This article wes reFrinted with Fermissisn and srigninally aFFeered in ' MATRIX: A Jsurnel of the History sf hlinerals f,opyri$hted/Fublished by the Matrix Printing Co. Valume 3. Hurnhers 4 and 5, Fall, 1gS4 o r l:=' .. t.= .'.... lt ',.. tt't,,. 84 MATBD( UOLUME 3 . , ,,..ai . ,,- A History of Ghromite and Gopper in Maryland: The Tyson Years by Sally Newcomb lntroduction the Geological Society of America. In- 1798 in the Ural Mountains (Ostran- A complete history of chromite and dustrial histories contain information der et al. 1946,41is the double oxide copper mineralogy and mining in of interest as do books that include FeO'Cr2O1, with substitutions of other Maryland would necessarily indude drapters about germane topics. An- *2 and *3 cations. It has been wdt- a portion atrout the history of geol- other source, historical journals, pre- ten as (MgFe+2) {crAl,Fe+}}2o3. The ogy itself. There are multiple levels of sent interesting and important topics, substirudons determine the suitability information available, from the local and that is also true of articles found of different ores for different uses. For and derailed through those concern- in popular magazines about the state. example, to be used as a refractory ing regional implications, and on to There are also newspaper stories and material the aluminum content must the broad theory about origin that personal communications, such as be high, while for metallurgical use could be applied both to other occur- letters to consider. Some of these are the chromic oxide content must be rences of these minerals as well as to recent and some date back to the high. For chemical use the aluminum basic questions of rock emplacement. ninefeeilh century. I have seen one content should be low, but the iron Ir this article I will discuss some spe- comment written by a man whose content is not a concem (Pearre & cific locations o{ chromium and cop- family was personally involved in Heyl r96O,730). per and their associated minerals, mining. As a perpetual reminder for In the reference material I used their history, and their mineralogy. the necessity of caution with sources, there was some disagreement about The driving force behind chromite his first sentence contained two er- the discovery of the first chrome min- and copper exploration and mining eral. The Allied Chemical reference was, of course, economic. While uses says it was first described by Lehman for copper certainly evolved during 'Although he traveled widely in 1762. Ostrander et al. said it was the nineteenth century, copper as the in pursuit of his many i,efitures, done by Pallas in 1765. The mineral metal and in compounds has been his letters reveal a n an who was was the brilliant orange-red crocoite known since antiquity. Chromium touchingly devoted to his family." found in the Ural Mountains. The had recently been discovered, and mineral was analyzed by Marquart much was leamed about its chemistry and Vauquelin, and in 1789 they re- and uses during the nineteenth and rors about mining history that con- ported "this mineral was an intimate early twentieth centuries. The cur- tradict numerous other primary and combination of the superoxygenated rent environmental implications of secondary sources. Information con- oxyde of lead and the iron of alu- the long history of metals mining and cerning ownership, royalty pay- mina." (Vauquelin 1789+,279) The treatment in the Baltimore area will ments, and environmental problems, earlier analysis proved incomplete and also be discussed. can be found in legal and court incorrect. Vauquelin later reported the records. The final source, is manu- results of a series of analyses that Literature scripts. Those I know of are in state demonstrated the presence of a new There is a wealth of literature avail- historical society libraries. The refer- metal and characterized its chemical able; including Maryland and U.S. ence list for this artide contains only reactions. There is some argument Geological Survey reports, bulletins, sources I used. about whether he or Klaproth was and information series papers, that 'first" and also over whether range from the very technical to the Uses of Ghromium and Vauquelin's method produced rhe easy to read. Among these are de- Its Gompounds metal or the carbide, but credit usu- tailed reports done before suburban In order to understand the increased ally goes to him for the metal. On the development obscured many of the use of chromium ore in the U.S. advice of Fourcroy and Hauy, sites. There are publications in tech- through the nineteenth century it is Vauquelin called it "chrome,' not for nical journals such as the Ameriun helpful to review its discovery and the color of the metal itself, but for the Journal of Science, Econamic Geology, why rhere was a growing interest in colon of its many