Garfield County News | 1955-02-24 | Page 93 | Burro Worked in Uranium, Too

Burro Worked In Uranium, Too The "Rocky Mountain Canary, that stubborn but dependable lack-ass of the mountain mining district, played a big part in the discovery of uranium. In 1893 burros packed ten tons ot uranium-bearing ore out of the rough Roc Creek country In Mont-rose county, Colo. A Frenchman bought the ore for shipment to Paris and Madam Curie, who with her husband was conducting extensive experiments with the mineral. A short time later they announced the discovery ot radium. But it has never been determined if the Curies actually were using Colorado Plateau uranium at the time of the discovery. They were also using African and South American ores in their experiments. However, ore was purchased on the Plateau for the Curies by Charles Poulot, a French chemist, according to a 1904 issue of Mining Journal, Gordon Kimball of Ouray had written the Journal that he had obtained samples of a yellow mineral along Iloc Creek for the chemist, and later determined that it contained 21.5 per cent uranium oxide and 15 per cent vanadium. Noting the high uranium content and the Latin word for yellow, he named it "Uranochre." Kimball leased the claim and soon was loading up burros for the 12-mile trip to Paradox Valley. From Paradox Valley, the ore was hauled 80 miles to Placerville by wagons, where it was forwarded to Denver. Kimball sent some of the mineral to M. Adolph Carnot, and it Is believed by old timers on the Plateau that Carnot applied the name "Carnotite" to the ore the ore that is proving to be the biggest uranium producer on the Plateau.