16 MONTANA: INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES 



Besides the materials required in the iron and steel and the paper malcing 

 industries. Montana has the resources needed in many other industries. Among 

 others are the following : 



Montana is the third largest producer in the United States of copper, the 

 third largest producer of zinc and has large deposits of phosphate, derivatives 

 of which are used in making phosphor bronze and phosphor 

 Electrical copper. Copper is indispensable to the electrical industry and 



Materials and most of the output is used in that industry. Thi, North Pacific 

 Appliances district, which includes western Montana, is pronounced by the 

 United States Geological Survey, "the richest in potential 

 power in North America." The developed power of the area is 750,000 horse- 

 power and the potential power 11.000,000 hor.sepower. It is reasonable to assume 

 this district in time will be the heaviest user of copper. Montana is in a posi- 

 tion to furnish it. Silver Boav county is the principal producer of both copper 

 and zinc, although eighteen other counties have also produced copper, and 

 nine other counties zinc. 



^Many other materials used in the electrical industry are included among 

 Montana's resources, such as graphite in Madison county, cadmium and bismuth 

 in Silver Bow county, mica in Madison county, asbestos in Gallatin and Madison 

 counties, slate for switchboards in Lewis and Clark county, glass sands and 

 pottery clays for insulators and insulating materials in a number of counties, 

 timber for pole tran.smission lines in western Montana counties, sapphires for 

 jewel bearings in meters and other electrical equipment in Granite county. 



Practically all the basic materials recpiired for glass and pottery occur in 

 this state in abundance, in close proximity to cheap fuel and power. Mo.st of the 

 sand used in glass making occurs as sandstone, quarried in 

 Glass and blocks and must be crushed and prepared for use. It should 

 Pottery be friable or easily crushed. Sandstone is one of the most 



al)undant rocks found in the state, and particularly in those 

 districts where natural gas has been developed. No detailed study has been 

 made, but investigations have been carried far enough to show there are ample 

 supplies of glass sand in Montana. More than half the domestic output of arsenic 

 is used in an oxide form by the .glass industry as a decarbonizer. Silver Bow 

 and Park counties are big producers of this metal. Manganese is the chief de- 

 colorizer in the glass industry. Granite and Silver Bow counties have the largest 

 reserves in the United States of manganese ores. Lead in the form of oxides 

 is also extensively used in glass making. It is produced in IS counties. More 

 than half the counties in Montana have limestone deposits many of which will 

 meet the requirements of the glass industry — free from clay, iron pyrites and car- 

 bonates of iron and magnesia. It is believed that many more deposits of fire 

 clav will be discovered in Montana besides those already known. There are two 



The Largest Smelter in the World 



