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By H. I. Smith

WHEN Spain established colonies on the North American continent, some of her land grants, in what is now the United States, reserved to the Crown deposits of gold, silver, and mercury. Later mineral rights were reserved under some of the English Crown charters involving land in the eastern part of North America, with provisions for the payment of royalties thereon to the Crown. Reservation of mineral deposits to the United States Government was instituted by an ordinance of Congress on May 20, 1785, which applied to such deposits in the Northwest Territory, then north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River, and provided that there should be reserved "one third of all gold, silver, lead, and copper mines, to be sold or otherwise disposed of as Congress shall hereafter direct." Little was known then of the mineral resources of the country; the Great Lakes copper region had just come into the possession of the United States by treaty and much of the western mineral land still belonged to France and Spain. The policy of leasing mineral deposits was enacted by Congress under the act of March 3, 1807, which provided that "the President of the United States shall be, and is hereby, authorized to lease any lead mine which has been or may hereafter be discovered in the Indiana Territory, for a term not exceeding five years," and in the same year the Government reserved 345,600 acres of land in northern Illinois, valuable for lead. In 1816 Congress provided that in all cases where a tract of public land containing a lead mine or salt spring was applied for by settlers on the public domain, no permission to work the mine or spring would be granted without the approbation of the President of the United States. By the act of March 1, 1847 (9 Stat. 146), the control of mineral lands was transferred, with all records, from the War Department to the Treasury Department, and by the act of March 3, 1849 (9 Stat. 395), supervisory powers over lead and other mines of the United States were transferred to the Secretary of the Interior. Following the discovery of gold in California in 1848, President Polk advocated the leasing of mineral lands acquired from Mexico under the treaty of 1848. However, owing to the lack of communication and transportation facilities and the consequent difficulty of checking on production and operations, leasing was found impracticable. Mining was permitted to be carried on in each district under rules made by the miners themselves and patterned after the Mexican mining system. To meet the situation, Congress enacted mining laws in 1866, 1870, and 1872, which provided for possession by location and for private ownership, after discovery, by patent of essentially all mineral deposits belonging to the United States, except coal. Many other acts were passed by Congress applying to specific regions and states, reserving salt, lead, or other minerals, some of which provided for the leasing of such deposits. However, very few if any leases were issued thereunder. Not until 1901 (31 Stat. 745) were the mining laws extended to include salt, and in 1910 they were revised to specify salines and associated products. At the turn of the century, it became more and more evident that the mining laws developed for metallic minerals were not practical for the development and conservation of oil and gas, coal, potash, phosphate, or oil shale. Following withdrawals by the Secretary of the Interior as authorized by the act of June 25, 1910, the Department of the Interior recommended leasing legislation; however, it was not until February 25, 1920, that the Mineral Leasing Act was passed by Congress. This act authorized leasing all public lands potentially valuable for oil, gas, coal, phosphate, sodium, or oil shale. The Organic Act, creating the Geological Survey in 1879, imposed upon its director the duty of classifying the public lands.' The early years of the Survey were devoted largely to the accumulation of fundamental data and, with only minor exceptions, land classification was not seriously undertaken until 1906. Since that year, it has been actively pursued with respect particularly to leasable minerals and water power values. On March 3, 1873 (17 Stat. 607) Congress authorized the sale of coal lands of limited acreage to individuals at $10 to $20 an acre, depending on the distance from a railroad, and in 1907 a new scale of prices was adopted by the Secretary of the Interior, based, more logically, on the quality and thickness of the coal deposits, their depth below the earth's surface, and their accessibility. At that time it was much cheaper and easier to obtain incidental title to coal rights under the homestead laws at $1.25 an acre. On March 3, 1909, the first separation act (35 Stat. 844) became a law. It authorized patents, with a reservation of the coal and mining rights involved to the United States, to persons who in good faith had entered public lands under the non-mineral land laws prior to withdrawal, classification, claim, or report that such lands were valuable for coal. It solved the problem only partially, and the practice thereupon adopted by the department of making coal withdrawals "from all forms of entry" instead of "from coal entry" expedited the more complete solution effected by later acts. By the act of June 22, 1910 (36.Stat. 583) withdrawn and classified coal lands were declared subject to entry under the homestead, desert land, and Carey acts, provided a waiver of the coal rights accompanied the application, and by the act of April 30, 1912 (37 Stat. 105) the same privilege was extended to State selections and isolated tracts. The act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 496) extended the separation policy to lands withdrawn for oil and gas in Utah, and finally the act of July 17, 1914 (38 Stat. 509) extended it to all nonmineral filings on public lands theretofore or thereafter

