Editing Asphaltite

{{short description|Form of asphalt}}
{{Redirect|Asphaltum|other uses|Asphalt (disambiguation){{!}}Asphalt}}
[[File:Gilsonite (uintaite) (Big Bonanza Vein intruded in the Uinta Formation, Middle Eocene; Bonanza, Utah, USA) 4.jpg|thumb|Asphaltite from the Uinta Formation, [[Bonanza, Utah|Bonanza]], [[Utah]]]]
[[File:Gilsonite pahoehoe paralava (summer 2012; southwest of Dragon, Utah, USA) 2.jpg|thumb|Asphaltite pahoehoe paralava. This remarkable specimen is from asphaltite which was melted in a wildfire in 2012. While molten, it developed a smooth to ropey top surface much like [[pahoehoe]] basalt lava. Exhibit at the [[Utah Field House of Natural History]].]]
'''Asphaltite''' (also known as '''uintahite''', '''asphaltum''',''' gilsonite''' or '''oil sands'''<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-05|title=What is Bitumen?|url=https://highways.today/2021/01/05/what-bitumen/|access-date=2022-01-04|website=Highways Today|language=en-GB}}</ref>) is a naturally occurring soluble solid [[hydrocarbon]], a form of [[Bitumen|asphalt]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gilsonite-bitumen.com/en/products/what-is-gilsonite|title=What is gilsonite|last=|first=|date=|access-date=2020-02-11|archive-date=2022-05-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516212119/https://gilsonite-bitumen.com/en/products/what-is-gilsonite/|url-status=dead}}</ref> (or bitumen) with a relatively high melting temperature. Its large-scale production occurs in the [[Uintah Basin]] of [[Utah]] and [[Colorado]], United States. Although the substance has been historically mined in the Uintah Basin, resources are being discovered and mined more recently in other countries such as Colombia and Iran.<ref name=boden>{{Cite book | last1 = Boden | first1 = Taylor | last2 = Tripp | first2 = Bryce T. | title = Gilsonite Veins of the Uinta Basin, Utah | publisher = [[Utah Geological Survey]] | year = 2012 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2I1iJCIpu-AC | isbn = 9781557918567 | pages = 2–3}}</ref> Asphaltite is mined in underground shafts and resembles shiny black [[obsidian]].
Discovered in the 1860s, it was first marketed as a [[lacquer]], electrical insulator, and waterproofing compound approximately 25&nbsp;years later by [[Samuel H. Gilson]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dkkLAAAAYAAJ&dq=Uintahite&pg=PA162 Transactions of the American Institute of Mining]; Locke, Joseph; 1887.</ref>

==History==
Asphaltite was discovered in the 1860s. By 1888 Samuel H. Gilson had started a company to mine the substance, but soon discovered the [[vein (geology)|vein]] was on the [[Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation]]. Under great political pressure [[United States Congress|Congress]] removed some {{convert|7000|acre|km2}} from the reservation on May 24, 1888 to allow mining to proceed legally.<ref name="uintah">{{cite book | last = Burton | first = Doris Karren | title = A History of Uintah County: Scratching the Surface | series = Utah Centennial County History Series |date=January 1996 | publisher = Utah State Historical Society | location = Salt Lake City | pages = 130&ndash;134 | isbn = 0-913738-06-9 }}</ref> Asphaltite mining became the first large commercial enterprise in the Uintah Basin, causing most of its early population growth.

Mining asphaltite during World War II was manual, using a six-pound pick, then shoveling the ore into 200 pound sacks, which were sewn by hand. 

Gilsonite-brand uintahite's earliest applications included paints for buggies and emulsions for beer-vat lining. It was used by [[Ford Motor Company]] as a principal component of the [[japan black]] lacquer used on most of the [[Ford Model T]] cars.<ref>Lamm, Michael; [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1997/4/1997_4_62.shtml ''How Cars Got Colors'']; Invention and Technology Magazine, Spring 1997, Volume 12, Issue 4.</ref>

==Composition==
Asphaltite is categorized as a soluble material in oil solutions such as [[carbon disulphide]] or [[Trichloroethylene|TCE]] (trichloroethylene). A major component of asphaltite is carbon; it also contains several other elements including nitrogen and sulfur and some volatile compounds.<ref name=zista>{{Cite web | url = http://zista.co/en/products/gilsonite | title = Gilsonite | publisher= Zista Group |access-date=2016-03-11}}</ref>

==Reserves and uses==
Asphaltite reserves are distributed globally, especially within basins.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=gilsonite |url=https://asiagilsonite.com/ |access-date= |website=what is gilsonite |publisher=}}</ref> It has also been found on the dwarf planet [[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]]<ref name="De SanctisAmmannito2017">{{cite journal|last1=De Sanctis|first1=M. C.|last2=Ammannito|first2=E.|last3=McSween|first3=H. Y.|last4=Raponi|first4=A.|last5=Marchi|first5=S.|last6=Capaccioni|first6=F.|last7=Capria|first7=M. T.|last8=Carrozzo|first8=F. G. | last9 = Ciarniello | first9 = M. | last10 = Fonte |first10=S.|last11=Formisano|first11=M.|last12=Frigeri|first12=A.|last13=Giardino|first13=M.|last14=Longobardo|first14=A.|last15=Magni|first15=G.|last16=McFadden|first16=L. A.|last17=Palomba|first17=E.|last18=Pieters|first18=C. M.|last19=Tosi|first19=F.|last20=Zambon|first20=F.|last21=Raymond|first21=C. A.|last22=Russell|first22=C. T.|title=Localized aliphatic organic material on the surface of Ceres|journal=Science|volume=355|issue=6326|year=2017|pages=719–722|issn=0036-8075|doi=10.1126/science.aaj2305 | pmid=28209893}}</ref> and is predicted to exist on the Martian moon [[Phobos (moon)|Phobos]].{{cn|date=August 2018}}

Asphaltite is used in more than 160 products, primarily in dark-colored printing inks and paints, oil well [[drilling mud]]s and [[cement]]s, asphalt modifiers, [[foundry]] sand additives, and a wide variety of chemical products. The trademark "Gilsonite", registered in 1921, belongs to the American Gilsonite Company which filed for bankruptcy in October 2016 and, after accepting re-organization, emerged in January 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americangilsonite.com/|title=American Gilsonite Company|accessdate=Oct 18, 2020}}</ref> 

Asphaltite is a common modifier for bitumen in asphalt. Blending asphaltite with bitumen increases the strength and resistance of pavements.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://zistagilsonite.com/products/bitumen-blending/ | title = Mixing Gilsonite into the Bitumen | publisher= Zista Group |access-date= 2018-08-05}}</ref> This application is practised in countries such as China, India and Iran. Known as ''asfaltit'' in Turkish, it is burnt in [[Şırnak Silopi power station]], a [[List of active coal fired power stations in Turkey|coal fired power station in Turkey]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lisans.epdk.org.tr/epvys-web/faces/pages/lisans/elektrikUretim/elektrikUretimOzetSorgula.xhtml|title=Enerji Piyasası Veritabanı Yönetim Sistemi|website=lisans.epdk.org.tr|access-date=2020-02-10|archive-date=2021-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716135305/http://lisans.epdk.org.tr/epvys-web/faces/pages/lisans/elektrikUretim/elektrikUretimOzetSorgula.xhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==External links==
*[https://www.mindat.org/min-4083.html Uintahite on Mindat]


[[Category:Organic minerals]]
[[Category:Asphalt]]