Show MARYSVALE ALUNITE L prof marcus aji E jones a well known geologist of salt lake recently made an ex study of the alunite deposits around marysvale Marys vale utah and reached some considered new r he states that the I 1 deposits are more ex extensive than generally supposed and will prove of great value to the future development of the state the potash is leached beached out from the overlying rhyolite an eruptive rock and therefore is liable to be extensive coextensive co with 1 the erupt ives that belong to the mt belknap series of such rocks said professor jones in other words are liable to occur from north of clear creek to the sevier and cove creek and south at least as far as fifteen miles south of marysvale Marys vale the alunite may be expected in any fissure over this range and in any kind of rock particularly the tighter one the largest deposits are so wide that there will be many thousands of tons of the stuff available the great deposits lies in the crystal spar fissure seventeen years ago I 1 worked the crystal spar fissure and found it a solid mass of spar twenty five feet thick carrying little values in the precious metals at that time it had no other value now the same vein extends throughout the custer group reaching a width of twenty feet in one place this means an enormous amount of material unless it is replaced by other I 1 spar than alunite T alunite is a double sulphate of potassium I 1 and aluminum containing at least twice as much aluminum as potash the alu minum making the spar insoluble in water which has prevented the material from being dissipated as would be the case with the very soluble potash salt alone now this material contains two valuable metals in such form that they can be easily obtained in any state desired the only available aluminum ore for the extraction of that metal is bauxite which is not common but the alunite contains it in large quantity in such a state that by proper treatment it can be obtained in a high state of purity and free from silica by roasting the crude ore the sulphuric acid is driven off and like smelter fumes becomes a menace to vegetation but this acid must be saved to recover the aluminum and can be saved very cheaply by well known methods and the mother liquor or chamber acid as it falls can be allowed to flow upon the spent residue after leaching out the potash sulphate with hot water and it will take up the aluminum as sulphate and therefore free it from silica it can then be precipitated for the extraction of the metal this should more than treble the value of the deposits |