Jan 1, 1955

By N. S. Wagner, R. S. Mason

The production of lightweight aggregates in Oregon is a new industry, and, like all new enterprises, it is suffering from growing pains characterized by numerous, small operations some of which flourish for a short time and then cease altogether. Norinally all industrial mineral products are produced in a highly competitive atmosphere. At the present time this condition does not exist to a very marked degree in the state because as yet producers have not saturated the constantly expanding market. This paper has been prepared with the intention of outlining very briefly the current status of the various products now heing used as lightweight aggregates in Oregon. The present piche will surely change, perhaps quite radically within even a short space of time. Lightweight Aggregates Used in the Northwest PUMICE Interest in Oregon pumice is not new. Deposits are abundant. Successful development, however, dates only from 1946. During 1948 a total of nine operations was engaged in full or part-time production of aggregate. The postwar building boom and increased public consciousness regarding the value of insulation are the immediate reasons behind the current development. Just how firmly this production of pumice aggregate may be established is something which cannot be foretold at the present time. Much will depend upon how successfully the pumice aggregate construction already installed stands the test of time. Some fine pumice aggregate products have been made and it seems probable that because of its unique properties a certain demand for pumice aggregate will continue in the future. Fire-proof, rodent-proof, decay-resistant properties supplement the lightness in weight and insulation properties of pumice aggregate products in rendering them particularly ideal for many types of construction. In addition there has been fabrication in the form of reinforced fence posts, street markers, and similar products of a specialized-product nature and these are not to be overlooked in terms of future production. Also pertinent to how soundlj pumice aggregate production is established will be possible future competition with other lightweight aggregates. However, this situation will be governed largely by competitive costs of production and marketing. For its present use, which is almost exclusively limited to the manufacturing of building blocks, the market for Oregon pumice aggregate has been extended from the mining area around Rend and Chemult to points as far distant as San Francisco and Seattle. Naturally enough the bulk of the production goes to the Portland and eastern Oregon consumers. Shipments are made by both rail and truck. Early in 1947 the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries made a canvass of all pumice producers in the state. The production for 1956 amounted to 26,614 cu yd and was valued at $13,649 at the plants. The United States Bureau of Mines estimates the production for 1947 as 33,240 short tons valued at $111,380. This is roughly 65,000 cu yd. No data are available for the 1948 production but it is understood to exceed that for 1947. The Oregon pumice occurrences originated largely from the eruption of Mount Mazama, the name of the formerly active volcano and the location of Crater Lake. Other lesser volcanoes throughout the area contributed to the present occurrences, however, and it has been estimated by Moore' that the pumice deposits cover an area of some 3500 square miles. This area lies east of Crater Lake between Bend and Klamath Falls and embraces the southern portion of Deschutes County, the northern part of Klamath County, and the northwest corner of Lake County. Thickness of the pumice ranges from thin skims to local thicknesses of as much as 30 to 40 ft. Fragment size also varies greatly. Any attempt to describe the situation by giving screen analyses would be confusing because of the wide variations to be found in all area of this size. The picture can best be summed up by stating that places showing great variations in fragment size can be found if a search for extremes is made. For mining purposes in connection with aggregate production, it call be stated that miles and miles of pumice exist in which the fragrnent sizes range from an inch or so downward. The usual color of the pumice is a light gray to off-white. A typical pumice analysis shows a silica content of about 69 pct, alumina 15 pct, and sodium oxide about 5 pct. Potash, lime, and water are the next three most abundant constituents, running just a little over 2 pct each. Iron oxides are fairly constant at 2.75 pct. Titanium, manganese, magnesium, and phosphorus occur in amounts of less than 1 pct. All of the foregoing substances are combined as a glass exhibiting cellular structure. The weight of crushed but otherwise pit-run (undried) pumice runs around 1100 Ib per cu yd according to figures furnished by various producers. The minimum and maximum weights per cubic yard reported are 1050 and 1400 lb, respectively. The 1400 lb per cu yd pumice contrasts with the pumice from most of the other

