TORPEDO MAKES 60-FOOT HOLE —Shown in a U. S. dry dock, this vessel will rc
i quire 1,500,000 pounds of steel to close the 60-foot torpedo hole in its bow section.
Search For Industrial
Tanalite Now Being Made
By JACK STINNETT
WASHINGTON — Over at the i
Office of the Coordinator of In
ter-American Affairs, they are
piling up a file on one of the
amazing industrial stories of this
war. Much of it is a military se
cret, but some of it can be told
now. It’s the search for tantalite
in the scorched mountains of
northeastern Brazil.
Few people ever heard of tan
talite. It was virtually unknown
in 1927, when it was commercial
ly mined for the first time. Itj
wasn’t until 1940 that it became
a vital war mineral, sought by
every nation. However, since our
enemies don’t, know to what use
we are putting it, very little can
be said.
Tan'alite is well named, having
the same root as the word tanta- J
lize. It is an acid-proof member!
of the vanadium family and al- j
though it is sometimes referred;
to 3s black gold, it’s more pre-'
cious.
It is hard to find, deposits of I
it being buried with other min-1
erals in the sun-scorched rocky j
ridges or sub-surface alluvial de- j
posits of Brazil’s tree-barren j
“sertao” (interior). Once found, it
is tantalizing to mine. What seem
to be bonanzas pe’er out before
they have produced a ton and
often deposits, that hardly seem
worth mining, develop into true
bonanzas.
* * *
Since Pearl Harbor, geologists
have been scouring a 3,600-square
r
1 mile area, but *hey report that
j it’s like hunting for the proverbial
: needle in a rock strewn furnace,
not unlike parts of Arizona. The
, inaccessibility of the Brazilian
sertao adds to the difficulty. It
is all but impossible to get heavy
machinery into the country and
the ore out. It is being done so
effectively that Brazil is produc
. ing now 52 per cent of the world’s
tantalite and since Australia and
South Africa are the only other
known sources, the Allies have it
: all.
At present nearly all the work
is done by hand. More than 8,000
Brazilian natives are employed in
i the mines, picking out the ore,
hand-crushing and hand-washing
it in sluices similar to those our
early gold miners used in the
west and Alaska. Water for the
washing, which separates the
heavy mineral from its neighbors, \
j has to come from deep wells and
| often has to be lugged for miles
I in casks on the backs of burros.
* * *
It’s by burro express, too, that
the sacked tantalite has to be
taken out. At Natal, U. S. mili
tary transport planes wait impa
tiently to pick up the mineral. [
It takes 3,000 tons of ore to pro
duce one ton of tantalite and al
though the natives receive only 30
cents a day, mine owners are hard
put to make a profit. Every time
it appears the war is nearing its
end, the tantalite producers want
to quit and turn to more profit
able and less troublesome metals.
ALASKANS WARNED
TO GET CERTIFICATES 1
Many Alaskans on a visit to
the States suffer disappointment
and inconvenience when they at
tempt to purchase ra4ioned com
modities which are also rationed
in Alaska, without having obtain
ed certificates from their home
War Price and Rationing ooards.
i' has been reported to the Alaska
Office of Frice Administration
People who are going outside
and who wish to purchase iirt-s,
tubes, a new auto or a bicycle
must establish eligibility with the
home board before leaving s'ates
the Territorial Rationing Division
•Certificates issued in Alaska are
good anywhere in the united
States but no denier may transfer
a rationed ccmmorii4y to anyone
until a ration certificate is pre
sented.
CEILING PRIC ES ON
FRESH VEGETABLES
Effective February 15th, fresh
eggplant, green peppers and cu
cumbers, heretofore uncontrolled,
have been placed under price
regulation in ‘he Stales This ac
tion automatically puts these im
ported vegetables under price con
trol in Alaska, Mrs. Mildred R.
Hermann, Alaska OPA Director,
announced today. Commencing
February 15th, wholesalers and
re'ailers who make sales of these
commodities mils' not charge
more than the maximum price
permitted by Maximum Price
Regulation No. 194, namely , a
price determined by adding to ‘he
landed cost the dollar markup
which the seller took in the base
period, November 7th-December
6, 1941.
| O'her imported fresh vege
tables under price control are
snap beans, cabbage, carrots, let
tuce, onions, green peas, potatoes,
spinach and tomatoes. Merchants
who made no sales of these com
modities during the base period,
' op who have kept no base period
records and cannot otherwise
show what their base period
I mark-up was. should file an ap
i plication wi‘h OPA for a price
before making any sales, Mrs.
Hermann cautioned.
