The Carbon County news., 1928-11-15
ZONOLITE
"Montano's S Mineral MarUelo


The discovery OF Lonolle, Ike
many other discoveries in the world
of science and industry, was pure ac-
cident. Early in 1916, before the
United States had entered the World
war. an acute shortage of various so
called war metals had developed,
among them vanadium, molybdenum
and Others These were known to oe-
cur in the Rainey creek district IN
the northwestern part of Montana,
near the town of Libby At that time
Z. N. Alley a mining engineer who
had been for great many years con-
neeted with the operating depart
ments of various large mining COM
panies and had prospected and ex-
amined properties in practically all
the mining states of the west, hap
pened to be living in Libby. The ma
tural result was that Mr.. Alley went
prospecting for these war metals.
One day in May of that year, while
examining quartz stringer IN an old
tunnel dug by lead and silver pros
peetors 35 years before, Mr.. Alley
heard a queer, cracking, sputterlng
sound and looking around was sur
prised to see a leaf of mineral SWELL
ing up in peculiar fashion above the
miners candle which he had stuck in
the wall of the tunnel. Examination
of the substance aroused his curiosity
and he took some of it home and put
it on the cook stove, both on top and
in the fire 1t did not burn, but on
the contrary swelled almost instantly
to many times its original size and
turned beautiful gold color, the
pieces looking for all the world like
gold nuggets but as light as feather.
He decided that this was something
worth. looking into and soon after
sent samples of this Feather gold" as
someone had described it, to various
manufacturers to ascertain its pos
sible use, but without result as they
thought it was an artificially made
product.
In the spring Of 1919 he went to
New York where the substance ex-
cited surprising interest among exec
utiyes and chemists in the building
and insulation industries. He ther
went to Washington where he sub
mitted it to government departments
When he handed piece of raw zon
olite to the chief mineral technoligs
of the bureau of mines and asket
him what it was the latter said it wa
phlogopite mica. Then Mr.. Ale.
held lighted match to it and Whel
it expanded and turned color the of
ficial said that this was the most re
markable phenomenon he had eve
seen in q mineral and when Mr.. Ale
ask d him what he would call it h
replied, name it yourself which
shortly afterWard Mr.. Alley, with tn
aid of a New York man did. eoinin!
the name "Zonolite" which has sine,
been registered. At that time tn
substance was not listed in th'
"Who's Who of Mineralogy," but i
now is and incidentally recently is
sued U. S. G. S. bulletin treats it il
detail.
This strip convinced Mr.. Alley tina
he had something of great commerce.
value so upon his return home h
proceeded to appropriate throug
mineral locations all the ground i
which the substance could possibly oc
cur and devoted two years to this an
most naturally without telling any
one about it. Then he returned cas-
visiting great many cities, to deter
mine if possible by personal contac
with research bodies, builders an
manufacturers just what it meant
ALI Of them predicted great variet
of uses and tremendous tonnag
market and asked for samples for ex
perimental work, some even placin
orders for commercial shipments. A
that time no plant had been built fo
treatment and Mr.. Alley had bee
sending the material to Spokane t
have it expanded in assay offices an
a local foundry.
The following year Mr.. Alley an
some New York men who had becom
interested in Zonolite formed q con
pany and the next year he built
rock clay furnace on his ranch, tw
miles from Libby and treated sever;
tons. Then in 1924 the company bui
on a slope so that material could
worked through from the high to tn
low end, and with a furnace by |
feet, its bottom of heavy cast iro
plates, heat being supplied from
Dutch oven with sawmill waste fc
fuel. 1t was soon found that the cas-
iron could not stand the heat and tn
furnace was rebuilt with fire bricl
It's capacity was only four tons da,
In the meantime requests for san
Piles were increasing and orders ft
carload lots came in, which were file
from this plant. During this tin
Mr.. Alley was perfecting processes
heating and grinding and the bushes
rapidly outgrowing the small plan
the company constructed a new or
with capacity Of 100 tons da
which was ready for operations abol
the first Of January, 1927.
During this time-in 1924 G..
Emmons Of Kalispell, one of the be