Jan 1, 1950

By W. B. Mather

Of the 61 dikes examined some yielded cassiterite, tantalite, and beryl; eight contained spodumene; and six carried amblygonite. Two mines stockpiled spodumene as a byproduct. Only zoned pegmatite dikes carried lithium minerals. GEOLOGICAL studies have revealed the occurrence of hundreds of pegmatite dikes in northeast Brazil, Fig. I, in the three states of Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, and Ceara. Heretofore data have not been available on the possible production of lithium minerals from these areas, and in March, April, and May 1953 the author undertook a reconnaissance survey covering a cross-section of the pegmatite~. Sixty-one pegmatites were examined. The pegmatites of Rio Grande do Norte and Paraiba are located in an arid region (Seratao), and except in the most southerly portion there is a minimum of vegetation and overburden. The region is easily prospected and relatively accessible by jeep or truck. The pegmatites examined in Ceara are in an area of lush vegetation along the flanks of the Jaqueribe River valley. It is therefore more difficult to prospect, and the dirt roads, as a means of access, leave much to be desired. For all practical purposes rail transportation, except in Ceara, is not available. The rocks of the area are composed of Pre-Cambrian schist, gneiss, quartzite, and marbles. They have been intruded by granites, monzonites, and diorites and cut by quartz veins and pegmatites. Pre-Cretaceous erosion reduced the area to a peneplain upon which Cretaceous or younger sandstones were deposited. Recent erosion has left only a few remnants of these younger rocks. In most of the Rio Grande do Norte-Paraiba area the pegmatites were more resistant to erosion than the enclosing schists and therefore stand out in relief. This is not true in the rolling country of Ceara, where the pegmatites lack topographic expression. With regard to structure and lithology, the pegmatite~ of northeast Brazil are divided into two types, uniform and zoned. Of the 61 examined, 19 belong to the uniform and 42 to the zoned type. Uniform pegmatites are normally long, narrow, and tabular, with sharp contacts. They are composed of an intimate mixture of feldspar (microcline or ortho-clase), mica (biotite, phlogopite, or muscovite), and quartz. The grain size5 varies from fine at the contact to coarser in the interior. They are not considered a commercial source of pegmatite minerals, although efforts have been made to produce green beryl of gem variety. This type of dike is often abundant in schists and gneisses close to granite intrusives. The productive dikes — lenticular, pod-shaped, or irregular in outline, with sharp contacts — are of the zoned variety. Zone contacts are gradational, except for those with the quartz core. Zones re identified as follows, see also Fig. 3. Border Zone: This outer zone, in contact with the country rock, is composed chiefly of fine-grained muscovite and biotite, with lesser quantities of finegrained microline and quartz. It is the narrowest zone, usually measurable in inches. Wall Zone: Lying between the border and intermediate zones, the wall zone is composed of medium-grained feldspar (often microcline), muscovite, and quartz. Usually it is the widest zone. Widths of 50 ft were noted. Intermediate Zone: Lying between the wall zone and core, the intermediate zone is composed principally of coarse-grained microcline (occasionally with some orthoclase and albite). It may also carry minor amounts of coarse-grained quartz and fine to medium-grained mica. The width varies from less than 3 ft to more than 30 ft. Core: The center of the dike is composed almost entirely of massive quartz, occasionally with minor amounts of fine-grained muscovite. The width reaches 30 ft. Lithium and other minerals of potential economic value are found in the following zones:

Jan 1, 1955

By W. F. Dietrich

Mineral fillers are relatively inert chemically under the conditions of use but have physical properties* that modify those of the materials • The properties. uses, and other data on 15 classes of important *The pro listed in the second edition of Industrial Minerals and Rocks.l A third edition of this reference is in preparation. in which they are incorporated. The mineral fillers considered in this article are asbestos, barite, clays, diatomite, crushed limestone, limestone whiting and lime, mica, silica, talc and soapstone, and pyrophyllite. Slate and stone, other than limestone and its derivatives, are excluded because, even though used in large quantities, they are exceptionally low-cost materials generally produced close to the area where they are used. Carbon black is excluded because it is manufactured from natural gas and more than 90 pct of the output is used in rubber; hence the factors for estimating requirements are easily evaluated. OVERALL GROWTH FACTORS Table I gives the population, retail sales, and value added by manufactures in the U. S. and in the eleven western states in 1954. These data are rough guides to the proportionate part of total U. S. markets for products containing mineral fillers that may be expected in a given area. For example, the population of the eight Mountain states in 1954 was 3.6 pct, and retail sales in these states were 3.8 pct of the U. S. total, but the value added by manufactures was only 1.3 pct of the U. S. total. On the other hand, the three Pacific Coast states, with 10.3 pct of the total population, had 12.0 pct of the retail sales and produced 9.6 pct of the value added by manufactures. On an industry-by-industry basis the correlation between the three guideposts will not be as close as shown in the 1954 data for the Pacific Coast states, but in the long-term view the continuing rapid population growth in the western states is certain to result in expanded industrial production at an even more accelerated pace, which will shorten the gap between local consumption and production in most major groups of manufactured consumer goods. Of course, there will always remain favorable areas for production of specific products. Such special situations must be individually analyzed. Fig. 1 compares the population trends in the U. S., the western states, and California with Real Gross National Product from 1910 to 1957, with forecasts to 1970. It is estimated' that the U. S. Real Gross National Product, as measured by the value of goods and