1 Application forms can be ob
| tained at all OPA Field Offices
! and War Price and Rationing
i Boards.
|
—
CUPID'S HELPERS
ON THE JOB
HARRISON, Ark. —<AP)— A
major from a Missouri Army base
and his swee'heart casually in
quired of a hotel clerk about get
ting a marriage license.
The manager overheard and
almost before the couple knew it,
the county clerk was called to
the scene wi'h a license; a min
ister arrived, there was nuptial
music and as the marriage service
got underway, a corsage arrived
for the bride.
MERCHANTS
I WISE
Advert i s e!
S??S55S5ot5SS5S3SiSIL
j •tiwiw.-t* ’n*— - -»»- ^
I
REPAIR SHOPS MAY
USE AA1 RATING
Repair shops located in Alaska,
whose pr.ncipal business is the
repair of civilian or military air
craft may use the AA-1 prefer
ence rating and *he allotment
symbol S-l in ordering controlled
materials and other items which
they need for the maintenance or
repair of such aircraft, Norman
St'nes, War Production Board
Alaska represents'ive said today.
In ordering such materials.
Alaskan repairmen are cautioned
*o observe the inventory provi
sions of CMP Regulation No. 2
with respect to controlled mate
rials and the provisions of Prior
ities Regulation No. 1 with re
*+++++*++++++++++*++*++++
spec' to other materials and pro
ducts.
Furthermore, rep. rmen who
acquire materials under these
provisions, which are contained
in D recti on No. 3 to CMP Regu
lation No. 9 A. may only use such
material for maintenance or re
pair purposes. They may not use
such material ‘o make products,
such as repair parts, which they
do not expect to use themselves
in making repairs.
Subscribe !o The Nugget
Dout of town
PRINTERS PAY
NO TAXES HERE
LF.T US DO YOUR
porvTI*
■+'S,+,fr+❖+++❖++++++++♦
******* + **4>******* + ******************************
^ • T
CONEY ISLAND f
JI BARNUM & NILSSON *
i> 2
!; OPEN FROM 7:00 P. M. TO 3:00 A. M. +
«; Waffles and “Red Hots”—Sandwiches, Etc. X
SILEX COFFEE |
ENJOY THE GAMES AND HAVE FUN! |
A t
F L Y
WITH THE
ALASKA
AIRLINES
. —TO
H DEERING, CANDLE, KOTZEBUE, GOLOVIN,
MOSES PT., KOYUK, HAYCOCK, TELLER,
WALES, SHISHMAREF, McGRATH, FAIR
BANKS, ANCHORAGE, JUNEAU.
CALL MAIN 66 j
- — ..— I ... ... ■ . .- -—
NEVADA BAR
* * *
I
Harry Gabrielson, Prop
- ■ -- ■ —rb
| GEORGE ANDERSON f
f EXPERT PIANO TUNER — WURLITZER t
t AGENT FOR ALASKA J
| WILL BE IN NOME THIS SUMMER f
4 'This Trip Will Be Made Depending on the Number of i
% Tuning Orders Left at Polel's Store)
| GEORGE ANDERSON
+ •)••*■++++++++++++ 4-+++++
* ( ♦
| Bronson Water Delivery j
% BULLDOZING — CATERPILLAR WORK *
X TRUCK HAULING %
t PHONE MAIN 19 t
r *
S NORTH POLE !
| BAKERY j
[ AND RESTAURANT ||
r I
► WE SERVE WHOLESOME FOODS— |
l NONE BETTER! f
► OPEN: 7:00 A. M. TO 11:00 P. M. |
| Front St. Phone Ma. 159 |
I i
j Important: !
+ . . . j
t Yes, every customer is important to us. +
1 t
f All our progress forward has been due to a satis- +
+ . X
t fied customer. +
J +
f !
X In spite of the present handicaps, we endeav- +
+ ... *
| or to give you the best of service, with no sacri- +
* . +
X five of Quality, Workmanship or Courtesy. +
* ;
CALL MAIN 113 FOR PICK-UP SERVICE! ♦
* Z
+ I
t z
} MODERN CLEANERS 1
(Modern Cleaning Is Clothes Insurance!) x
X “A Stamp a Day Keeps the Japs Away!” ?
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mm i ■%
We have recently installed our power ice
cream freezers. We serve it and we sell in large
quantities.
HEADQUARTERS FOR
WHITEVS TAXI
The Glue Pot!
Simeon and Goetzenberger, Props.
.' ---
l MINERS & MERCHANTS !
! BANK OF ALASKA
| NOME :: ALASKA
T i
+ *
i ++4**J» •> •> *}»4»*!* •> v •> *> ■> *>*I**J-*}» -> *1*+
r,. . - - -
ALASKA TELEPHONE &
TELEGRAPH GO.
LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE SERVICE!
Back the attack with War bonds! Put your dollars
in the service of Uncle Sam!
...