Magnesia History

Magnesia is mentioned in ancient historical times. Theophrastos (372 - 287 B. C.), in his work "On Stones" writes of a light stone used on interior walls by the Egyptians long before him. It is assumed that this stone was magnesite.

Hippokrates (460 - 377 B. C.) refers to the properties of magnesia stone as a laxative. Magnesia compounds were also known in the Middle Ages. The Venetian physician, Canepario, used what is thought to be basic magnesium carbonate to make inks around 1619. The Count of Palma produced magnesia alba at the turn of the seventeenth century and offered it as a secret cure-all.

Since then magnesia has been the subject of extensive study in all branches of natural science. But even in the year 1720, the residue after ignition of precipitates from saltpetre brines was understood to be a "certain type of lime" (Neumann & Stahl). F. Hoffmann (1660 - 1742) was the first to distinguish between lime and magnesia. His discovery was confirmed in 1756 by Black and in 1768 by A. S. Marggraf, who is better known for his work on sugar production. In this age where the phlogiston theory prevailed, Black considered the ignition loss as "fixed air".

Hildebrandt (1764 - 1816), professor at the University of Erlangen, identified magnesia in human bones. Cavendish found magnesia compounds in hard water in 1765. Magnesia alba was produced on a technical scale by precipitation with potash from sulphatic water (bitter springs) in England as early as 1763. C.F. Buchholz (1770 - 1818) was finally given recognition due to his extensive works on magnesite. Systematic exploitation of magnesite deposits began in Austria in the mid nineteenth century. The growing needs of the iron industry for refractory materials led to a heavy demand for magnesia bricks. As magnesia deposits offering the required purity for this purpose were not abundant, a boom in the production of magnesia from seawater took place from around 1930 onwards, after this process had been developed and run on a small scale on the French Mediterranean coast since 1885. With virtually unlimited reserves of seawater, special attention has been paid to this process.

Lehmann & Voss & Co. has been intensely involved with magnesia since the turn of the century, when magnesia extraction and production took off on a commercial scale. Right down to the present day, the user has been offered not only approved types of magnesia, but also -as these became available with the application of new technologies- qualities and grades with unusual properties.