Jan 1, 1960

By E. A. Farrell

A comprehensive survey is made of the status of the asbestos industry as it relates to marketing the product. Included are descriptions of the various types of asbestos and the grading and classification systems used. The uses of asbestos, distribution practices, and types of ore bodies are all related to marketing. World production, the producers and their capacities and world consumption for 1966-67 are summarized and statistical data are included. Asbestos is a general term describing a family of fibrous minerals of the serpentine and amphibole mineral groups. Asbestos has a long history going back to the time of the Egyptians, when it was used as a lamp wick. The commercial mining of asbestos started in Canada, Russia, and Africa in the 1800's, and the first asbestos products were made in Italy and Russia. The five main types of asbestos are: chrysotile, accounting for 95% of the total mined, amosite, crocido-lite, anthophyllite, and tremolite. Canada, Russia, and Africa are the major producers of asbestos. The commercial utility of asbestos was at first based on the heat resistance of the fibrous mineral in the form of packing, at the start of the industrial revolution. Its current utility is based more on its ability to reinforce binders such as portland cement, rubber, and plastics. Its inertness to the chemical nature of most binders is unique. Most important is its ability to maintain its reinforcing utility when the product is exposed to weather and soil conditions as in asbestos cement boards and pipe, and heat, pressure, and chemical exposure as in brake linings and gaskets and packings. The mineral asbestos is also unique because its fibrous form permits it to be spun and woven to cloth or formed into paper. Many asbestos applications are critical to national defense and at the present time, there are no satisfactory substitutes. Grading and Classification Canadian chrysotile asbestos fiber is graded and priced by length since basically the longer the fiber the higher the utility. The Canadian asbestos industry does not, however, classify the fiber by direct length measurement, but by a dry screening test. The method is called the Quebec Standard Screen (QS) test. One pound of fiber is mechanically shaken in four vertically stacked sieve boxes. The relative proportions remaining on the sieves defines the grade. The longer the fiber, the larger is the amount that stays on the top coarse screens and the less on the lower, finer mesh screens. Other tests can be used to further define the length distribution of fiber such as the wet screen Bauer McNett and the Suter Webb Comb (3 group only). The Canadian grading system divides the milled fibers into 5 main groups: group 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, with 3 group being the longest, and 7 the shortest. Each group is further divided to subgrades, identified in each group by the letters A to Z, with "A" the longest and "Z" the shortest. See Appendix 1 for the Canadian QS classification system. The Russians also use the QS test on chrysotile. The Africans classify their chrysotile into grades similar to Canadian. The African crocidolite and amosite, however, are classified into actual length groups such as l to 2 in. and 2 to 3 in. Amosite and crocidolite are generally longer than chrysotile but also more brittle. Milled asbestos is not composed of staple length fibers like fiber glass or cotton, but of a mixture or blend of fibers ranging from long to short. Milled asbestos has a fiber length distribution similar to the particle size distribution of a powder. For example, the longest group 3 chrysotile grades have a high percentage of the longest fibers (1/2 to 3/4 in.) and low percentage of short fibers (0.003 in.). The figures in Table 1 give the approximate length distribution of the longest, middle, and shortest groups. A second and further method of classifying fiber is the degree to which the fiber bundles are separated to form a larger number of smaller diameter bundles. This property is normally described as the degree of fiberization, openness or surface area. Air permeability tests are used to measure surface area. Asbestos pro-

