Cryolite
a mineral composed of aluminum, sodium, and fluorine. It is found in large quantities in Greenland.
The name, which signifies ice or frost stone, was given it by Abildgaard, who discovered it in 1800. It also occurs in the Ural Mountains, but not abundantly.
The mines at Ivigtut, Greenland, have CRYPT been worked since 1857, and are appar- ently inexhaustible. None of the finest specimens, however, reach the United States, as the mines are owned by the Danish government and the best of their product is taken to Copenhagen. Among the resulting products are soap, baking soda, washing soda, aluminum sulphate, and a kind of glass which resembles porcelain. subterranean