The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-07-08

This deep exploration and develop
mcnt work will not be attractive tc
the prospector 1t requires capital in
abundance and definite organization
Tut the careful search of the gulches
for outcrops Of the ore will prove in
torestlng and profitable, and It is with
this in mind that we go thus into de-
tail The district has not been
scratched yet; the search has been
limited in extent of area, and done
by only few prospectors who have
find" The crying need today is for
the prospector and his burros; with
frying pan grubstake, and patience to
hunt The reward is big; the ore is
valuable; the climatic conditions are
attractive; and the road to wealth is
fairly direct TO the shrewd seeker.
Radium and Its Properties.
We have said nothing about the
qualities Of these ores which make
them so valuable. and it is not fair
10 urge a man 10 hunt for something
m ignorance of its uses. From the
Uranium ore there is derived the ele-
ment radium. The total supply of
radum in the world today is esti-
mated 10 be four ounces-an amount
hardly sufficient TO fill the cup from
which you drink your morning coffee
The total annual production of the
Al IL
about one ounce a year and comes
chiefly from the carnotite ores of Col
orado. The present value of this an
nual output, which can be held in
tablespoon. is in the neighborhood of
$4,000. 600 The hopeful side of the
tadium. Every gram that is added to
what we already have is i'm the nature
of permanent addition. Further
more. radmm only loses it's power at
the rate of about one-thirty- third of
one per cent each year. In other
words it takes approximately 1890
years for the metal to lose one-half of
it's potency Then after a second per
iod of 1890 years we still have one
quarter of the radium energy we
started with
Uses and Value of Radium.
Practice has shown that it is neces-
sary to handle and treat something
like 100000 pounds of ore in order
TO recover gram of radium. one
ton of ore will seldom deliver more
than six or seven milligrams of the
radium element One authority fig
urcs that including coal, water and
chemicals the producers must handle
more than $4,000 tons of raw material
to produce an ounce of the precious
radium metal No such effort has
ever before been required to produce
q spoonful of any single element
The medical fraternity of the world
has come to accept radium as a treat
ment for cancer. Permanent cures
are said to have been accomplished,
and practically every large city has at
least one hospital that is supplied
with a small quantity of radium. In
actual practice the surgeon generally
uses minimum of fifty milligrams
of the powerful substance and even
this quantity. which is no larger than
the head of match, costs him So
900
Radium is also used in the manu-
racmre of luminous paint, Such paint
usually carries from / to .25 milligram
of radium element to one gram of
zinc sulphide, depending upon the use
FOR which the paint is intended. A
similar compound is now being largely
used on the faces of watches and
clocks. and to coat electric push but
tons
Save Radium by Using Substitute.
Scientists tell MS that the serious
waste of radium in the manufacture
Of luminous articles may be ended by
substituting mesothorium for radium.
The mesothorium will remain lumin-
,us for four or five years and can
hen be renewed if desired This ra-
lium substitute may he obtained as
/ by-product in the treatment of
nonazite sand for the manufacture of
horium nitrate used in incandescent |
nantles. Experiments are now being |.
.arried forward, and it is hoped that !
'efore long mesothorium can be sub
tituted for radium in commercial /
,ractice thus leaving the more pre-
ious element for the treatment Of |
micted humanity throughout the /
world
From vanadium used i'm steel we
ave the tough, elastic vanadium
teel now being widely used in special
manufactures.