Jan 1, 1971

By R. E. Boehler, N. C. Ludwig

At Buffington Station, Gary, Ind., Universal Atlas Cement operates fourteen 8 x 101/2 x 155-ft cement kilns in mill 6 and two 11 x 360-ft kilns in the Harbor plant. The No. 11 and 12 kilns in mill 6 are equipped with Manitowac recuperator sections. This report describes studies in measuring exterior shell temperatures on several of these kilns and the development of a traveling radiation pyrometer with certain novel features. Preliminary Work: At first various temperature-sensing devices were placed on the steel shell: 1) crayons with calibrated melting points, 2) colored paints with temperature-calibrated pigments, 3) aluminum paints with temperature-calibrated binders, and 4) metal-stem dial thermometers. The colored paints and aluminum paints failed to indicate the temperatures correctly. The crayons and thermometers did indicate fairly correct temperatures, but it proved impossible to apply enough of these on the shell to detect all the potential areas where hot spots might develop. Furthermore, considerable labor was required to apply these sensors and read the temperatures. Consequently no further work was done with these devices. Formation of Hot Spots: In the burning or clinker-ing zone of a cement kiln, the thickness of the protective coating and thickness of the brick govern the amount of heat transmitted to the steel kiln shell. Usually the protective coating consists of 4 to 8 in. of fused cement clinker. The formation of a hot spot is usually caused by loss of coating? that is, localized areas of the coating become thin or fall away from the refractory. This is generally caused by excessive temperature in the burning zone over a fairly long period of time. It may also be caused by a sudden thermal change in the burning zone. Variations in raw feed composition and in feed rate require changes in the fuel and air rates, and when these are not appropriately altered, conditions may develop in the kiln that will result in loss of coating. Luminescence on the kiln shell indicates that a hot spot has developed to a point that usually alters the refractory's thermal conductivity properties. When this thermal weakness zone occurs in the burning zone of the kiln, constant vigilance is required to protect it by maintaining proper coating. Even so, it has been the writers' experience that within a period of several days to about four weeks the hot spot usually recurs with greater severity. This necessitates shutting down the kiln and re-bricking the affected area. One of the prerequisites of a good burnerman is the ability to maintain a protective coating despite the many variables in operation. When he knows that it is getting thin or that an area has dropped off, he reduces the firing rate and kiln speed and brings feed into the affected area in an effort to rebuild the coating. But when powdered fuel is burned, the atmosphere of the kiln may prevent the burnerman's observing the condition of the coating closely at all times without taking off the fire. It is not considered good practice to do this frequently, as it imposes a thermal shock on the coating and upsets operation of the kiln. To help the burnerman scan the shell of the kiln along the burning zone, therefore, a radiation pyrometer, connected to a potentiometric recorder, was mounted on a slowly moving steel cable. The theory of operation, construction details, and adaptability of the radiation pyrometer are included in an excellent monograph' and also in a textbook.' Shell temperatures of the Atlas Cement kilns were measured with a Brown Instruments Div. low intermediate range Radiamatic unit, of range 200" to 1200°F, and a circular chart Electronik potentio-metric recorder, of range 500" to 1000°F. In Bulletin 59095M the supplier publishes standard calibration data (millivolts vs degrees Fahrenheit) for this radiation pyrometer, These data, however, apply only to flat surfaces having emissivities of unity. Calibration of Radiation Pyrometer for Use on Curved Surfaces: When applied to surface temperature measurements, the radiation pyrometer reading depends on the nature of the surface, the material of which it is composed, and also to some extent on the temperature of the surroundings. Although the present radiation pyrometer is designed to give a calibrated response under ideal (black body) conditions when used commercially, it must be calibrated empirically. The calibration procedure, given below, follows that described by Dike (Ref. 1, pp. 38-39). Calibration tests on plane and curved surfaces showed that the response of the radiation pyrometer was very

Jan 1, 1961

By James S. Browning

For the past several years, USBM has conducted laboratory and continuous process development work on the weathered mica pegmatites ores of Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina to determine the feasibility of recovering commercial-grade mica concentrates by flotation. The research has resulted in the development of two processes for flotation of mica: 1) an acid-cationic method for recovery of coarse mica and 2) an alkaline-anionic-cationic method for recovery of fine mica. The research indicated that the two processes may be effectively utilized separately or in combination for flotation of mica from weathered pegmatite ores. This report summarizes the process development work, and demonstrates the feasibility of producing commercial-grade concentrates with a high recovery of the contained mica. Mica mining in the United States is confined largely to pegmatites and schists in a few well-defined areas. The largest region extends from central Virginia southward through western North and South Carolina, northern Georgia, and east-central Alabama.'" Whereas in western North Carolina, these pegmatite dikes are weathered to only a shallow depth, they are deeply weathered in the Carolina Piedmont and in Georgia and Alabama. Particularly in Georgia and Alabama, mica is found in the decomposed slates and schists adjacent to the pegmatites, and in deeply weathered granites. Most flake mica is obtained as the major marketable product by crushing and milling pegmatites4 To a lesser extent, mica is produced as a byproduct of feldspar" and spodumene. Past research by U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) has developed two methods for mica flotation. One method utilizes acid-cationic flotation for recovery of mica.' This method requires thorough desliming of the ore with consequent fine mica losses. The other utilizes an alkaline-anionic-cationic process for recovering fine-size mica from pegmatite ores after desliming sufficiently to remove clay materials but not so drastically as to remove the fine mica.8-18 The latter process has also been successfully applied to a micaceous schist ore from California.' This report summarizes the results of these research studies. Both of the flotation processes developed by USBM have been adopted by the mica industry and are being commercially utilized separately and in combination for flotation of mica from weathered pegmatite ores. Description of Ores The weathered mica pegmatite ores used in the investigations were obtained from commercial mica operations in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. The

