Scrabble?! ASPHALTUM

Definitions of ASPHALTUM in various dictionaries:

Gilsonite, also known as "uintahite", "asphaltum" or asphaltite, is a naturally occurring solid hydrocarbon, a form of asphalt (or bitumen) with a relatively high melting temperature. Although the substance has been historically mined in the Uintah Basin of Utah and Colorado, United States, resources are being discovered and mined more recently in other countries such as Colombia and Iran. Currently, its large-scale production occurs in the Uintah Basin.Gilsonite is categorized as a soluble material in oil solutions such as CS2 or TCE (trichloroethylene). A major component of gilsonite is carbon; it also contains several other elements including nitrogen and sulfur and some volatile compounds.Gilsonite 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 years later by Samuel H. Gilson.