Show potash demand is s urgent urgen t ANACONDA MONTANA STANDARD the problem of increasing potash production according to dispatches from washington presents one of the greatest economic questions of reconstruction in spite of all efforts the resources of the country so far as developed are producing but a small proportion of that needed for the annual consumption of the country against a normal importation from germany of tons annually last years domestic product reached to but tons with an indicated increase for the ensuing year that will total up to but tons the great german deposits in prussian saxony are still under german control and are not included in the mineral territory now held west of the rhine so the united states must look to domestic production for her supply or still be in the grip of the german monopoly as to this important fertilizer ingredient the third major plant food and at this time the scarcest basal ingredient of grain fertilizers in the united states is potassium before the war the united states imported tons annually from germany which has held for many years a monopoly on this important element compounds of salts this mineral like phosphorus and nitrogen is neither found in soils nor is used in fertilizers in its elemental condition but in the form of various compounds or salts of which the most important are potassium carbonate potassium chloride and the sulphate the term potash refers to potassium oxide used for calculating these compounds to a common basis although the term is gener ally used to refer to the element in any form potassium contributes stalk strength and kernel filling to the growing plant it is present in normal soils partly in the form of a soluble auble compound potassium carbonate aich which is supplied to the soil by the decay and decomposition of rock ingredients from parent rocks its deficiency whether from natural con editions actions or from soil exhaustion due to continuous cropping must be supplied by the addition of the proper form of the material from froin external sources there is no scarcity of if potash in general in the makeup of the earth th it makes up about one eighth of the lock ck structures there are only seven elements ments more abundant there is more poth 1111 in 1 the crust of the earth than there is I 1 later ater upon it the trouble is that the elet nent is so go scattered and generally diversi fied ed in its various forms that it is hard to find nd a deposit rich enough to be used as a direct set supply and the processes of lon and d segregation froni front the ordinal ordinary arock rock material are expensive and corn complicated german deposits the e famous german deposits are the only known deposits of such size and rich ness in the world they were found some sixty years ago in connection with deep borings bolings put down in search of rock salt beds As the demand for the material grew these beds were developed and proved to be enor deposits or lenses of practically pure potash minerals in such form as to be immediately usable and cheaply mined developments have since demonstrated that these deposits are capable of supplying the entire world demand for a very long period at a cost for mining and handling less than from anywhere else both the agricultural department and the united states geological survey have been conducting a systematic search for a domestic supply of this material for many years this was stimulated when the war cut off the german source of supply but in spite of the renewed activities in this line the country is producing from a variety of sources a significant but still a totally inadequate supply while the chief requirement of the material is for fertilizers a great quantity of it is used in various chemical industries notably in the manufacture of explosives and heavy chemicals potash in nebraska the most productive s source of supply in the united states at this t time 1 me is the recovery of potash salts from some of the alkali lakes of the west whose waters have been found to be relatively r rich 1 ch in potassium compounds jesse lake in western nebraska is an interesting e example its potash is supposed to have been leached beached from the adjacent plains following extensive forest fires representing a natural wood ash extraction sear searles I 1 es lake in california has attra attracted c ted considerable sid erable attention and carries a large lar ge tonnage of potential potash minerals but the contents of the lake represent several complex mineral mixtures an and d the process of development has been slow and difficult owens lake near the head of the los angeles aqueduct offers some possibilities and considerable potash is now recovered from the mother liquor after the salt is precipitated from the evaporating abing pla plants n ts alo along n the coast and at salt la lake ke considerable drilling has been done in whit what was thought to be favorable geological formations in texas oklahoma and other places in hopes of finding beds of the character of the german deposits but so far nothing of material importance has been found alual the mineral alunite a P potassium occurring in utah and nevada num sulphate 1 material in a commercial mercia is now producing rom small but steady rate and promises some per facilities for manent supply with increased treatment A potash sour source e which tonnage of late is the attention has attracted un unusual usual kelp or giant seaweed that grows in great abundance along the pacific coast this plant has extracted potash from the sea water to such an exten that its ash is found to contain 30 per cent of this material this kelp is being harvested by great cutting machines attached to the floating barges and after drying is burned and the ashes treated for its potash content the kelp grows from year to year so the crop can be harvested repeatedly and the industry offers thus a constantly available source of supply other sources of supply another source has been found in the dust escaping from the manufacture of cement which carries a larger proportion of potash than the rock and is concentrated in this dust which is lighter than the cement material and is caught in dust chambers and subsequently treated for its potash content A potash recovery from the waste dust and gases from the iron blast furnaces is opening up also a somewhat similar byproduct possibility there are numerous other sources for small quantity production from distillery waste wool washings municipal waste ashes banana stalks sage brush and beet sugar waste the aggregate from which make but a small total compared to the requirements montana and idaho possibilities but little investigation has been made of the potash possibilities in montana some years ago charles whitcomb and norman holter of helena conducted some experiments in ants on some alkaline marsh waters in the central part of the state but with poor results it has been reported that certain beds of potash lime rocks near libby carry a commercial proportion of this element an examination of the leaner but widespread sources of potash have indicated four natural rock types which are available for this purpose three of which are abundant in the state feldspar an ingredient of many forms of intrusive rocks which is found in large bodies of mountain dimension both in wyoming and montana sere cite a decomposition product from granite considerable of which exists within the boulder around butte and in potassium mica of 0 f which there are large reefs on the salmon river in idaho and at other places in montana to recover potash from these sources requires a factory process and an d extensive acid resources and a large investment of capital capit idl nevertheless with the dominant domina nt demand the high price that the material is now commanding and the products byproducts by that a factory P process process will permit to be made it is believed will offer to a future industry in the state a probable rich return for the effort the uncertain fe features of the situation revolve around the results of the adjustment in ent of the peace terms term with germany and the possible establishment of such such trade relations that will make the german gerina n source of supply available to the united states |