Jan 1, 1971

By Gerald A. Munson, Fremont F. Clarke

DURING recent years the use of lithium has expanded greatly in industrial, chemical, and metallurgical fields, while at the same time modernized methods of mining and refining lithium have increased production. Technical literature includes many papers describing the geology and mineralogy of lithium deposits. Mining and beneficiating problems, however, have not been thoroughly described. Published reports have failed to emphasize that one of the chief reasons lithium minerals were not extensively mined until recently is the difficulty of beneficiation. Four lithium minerals of pegmatites and the lithium-sodium-phosphate byproduct from the brines at Searles Lake, Calif., have been sources of lithium. Among the pegmatite minerals, only spodu-mene and petaline are known to occur in deposits large enough to support large tonnage operations. Spodumene, a lithium-aluminum-silicate, is the principal lithium mineral mined in the U. S. Lithium Corp. of America, during its rapid development and growth, has successfully employed three different methods of concentration: 1) hand sorting, 2) Heavy Media separation, and 3) froth flotation. Each method, though economic in its sphere, is becoming outdated as extractive techniques improve. The most recent development has taken place at Lithium Corp.'s new operation in North Carolina, where the extractive process yields lithium compounds directly from mined rock without an intervening concentrating step. Until 1954 Lithium Corp. mined only in the southern part of the Black Hills of South Dakota, where the various types of lithium-bearing pegmatite could be used to develop untried processes of beneficiation. Concentrates from these operations are shipped to the corporation's chemical plant in St. Louis Park, Minn., where actual extraction of lithium and production of commercial compounds takes place. Nature of Deposits The geology of the southern Black Hills pegmatite deposits is admirably presented by a U. S. Geological Survey publication.' Only the factors pertinent to exploitation need be mentioned here. Lithium Corp. has been interested primarily in three deposits, the Edison, the Mateen, and the Longview-Beecher No. 2. The history of these deposits dates back to the mining boom of 1880 to 1900 in the Black Hills, when most of the deposits were prospected for tin by the ill-fated Harney Peak Tin Mining Co. The three deposits described here, however, lay idle and unwanted until Lithium Corp. opened the Edison mine in 1943 and the Mateen and Longview-Beecher No. 2 in 1951. Edison Deposit: The Edison deposit is about a mile southeast of Keystone, S. D., on the northeastern flank of the Harney Peak uplift. The deposit consists of no less than four and probably at least six separate pegmatites that coalesce in a central mass from which the individual pegmatites finger outward and downward in complexly folded schist and gneiss beds of the country rock.

Jan 1, 1956

By D. L. Rainey, E. R. Goter, W. R. Hudspeth

THE area in which spodumene-bearing pegmatites occur extends from Gaffney, S. C., in a northerly direction to Lincolnton, N. C., a distance of about 16 miles. The zone averages 2 miles in width. Interest in this area was first aroused by the discovery of small amounts of cassiterite in the peg-matites and in greissen which occurs on the walls of some of the pegmatites. Attempts were made from 1880 into the 1920's to mine and concentrate cas-siterite, but there were no successful operations. In 1935 L. M. Williams became interested in the area and began prospecting by trenching and sinking several small shafts. He gradually gained control of a considerable acreage south of the city of Kings Mountain, N. C. Mr. Williams states that he produced some ore from a shaft which he shipped to the Maywood Chemical Co. in the late 1930's. In 1937 G. H. Chambers of the Foote Mineral Co. visited the area and examined several properties, but the lithium market was too small to support the necessary concentrating plant. Early in World War II the Solvay Process Co., encouraged by various federal agencies, acquired the Williams properties and leases and started a drilling program to develop reserves for spodumene mining. A study of this area was also made under T. L. Kesler by the U. S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey. Starting in 1942 a concentrating plant, water supply dams, and shops and other buildings were constructed. The Superior Stone Co., a neighboring crushed stone operator, was awarded a contract to mine and crush the pegmatite ore. Late in 1943 the plant started operations, which were continued until February 1946. A drop in demand for lithium chemicals forced it to close and remain closed for several years. In 1948 the Foote Mineral Co. became interested in assuring itself a source of lithium ore on the North American continent, to be used in the production of lithium ore chemicals, and inspected properties in Canada, South Dakota, and North Carolina. The North Carolina deposits were the most promising. In the fall of 1950 the company leased the Solvay interests with option to buy and acquired additional properties. Renovation of the mill and preparation of the quarry for mining was begun in earnest in January 1951. A new crushing plant was built and construction started in July 1951. The flotation process used was developed in the North Carolina State Minerals Research Laboratory located at Asheville, N. C. Foote is now in the process of expanding its production. The crushing plant is being revamped and much of the old milling equipment purchased from Solvay will be replaced by new. Mining equipment of suitable capacity has been received and is in use. The frontispiece is a general view of the mill. The orebodies consist of pegmatite dikes composed of fine-grained albite and quartz, with varying amounts of mica and spodumene. The latter may amount to as much as 50 pct of the rock, but the overall average is about 15 to 20 pct. Tin, columbite-tantalite, beryl, and other valuable minerals are present in varying small amounts. These dikes, which intruded into the Roan Gneiss underlying most of the Piedmont area, strike approximately N 30 E and dip about 85" to the west. The gneiss has the same strike but dips about 70" west. The dikes lie in a belt extending from Lin-colnton, N. C., to Gaffney, S. C., and passing through

