A CORNER IN RADIUM.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1230, 12 September 1911, Page 5

A CORNER IN RADIUM.

DR. MAWSON'S ALLEGATIONS. By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyright Sydney, September 11. Dr. Douglas Mawson, who is about to conduct an expedition to tlio Antarctic regions, declares that tho world's radium market is controlled by an American syndicate, a representative of which had called on him in South Australia in referonce to his discovery, with tlic object of obtaining control, in order to provont a reduction in price. VALUABLE DEPOSIT. (Rec. September 11, 11.40 p.m.) Sydney, September 11. Dr. Mawson declares that tho radium ore deposits in South Australia are very valuable. Besides tho uranium ores there are largo bodies of corundum. THE WORLD'S SUPPLY OF RADIUM. In October last Sir William Ramsay was ablo to announce that for the first timo Tadium had been produced in Great Britain from British ore. The announcement was made on tho occasion of 'the visit of a number of gentlemen to tho British Radium Factory, Limehonse, wboro the process of purification bad been carried on since June, 1910. Tho ore came from the Trenwith mine of tho St. Ivos Consolidated Mines (Limited). In tho course cf a statement which he made on tho conclusion of the inspection of the works, Sir William Ramsay, states "Tho Times," mentioned that up to the present the amount ot pure radium actually produced was over half a gramme, or 5500 milligrammes of 10 per ccnt. radium, though the factory had been laid out to produce ono gTamnic of pure 'radium per month. Apart from tho new supply, he said, tliero were not more than five grammes of radium in the world at tho present moment. From each ton of pitchblende, if it was pure, 530 milligrammes of radinm could be extracted, and the loss in crystallisation was infinitesimal, amounting barely to one milligramme. Tho Cornish supply of pitchblendo, Sir W. Ramsay declared, was, as far 33 he could judge, very much richer in radium than the pitchblende which could bo got in Austria, and thero was no other source of supply known at present of the same magnitude as that yielded by the Cornish mines. In December last it was announced that Sir Ernest Cnsscl had rxmght from tho Austrian Ministry of Works, which operates ono of tho principal sources; of supply, a gramme of radium for .£15,000, for presentation to tho English Radium Institute.