History

Gilsonite although was discovered about 80 years ago in west of Iran but it was not until the mid-1880’s that Samuel H. Gilson began to promote it as a waterproof coating for wooden pilings, as an insulation for wire cable, and as a unique varnish. Gilson’s promotion of the ore was so successful that, in 1888, he and a partner formed the first company to mine and market gilsonite on a commercial scale. So nowadays it promoted as Gilsonite

Gilsonite was sold as “Selects” and “Fines”; the low softening point ore with conchoidal fracture was known as “Selects”. The higher softening point ore with a pencillated structure was known as “Fines”. Selects commanded a higher price than Fines because of its better purity, good solubility, and usefulness in the paint, stain, and varnish industries.

Today, Gilsonite is graded by softening point (a rough measure of solubility) and particle size. All grades carry a degree of quality far superior to those first small amounts of crude Gilsonite marketed in the 1880’s