Show ARMOR PLATE ORE great deposits of osmium discovered near boise idaho A large deposit of a rare mineral has been found in the near vicinity of boise idaho according to the capital news of that place which says what is declared by experts to be one of the greatest mineral discoveries in the history of the united states was made in the shaw mining district five miles northeast of boise where an immense bed of osmium was uncovered assays essays from the mineral show that it has a value of per ton in the rare mineral and a sufficient amount of work has been done on the property at various depths to determine that there Is enough ore in sight for extensive operations for twenty years A million dollar corporation has already been formed to make extensive improvements and already orders for the ore have been received from several big steel corporations in the east seven claims have been opened up but only four have been sufficiently worked to determine the amount and value of the ore three of the veins being fissures in granite and the other a contact of granite and rhyolite the veins are about feet apart and range in width from seven to twenty feet the ore is a hard infusible bluish metal and is the heaviest substance known it has a value of 40 per ounce and is extensively ten used in the manufacture of armor plate and in the construction of steel battleships tle ships charles H gage of san francisco says that this ore is one of the most wonderful of its quality ever discovered in this country the ore in conjunction with common iron makes a metal that has a resistance of pounds tensile strength which is more than 10 per cent superior to io the best steel of the best american make this is due to the wonderful resistance of the osmium contained in the ore and infusing it with common iron there is nickel enough in it to make a metal of the radium group that will stand any amount of heat or pressure this metal will make a gun metal as superior to the best make at present as the best make is superior to common brass the hardness of the metal alone commends it to anyone skilled in the manufacture of steel and the toughness is tar superior to the best grade of low carbon steel the metals can be extracted by the electrochemical process and can be smelted smelter direct by electricity and the fine metal produced in a condition ready for forging or re smelt ing and can then be recast into ingots ingols or rolled into sheets or rods following is mr gages analysis gold 2 30 ounces per ton nickel I 1 per cent I 1 cobalt one halt half tin one 1150 tungsten oxide 5 per cent 1230 osmium 20 ounces per ton 40 per ounce iridium 1 10 ounce per ton 1000 total value since the discovery of the ore several months ago a considerable amount of development work has been done and owing to the peculiarity of the ore samples have shipped to various parts of the united states the discovery of the rare metal has caused considerable comment among steel manufacturers in the east as the osmium combined with the other metal found here makes it far superior to any ore yet found for the use in the manufacture of steel |