VANADIUM  AND  URANIUM. 
VANADIUM  AND  URANIUM  IN  SOUTHEASTERN  UTAH. 
By  J.  M.  Boutwell. 
INTRODUCTION. 
The  value  of  vanadium  and  uranium  for  commercial  uses  is  stim- 
ulating search  for  compounds  of  these  rare  elements.  Vanadiiu 
which  is  used  chiefly  for  hardening  steel  (it  is  claimed  to  be  twelve 
times  more  effective  for  this  purpose  than  tungsten),  is  scarce;  am 
this  utility  and  scarcity  tend  to  create  an  increasing  demand.  .Ura- 
nium, which  is  valued  commercially  for  use  in  the  manufacture  oi 
porcelain  and  glass0  and  scientifically  for  its  radio-active  proper- 
ties, is  also  scarce  and  in  growing  demand. 
The  principal  source  of  vanadiferous  and  uraniferous  minerals 
in  the  United  States  has  been  an  extensive  area,  embracing  several 
localities  in  western  Colorado. h 
In   1898  the  first  determinations  of  these  ores  were  made  on 
sample  from  Roc  Creek,  Montrose  County,  Colo.,  and  in  May,  189! 
the  first  shipment  of  carnotite  ores  was  made.     Specimens  from  this 
deposit  Avere  then  sent  abroad,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  were  the 
object  of  the  chemical  studies  which  resulted  in  naming  the  mineral 
carnotite,  and  also  in  the  discovery  of  its  radio-active  properties.* 
Deposits  in  this  region  have  now  been  systematically  opened  an( 
yield  regular  profitable  shipments  of  both  vanadiferous  and  uraniJ 
erous  minerals.     In  consequence  of  these  successful  operations  e; 
ploration  has  been  carried  on  in  adjoining  areas,  and  deposits  have 
been  discovered  in  eastern  Utah. 
In  the  fall  of  1903  the  writer  entered  into  correspondence  wit] 
some  of  the  discoverers  of  these  new  deposits  and  began  gathering 
data  and  material  from  the  Utah  occurrences.     Samples  were  sub- 
sequently sent  by  owners  to  the  Survey  for  chemical  determination, 
and   it   became   desirable    to   investigate   its   occurrence   in    nature. 
"  Pratt,  J.  H.,  Production  of  steel-hardening  minerals :  Mineral  Resources  TJ.  S.  for 
1903,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  p.  309. 
6  Ilillebraiul,  \V.  F.,  and  Ransome,  F.  L.,  Carnotite  and  associated  vanadiferous  min- 
erals in  western  Colorado  :  Am.  Jour,  Sci.,  4th  ser.,  vol.  10,  1900,  pp.  120-144. 
c  Kimball,  Gordon,  Eng.  and  Min.  Jour.,  Jan.  16,  1904.  p.  956. 
2G0 
