THE MONAZ1TE SANDS. 679 



part of the iron ore by the magnet. There was practically no magne- 

 tite present. This sand was examined qualitatively by Dr. Hille- 

 brand, who found phosphoric acid, cerium metals, and thorium. The 

 yellowish-brown material is therefore, in all probability, monazite. 



Monazite has, as is well known, a certain economic value, as the 

 oxides of the rare earths contained in it are used for the preparation of 

 the incandescent gaslights of the Welsbach and other burners. A 

 considerable amount of monazite sand has been produced during the 

 last few years in the Southern Atlantic States, chiefly North Caro- 

 lina, and in Brazil. The prices have varied from 3 to 25 cents per 

 pound, according to the purity and the percentage of thoria. The 

 North Carolina monazite contains between 0.17 and 6.20 per cent of 

 this rare earth. Mr. Waldron Shapleigh, chemist for the Welsbach 

 Light Company, kindly gives (March, 1897) the following information 

 in regard to present production and price: 



At present the monazite sand market is very dull; hardly any demand, and only 

 in lots of a few tons. The present price in North Carolina is 6 cents per pound, 

 but it can be bought a little lower than this. Brazilian sand is quoted in New 

 York at 4f cents per pound, fully equal to the North Carolina sand, in 5 or 10 ton 

 lots. Larger orders can be placed in Brazil at a much lower figure. The price 

 has been steadily downward, as the supply from the mines now opened is far 

 greater than the consumption. It is not generally known that during the first 

 eighteen months or two years of this new industry enough sand was mined and 

 purchased by the largest manufacturers to last several years to come, as so far it 

 has but the one use. The manufacturers did not know how extensive the sand 

 deposit was; therefore were desirous of securing a large and safe stock at the start. 



The largest purchasers are the Welsbach Light Company of Vienna, supplying 

 Europe, and the Welsbach Light Company of Philadelphia, which supplies 

 America. I should hardly think that Western localities could compete with 

 North Carolina and Brazil, unless the mineral is of a very superior quality or a 

 by-product. 



At present there would be no difficulty in placing an order for several thousand 

 tons per year in Brazil and having it filled. 



The widespread occurrence of monazite in considerable quantities 

 in the Idaho Basin raises the question whether the deposits can be 

 profitably worked. The present low price and the high cost of trans- 

 portation and labor make this very doubtful, unless it be saved as a 

 by-product in the placer mines. It will be necessary to extract all 

 ilmenite by strong electro-magnets. In this manner a comparatively 

 pure product may be obtained. It is not practicable to entirely sep- 

 arate the zircon and garnet from the monazite. The purest material 

 was obtained from near Idaho City, while that from Placerville and 

 vicinity contains a large amount of ilmenite and garnets. Many data 

 in regard to the character and production of monazite may be found 

 in a paper by Mr. H. B. C. Nitze, in the Sixteenth Annual Report of 

 the United States Geological Survey (1894-95), Part IV, pp. G67-693. 



