Thorium.
»' ■ — *• Inventions frequently call ipto me natural products which had previouily possessed no praotioal value. Thif is illustrated by the rare metal, thorium, discovered by the great chemist, Berzelius, early in the present century. When burned, the metal emits a light more brilliant than that of burning magnesium, but until the recent invention of incandescent gasburners, in which the flame is encased in a metallic mantle, no use was discovered for it. Upon experi menting with various substances it was found that the oxide of thorium, called thoria, makes the best mantle for such burners, and a demand being thus created for it the value of thoria suddenly sprang from almost nothing to 1250fr per pound. Then a search began for new sources from which thoria could be obtained, and this search is not yet finished. Originally the new metal was found only in certain rare minerals in Norway. Recently it has been discovered that the mineral " monazite " contains a liberal quantity of thoria, and raonazite is found in North Carolina, Canada and Brazil.
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Manawatu Herald, 28 November 1896, Page 3
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174Thorium. Manawatu Herald, 28 November 1896, Page 3
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