Alunite, Utah
Encyclopedia
Alunite is a ghost town
located some 5 miles (8 km) south of Marysvale
, near the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon in Piute County
, Utah
, United States
. A small but important mining town during World War I
, Alunite was inhabited about 1915–1930.
named Thomas Gillan discovered a wide vein
of spar
in Cottonwood Canyon. The sample he sent for analysis was identified as alunite
, an ore
rich in both aluminum and potash
. Gillan made a deal with the Mineral Products Corporation to develop the deposit, mine the alunite, and extract potash for fertilizer
. By 1915 the company had constructed a reduction
plant in the mouth of the canyon to produce potash from the ore. The small company town
that grew up around the plant was named Alunite. Because the town was so close to Marysvale, it never had its own church or business district, but it did have a school, company store, and post office
.
When the United States entered World War I, the Alunite mines gained strategic importance as the only domestic source of potash, needed for manufacturing explosives, that was already under development. The government also saw potential in alunite's aluminum content, and installed a 24-hour work force experimenting with processes to extract alumina from alunite. This increase in employees raised the town's population over 100. The war also brought rumors of foreign spies
and saboteur
s. Suspicious fires were blamed on enemy agents, and there were reports of people caught trying to bomb the potash plants or gather sensitive information.
Most of the alunite mining activity ended after the war. The alumina extraction experiments had been successful, but the processes developed were prohibitively expensive. Demand for potash continued to drop, until by 1930 it was also too costly to produce. The mines closed, the mill was torn down, and Alunite became a ghost town. A second small attempt was made to extract aluminum during World War II
, but none of the town was ever rebuilt. Alunite lies in ruins today; numerous foundations and walls are still visible.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
located some 5 miles (8 km) south of Marysvale
Marysvale, Utah
Marysvale is a town in Piute County, Utah, United States. The population was 381 at the 2000 census. Marysvale is a trail head for the Paiute ATV Trail.-Geography:Marysvale is located at ....
, near the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon in Piute County
Piute County, Utah
Piute County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. The population in 2000 was 1,435, and by 2005 had been estimated to decrease to 1,365. It was named for the Paiute tribe of Native Americans. The county seat is Junction and the largest city is Circleville.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A small but important mining town during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Alunite was inhabited about 1915–1930.
History
In 1912 a prospectorProspecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
named Thomas Gillan discovered a wide vein
Vein (geology)
In geology, a vein is a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock. Veins form when mineral constituents carried by an aqueous solution within the rock mass are deposited through precipitation...
of spar
Spar (mineralogy)
Spar is a term that is used to refer to a category of crystals that have readily discernible faces. Crystallized, earthy, and some metallic, a spar will easily break into rhomboidal, cubical, or laminated fragments with polished surfaces, but without regard to the ingredients of which they are...
in Cottonwood Canyon. The sample he sent for analysis was identified as alunite
Alunite
Alunite is a sulfate mineral that was first observed in the 15th century in Monti della Tolfa, north of Rome, where it was mined for the manufacture of alum. First called aluminilite by J.C. Delamétherie in 1797, this name was contracted by François Beudant in 1824 to alunite.Distinct crystals of...
, an ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
rich in both aluminum and potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
. Gillan made a deal with the Mineral Products Corporation to develop the deposit, mine the alunite, and extract potash for fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
. By 1915 the company had constructed a reduction
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
plant in the mouth of the canyon to produce potash from the ore. The small company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
that grew up around the plant was named Alunite. Because the town was so close to Marysvale, it never had its own church or business district, but it did have a school, company store, and post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
.
When the United States entered World War I, the Alunite mines gained strategic importance as the only domestic source of potash, needed for manufacturing explosives, that was already under development. The government also saw potential in alunite's aluminum content, and installed a 24-hour work force experimenting with processes to extract alumina from alunite. This increase in employees raised the town's population over 100. The war also brought rumors of foreign spies
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and saboteur
Saboteur
A saboteur is someone who commits sabotage.It may also refer to:*Morituri , a 1965 film also known as The Saboteur*Saboteur , a card game by Frederic Moyersoen, published in 2004...
s. Suspicious fires were blamed on enemy agents, and there were reports of people caught trying to bomb the potash plants or gather sensitive information.
Most of the alunite mining activity ended after the war. The alumina extraction experiments had been successful, but the processes developed were prohibitively expensive. Demand for potash continued to drop, until by 1930 it was also too costly to produce. The mines closed, the mill was torn down, and Alunite became a ghost town. A second small attempt was made to extract aluminum during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but none of the town was ever rebuilt. Alunite lies in ruins today; numerous foundations and walls are still visible.
External links
- Alunite at GhostTowns.com