Jan 1, 1954

By T. C. Russell

The Conda phosphate mine, eight miles north of Soda Springs in Caribou County, Idaho, was opened up by the Anaconda Copper Mining CO. in 1920. Except for brief periods, during the 20's and early 30's, the mine has maintained a continuous production, and 2,100,000 short tons of phosphate rock have been shipped to the company's phosphate fertilizer manufacturing plant at Anaconda, Mont., or to independent processing plants on the Pacific Coast; a small tonnage of the rock has been shipped to the Hawaiian Islands. The Phosphoria formation on the Conda property consists of two, commercial-grade phosphate beds separated by 147 ft of black to brownish colored phosphatic calcareous shales interbedded with softer mudstones, clays, and occasional narrow seams of oolitic phosphate. The main lower phosphate bed in the series averaging 7.1 ft in thickness, is called the "foot-wall bed," which lies coriformably on the Wells limestone formation, the 1atter often containing irregular bands of chert. The upper or " hanging-wall bed" of phosphate rock averaging 7.2 ft in thickness, is overlaid by thick quartzite beds, locally called the " Rex chert" member in the upper portion of the Phosphoria formation. (Fig 1.) There are two anticlines on the property with axis striking approximately parallel to the mountain range beneath which extensive development on phosphate rock has been conducted in the past, and is now in progress. The phosphate beds have been eroded to a large extent from the tops of these anticlines, leaving at least three well-pronounced outcrops of the phosphate beds exposed within the boundaries of the Anaconda Copper Mining Cornpany's properties. At present, mining operations in the Conda No. 3 mine are confined to the two phosphate beds along the east flank of the easternmost anticline, where the dips on the beds vary from 50° to 60° east, thereby affording favorable conditions for the sublevel mining system now in use. Mining operations formerly were confined to the footwall or lower oolitic phosphate bed because of its higher phosphate and vanadium contents (32 pct P²O5 and 0.29 pct V2 O 5); this bed averages 7.1 ft in thickness. The oolitic portions of the upper bed were of satisfactory grade, but the shale and clay partings (Fig 2) diluted the mined rock and could not he separated economically by selective mining or by sorting. Experiments in beneficiating this rock were carried on for a number of years. Recently, a simple washing process was adopted, which gave a satisfactory grade of concentrates and a high recovery of P² O5. In 1947 it was decided to expand Anaconda's production of treble superphosphate and phosphoric acid by approximately 90 pct. This rock will be obtained from the footwall and hanging-wall beds, and the rock from the hanging-wall bed will be benefici-ated at -Anaconda.l In order to take advantage of the previous development on the 500 secondary haulage level, short crosscuts will be driven at approximately 950 ft intervals from the existing lateral drifts through the hanging-wall shale beds. From the inner end of each crosscut, short lateral drifts will he driven in both directions, so that four working raises can he put up on the dip of the phosphate bed at proper intervals along each of the lateral drifts. The mining operation on the footwall bed at Conda

Jan 1, 1950

By R. J. Armstrong, J. J. McKay

The Montana Phosphate Products Co. is currently operating three underground phosphate mines in Powell County, MOnt. † In this area the Phosphoria formation is from 35 to 50 ft thick and contains a bed of phosphate rock varying in thickness from 2 1/2 to 5 ft, overlain by 12 to 30 ft of cherty quartzite, and underlain by about the same thickness of quartzite and shaly to cherty beds. In general, the phosphate bed has a reasonably hard quartzite footwall, as well as a hard cherty hanging wall, both of which greatly facilitate the mining operation. Folding has deformed the phosphate bed to a considerable degree in the area. It is carried to surface by several of the anticlines and lowered to considerable depths in some of the syn-clines. The main structural features affecting the mining operations of the company are the Garrison anticline and the adjoining syncline and succeeding limb of a second anticline on the east (Fig I). The axis of the folding strikes roughly northwest-southeast. The three mines, namely, the Anderson, Graveley, and Luke are on different limbs of the above folds. Accordingly, the dip of the bed, and consequently the mining method, in each mine differs to a considerable degree from that of the others. For this reason, each operation will be dealt with separately. Anderson Mine LOCATION AND DEVELOPMENT Topographically this mine is in a narrow valley, the bottom of which has an altitude of 5200 ft. The phosphate bed outcrops near the ridge on the east and dips towards the valley floor at an angle of from 25 to 30°,

