years prior to 1914 Rus
sia was by far the greatest producer
Of high grade manganese ores. Most
of this output came from one locality
near Chiatouri, south Of the Caucasus
mountains. Some engineers have es-
timated the total reserves of high
grade manganese ore in this one dis
trict to be upwards Of 100, 900 900 tons
although this has been disputed. For
: some time before the war Russia's
production averaged over half . mil.
} lion tons yearly. Next in importance
to Russia as sources Of manganese
I are Brazil and India. In Brazil there
Z has been very rapid development OF
the industry and the production ,oi
manganese ore in 1917 is estimated
to have been about 100000 tons. Al
. the war has practically stopped the
n expectation of manganese from Russia
: and India, the deposits in Brazil have
4 assumed very great importance.
i Manganese In the United States.
. The United States has never beer
: large producer of manganese ore
4 A writer in the Mineral Industry some
!, years ago stated that the manganese
: output of the country was "insignifi.
e cant because of the trifling character
/ of the deposits.S In 1914 the total
: production in the United States of ore
I containing 40 per cent or more OF
: manganese was only 2,635 long tons
In the production of ferromanganese
and spiegeleisen and in the other arts
a using manganese compounds it is de-
!. sirable to have an ore containing al
: least 40 per cent of the metal. Before
the war 1t was almost impossible te
find steel maker willing to buy .
: li0wer grade. AT the present time
, some steel makers buy ore containing
!, only 20 per cent manganese and are
glad to get it. Most of the manganese
, bearing ores mined in the United
!, States are classified as manganiferous
iron ores, which may or may not con-
tain silver and lead. In these ores the
manganese is mainly valuable as q
, flux in smelling operations, although
it can sometimes be used for making
J spiegeleisen. The recent high prices
have resulted in q material increase
in the domestic production Of high
, grade ore and the output for 1917 il
estimated at more than 125,00O tons
This amount is still much below the
requirements.
Producers and Purchasers.
j The u. s. Geological Survey ha.
| recognized the Importance Of the
manganese situation and has recently
!. issued . bulletin giving list Of oil
! the shippers, prospective shippers, and
purchasers Of manganese ores in the
:. United States, completed up to Oc-
. tober1, 1917. This list was reprinted
in the Engineering and Mining Jour.
nal for January 26, 1918. It includes
the names Of III individuals and com.
: Ipanies producing or about to produce
} manganese ores, and lit companies
, that are listed as producers. The
Z shippers are located in Fl different
states, Of which the most important
. are Arizona, Arkansas, California
! Georgia, Minnesota, Montana, Tennes.
see, Utah, and Virginia.
! High and Low Grade Ore.
There is considerable complaint be-
|. cause Of the great difference between
the price Of the manganese in high
grade ores and that in the low grade
ores. Technical difficulties prevent
the suse Of the low grade material in
Silica and nhosphorus in large