Show PHOSPHATE IN MONTANA new discovery of this commodity in commercial quantity the withdrawal of the phosphate lands in montana officially known as phosphate reserve rei serve no 7 was wais made by an order of the president dated january 12 1911 and is baledon based on a recommendation submitted by the director of the geological survey A report port by hoyt hayt S galda gale ia geologist of the survey announcing the discovery of these beds has just been issued as an advanced chapter of the annual volume entitled contributions to economic geology for 1910 the lands thus withdrawn include about acres in aps 4 and 5 S R 8 W and aps 1 and 2 S Rs band 9 and 10 W montana which is to be reserved served Te for classification and for the ald aid of legislation affecting the bhe use and disposition of phosphate lands location and character of the deposits the newly discovered deposits are situated in and near the canyon of big hole river on the route of the oregon short line about thirty miles southwest of butte analyses of samples collected from froim these deposits ashow the presence of some high grade rock and the evidence obtained indicates its occurrence in bedsol beds of good commercial quantity the deposits are like those of the southeastern idaho and wes ibern wyoming field from which phosphate has been shipped for se verial years A hance chance C to utilize smelter fumes one of ithe most mosi important considerations in connection with the discovery of phosphate rock rcck in western montana is the significance ande ance it hias has as to the probable extent of the western phosphate fields for it hiow appears probable that similar deposits may extend over a large part of western montana their nearness to the large smelters shelters sm elters where sulphide ores are reduced is important for these smelters shelters sm elters produce great quantities t of sulphurous acid fumes which axe are usually allowed to go to waste through the smokes tack of the ithe plant it is ds contended that these fumes destroy vegetation and menace animal life over a considerable area in the vicinity of the shelters smelters sm elters and constitute a serious detriment to the locality generally in recent years efforts have been made to compel the smelter companies to condense or otherwise dispose of the acid fumes and a number of suits against the companies have been brought braught in various parts pants of the united states by the department of justice reduction of phosphate rock by means of sulphuric uric acid appears to offer an apkor eunity to utilize what has long been largely or wholly a waste product at these smelters shelters sm elters method of manufacture all the phosphate rock now shipped from the phosphate fields of the western united states is sent to the pacific coast where it is used in the manufacture of fertilizers the rock is ground fine and then combined with sulphuric acid which reduces it to a form in which the phosphoric acid is more soluble thus rendering it more directly available as plant food nearly equal parts by weight of acid and phosphate rock are used in this process so that large quantities tips of acid may thus be utilized when the rock and acid have combined chemically the re insulting product is known as this is then dried so that it hardens onto into a porus masia which is pulverized and sold for direct application to the stoll soil prices of phosphate As to the comfere commercial fal value of rock phosphate jin an Moni montana tiana pro probably babay the best ev evidence idenie is the price paid for similar rock in the astern fields A summary of the values rep reported oried from nearly all the eastern fields for 1908 shows sih owis prices ranging from 4 to 5 a ton f 0 b at the mine retails retail sat ait about 10 a ton in the east and at 17 moreon more on the ithe pacific coast markets for phosphate the chief obstacle to the development of the western phosphate fields at the present time is the high cost of transportation of the bulky fertilizer products and the lack of markets sufficiently near to warrant their development de much of the agricultural land of the western states is relatively new and as its cri original ginal phosphates have not been exhausted by cropping it is less in need of fertilizers than the older farm lands of the east and south the use of fertilizers on the pacific coast is said ito be increasing fast also in some other oither parts of the west where intensive farming is practiced there will henceforth probably be a rapidly growing market for fertilizer erti lizer products in the middle west and it is to this territory also that the western phosphate producers must look for markets value of fertilizers the experience of fore foreign agn countries whose soils have become exhausted by long continued use shows show the importance that will some day be e attached to our own phosphate resources for the present our phosphate fields will wall probably be developed in accordance with the increasing demand and this growth must depend to a large extent upon an intelligent understanding of the value and the proper methods of using such fertilizers mr gales report which is published by the geological survey as bulletin A may be obtained tree free by applying to the director of the survey at washington |