RADIUM AND SAPPHIRES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1027, 17 January 1911, Page 5

RADIUM AND SAPPHIRES.

Dr. Mawson has been speaking of ths value of the. new radium field, discovered lately in South Australia, near ■ the Queensland border, SO or 90 miles northeast of. l'arina, and two days' journey from Adelaide. "The radium' lode is remarkable," ho said. "Three miles'long, and lOOOi't. above tho valley levei uear by.- It is mostly niangauiferous iron ore, tho outcrop containing scattered crystals of. the radium-bearing minerals,' torbernite and autunite. Some little time' ago it was cabled out that'an English doctor had just managed to euro bad c'asea of cancer with this autunite. Tho ore .is wonderfully rich in rare minerals; ra-dium-ores, monazite, and sapphire. Tha sapphire, is not of goni quality, but a ton has been offered for some of it.' This is one of the biggest sapphire patches in the world." Dr. Mawson thinks there is no reason whatever why radium salts should not be extracted out" here, instead of having to send our ores to Europe for treatment. "A small company has been formed with that idea," he said. "It will open up'tho field," and'seo exactly what is there. Enrichment o£ the ore is already reported as sinking proceeds. We are expecting to get down, to pitchblende and other minerals at a' depth. Then wo hope to arrange to ex-, tract the radium out here. In London I' shall make some inquiries into the. matter. Port Pirie would be an ideal place to put up extraction works. But. it-all depends on the character of tho lode,"-