Asphaltite (also known as uintahite, asphaltum, gilsonite or oil sands[1]) is a naturally occurring soluble solid hydrocarbon, a form of asphalt[2] (or bitumen) with a relatively high melting temperature.By 1888 Samuel H. Gilson had started a company to mine the substance, but soon discovered the vein was on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.[5] Gilsonite mining became the first large commercial enterprise in the Uintah Basin, causing most of its early population growth.Mining gilsonite during World War II was manual, using a six-pound pick, then shoveling the ore into 200 pound sacks, which were sewn by hand.The trademark, registered in 1921, belongs to the American Gilsonite Company which filed for bankruptcy and after accepting re-organization seems to emerge from it at Jan 3rd 2017.
Gilsonite pahoehoe paralava. This remarkable specimen is from gilsonite 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
.