compounds. This, and in journals and special papers of chromium. Chromite,,- discovered in and the function of the compounds in other chemical processes, led to im- mediate uses. Chromite is found in much larger masses than crocoite, and is the only ore of dtromium. The literature records the rather slow beginning of the chrome chem- ical business. A few places in Europe, and later in the U-S., were able to ef- fect the "openiag- of the recalcifiant ore. The first process required potas- sium nitrate, which was expensive. Later, less expensive methods were found. In terms of uses, it is interest- ing that as late as 1916 it was stated that "metallic chromium has no di- rect uses." (Ries 1916,791) Electro- plating of the metal was not effective until a few years later. Early applica- tions included using the ore as a re- fractory for lining blast furnaces, adding it to an increasing range of chemicals, providing a substitute for more toxic pigments, and, somewhat later it was added to toughen chrome steel. By 1928 Singewald stated that its major use was in metallurgy. By 1960 Allied Chemical listed an ex- tensive range of uses for their chrome chemicals including dyeing, tanning, electroplating, and many others. lsaac Tyson, Jr. The many threads of chromite ex- ploration and development in Mary- land and Pennsylvania, as well as those of copper and iron mining and smelting, were brought together by Isaac Tlson, Jr. (Fig. l) Tlson Figure 7. Issac Jr. Photo engraving from a ptivate colledion- (1792-1861) was more o{ an indus- \son, trialist and a technologist than a sci- entist, although knowledge and re- tion, Tlson predicted that eventually to produce bi- or dichromates at his spect for science played a large role production of chrome chemicals Back Bay location. He was finally suc- in his successful career. He led and would be more profitable than min- cessful in 1845. A statement by Glenn participated in a multiplicity of activ- ing the ore and shipping it elsewhere. ln Maryland: Its Resources, Industries and Instiations, Baltimore, 1893, credits ities that included mining and min- 'The manufaaure of chemicals, paints, medi' erals exploration, metal smelting and dnes, etc, was cammenced at Baltimore, by Tlson with being the first American lroduction, and the establishment of Messn. Howard Sims and Isaac T)tson, who manufacturer to employ a technolog- necessary industrial and transporta- ereded a laborunry on Pratt street. They af- ical chemist trained at a university Avenue, and tion facilities- He read copiously, in' terward remwed it to Washittgton (Yale); his name was W.P. Blake. In were incorporated in 1822. They became ex- 1827 Tlson received a patent for cluding cherished copies of Les An- tensive manufacturerc of copperas, and of (Abbott nales des Mines. For a while he was chromate of potash, chrome yellow, and other making copperas, FeSOa president of a fire insurance company chromic pigments from the chromate of iron at 1965b,t9). In l83l he was chairman in Baltimore (Abbott 1965b,23). He is Bare Hills, Maryland, and in Chester County, of the Committee on Chemistry of the ' Pennsylvania." (Bishop 1868] 1966.23 I ) best known as the person who rec- [ General Convention of the Friends of ognized, explored for, and exploited 'Opening" of the ore to produce pig- Domestic Industry. This committee's chromite and other metallic ore de- ments was expensive at first, but de- report, given in New York, described posits in Maryland, Pennsylvania, spite supposedly improved processes, the necessity for a domestic supply of California. and elsewhere. In addi- Tlson made three different attempts chemicals for both financial and de- r 'ilf.tait rE* fense reasons (Haynes l954,V.l,2OTl. Tlson was aware of the presence of Chromite In 1834 Tlson received a patent "for chromite at Bare Hills north of Balti- Reports of the discovery o an improvement in the mode of heat- more as early as 1808 or 1810. chromium inMaryland are somewha ing and applying heated air to blast Tfson's first big commercial-size dis- confused. I have seen three differen: tumaces" (Tfson Ie75,4OTl. This covery of chromite was in 1827. Rec- dates given, from 1808 unril 1827. I. method required the use nf anthracite ognizing the connection of serpentine the earliest dates are to be believed, coal. While it is very difficult to es- barrens to chromite, he explored the frrst discovery location was Bare tablish "first" a for the use of either from Montgomery County in Mary- Hills, north of Baltimore. There is alsc hot blast or anthracite in tllis applica- land through the state line district in some disagreement about the begrn. tion, Tyson is credited with probably Pennsylvania, and became the first ning of chrome chemical manufac. being the first to apply it to copper (as chief supplier of chromite ore in the ture.