Show radium much in in public P c eye uranium minerals were produced in commercial quantity in the united states in 1913 as shown by preliminary statistics gathered by frank L hess of the united states geological survey only in colorado and utah and although during the year some pitchblende was mined in colorado in the belcher calhoun mines only a few pounds were sold though fifty dry tons of low grade material carrying 49 per cent uranium oxide was shipped to france from the kirk mine this had been mined in a previous year a yellow powdery or waxy mineral found in the sandstones of the high plateau between the rocky mountains of colorado and the san rafael swell of utah south of the book cliffs furnished the whole production as the word is ordinarily used is a potash or lime uranium several vanadium minerals occur with the so that in mining for uranium a great deal of vanadium is also obtained at san miguel county colo one of the uranium minerals occurs practically free from uranium and is worked for vanadium alone t the total mine shipments of uranium and vanadium as shown by preliminary figures were equal to 2140 2 tons of dry ore carrying an equivalent of 38 tons uranium oxide the vanadium in ores shipped together with that which is estimated to have been produced from the district was equivalent to tons of vanadium oxide these quantities are equal to about tons of metallic uranium and tons of metallic vanadium the bureau of mines has determined that carries about go 90 per cent or even a little more of the theoretical quantity of radium in equilibrium with uranium which according to rutherford radioactive substances and their radiations p 16 is equal to about 1 gram in kilograms of uranium assuming that go 90 per cent of the radium is recoverable this would give in the output of 1913 an equivalent of about grams of metallic radium or 1640 grams of hydrous radium bromide worth at a milligram of metallic radium about the total value of the ores sold was about which represents the uranium value only as little was paid for the vanadium content and the figures for these receipts are not yet in hand the production of the year was the largest ever made according to the geological survey figures that for 1912 being equivalent to twenty six short tons of uranium oxide twenty two tons of the metal and that for 1911 being equivalent to twenty five tons of uranium oxide tons of the metal an increase of nearly 50 per cent for 1913 of the quantity produced apparently 1925 tons of uranium oxide containing the he equivalent of 83 grams grains of hydrous radium bromide was shipped to europe and 1775 tons containing the eq equivalent iiii valent of 81 grams of hydrous radium bromide was retained in this country although in tonnage the quantity retained in this country 1198 tons was larger than that shipped to europe which was apparently tons one of the principal producers for foreign trade did little work for more than half the year owing it is reported to the fact that its factory in liverpool had not been completed had the factory come into operation sooner the exports would have been considerably larger A prominent feature of uranium and vanadium production during the year was the chango change in method of payment by american buyers who no longer paid for the vanadium content in the ore but bought it on the basis of the uranium oxide content alone though they received payment for the vanadium abroad however the miner received more or less compensation in a higher price for the uranium oxide he sold prices varied greatly and returns to the survey show that the price per pound for contained uran ium aum oxide ranged from 1 for ores carrying 06 per cent uranium oxide to for one lot carrying per cent uranium oxide and per cent vanadium oxide the demand for at increasing prices caused a large amount of prospecting and the b earing bearing area was shown to extend from the paradox country westward into the dry valley region of utah lying between monticello and the la sal mountains farther west and south deposits of were found on crescent and creeks in the henry mountains and also southwest of the mountains during the fall a geologic reconnaissance of the uranium and vanadium deposits of utah was made by frank L hess and B S butler of the united states geological survey they covered the territory lying between the wyoming line and the south side of the henry mountains and east or of the san rafael swell the deposits as shown by the outcrops are nearly all in ft small pockets part of which are comparatively ric rich h all the newly found localities are far from railroad and the hope for commercial production from them lies in concentration J cent ration on the ground by some cheap process and many experiments are being carried on to develop such a process toward the end of the year steps were taken for the erection of a concentration plant in dry valley fifteen miles north of Alon monticello A plant was put up on mesa creek colorado and another was said to be b e in course of erection in the gateway district A preliminary report on the uranium and p vanadium deposits of utah will probably E be issued during the spring the standard chemical company actively produced radium at its plant at cannons pennsylvania and the radium comi burg aj pany of america established a plant and did preliminary work at sellersville sellers ville pennsyl vania |