Jan 1, 1950

By W. R. Bendy

GRINDING is a large and costly part of Portland cement manufacture. Prior to clinkering in the rotary kiln, raw materials are ground to a fineness of 80 to 90 pct passing 200 mesh. Then, after burning and cooling, the resulting clinker is ground to about 92 pct passing 325 mesh. In the cement industry the most favored method of grinding has always been by impact and attrition of a ball charge in a rotating mill. Other types of mills, in which materials are ground between die rings and rollers, or between die rings and large balls, are sometimes used for single-stage grinding and often for preliminary grinding followed by grinding in ball-type mills. Their efficiency is usually high, but maintenance and repair costs are high also, and the ball-type mill continues to be the most widely used. Together with 4 pct gypsum to retard setting time, the kiln run clinker—consisting of hard, semi-fused lumps that may have been crushed to — 1/2 in.—is ground to a Blaine surface area of 3000 sq cm per gram and about 92 pct passing 325 mesh. Approximately 32 kw-hr per ton, or 6 kw-hr per 376-1b barrel, are consumed in the grinding mills alone, not counting auxiliaries. Open Circuit Clinker Grinding: Many early clinker grinding plants employed two-stage, open circuit grinding. Comparatively short mills of large diameter, loaded with balls 4 in. and smaller, first reduced the clinker to 95 pct passing 14 mesh. Tube mills of smaller diameter and greater length, loaded with balls 11/4 in. and smaller, carried out the fine grinding operation. An early development was to assemble two or more stages of grinding in a single mill having two, three, or four compartments separated by division heads. There were difficulties in balancing the compartments, but compartment mills were popular in the 1920's because the layout was simple and there were no elevators and conveyors. Oversize Particles: Open circuit mills, whether separate ball and tube mills or compartment mills, always encountered the problem of tramp oversize in the product. A small percentage of clinker survived passage through the first grinding stage as particles—perhaps 1/16 in. diam—that were too large for the smaller balls in the following stages to reduce to —200 mesh. When the feed rate was lowered to reduce tramp oversize, there were serious losses in grinding efficiency. Many ingenious designs were perfected to incorporate perforated screen plates or wire mesh screens in the ball mills or in the first compartments of compartment mills. Their purpose was to prevent mate: rial passing out of the first stage until it was small

Jan 1, 1958

By T. H. Janes

NATURAL abrasives of some type are found in all countries of the world. In order of their hardness the principal natural abrasives are diamond, corundum, emery, and garnet, which are termed high grade, and the various forms of silica, including pumice, pumicite, ground feldspar, china clay and, most important, sandstone. The properties qualifying materials for use as abrasives are hardness, toughness, grain shape and size, character of fracture, and purity or uniformity. For manufacture of bonded grain abrasives such as grinding wheels, the stability of the abrasive and its bonding characteristics are also important. No single property is paramount for all uses. Extreme hardness and toughness are needed for some applications, as in diamonds for drill bits, while for other purposes the capacity of the abrasive to break down slowly under use and to develop fresh cutting edges is of greatest importance, as with garnet for sandpaper. In dentifrices, soaps, and metal polishes, of course, hardness and toughness are objectionable. First among the natural abrasives, industrial diamonds are essentially of three types: l—bort, which includes off-color, flawed, or broken fragments unsuitable for gems; 2—carbonado, or black diamond, a very hard and extremely tough aggregate of very small diamond crystals; and 3—ballas, a very hard, tough globular mass of diamond crystals radiating from a common center. Bort comes from all diamond-producing centers, carbonados only from Brazil, and ballas chiefly from Brazil, although a few of this last group come from South Africa. By far the largest producer of industrial diamonds is the Belgian Congo; the Gold Coast, Angola, the Union of South Africa, and Sierra Leone supply most of the remainder. There is no production in Canada, which imports $6 to $9 million worth of industrial diamonds annually. Industrial diamonds find innumerable uses in modern industry. They are used for diamond drill bits for the mining industry; in diamond dies for wire drawing; in diamond-tipped tools for truing abrasive wheels and for turning and boring hard rubber, fibers, and plastics; and in diamond-toothed saws for sawing stone, glass, and metals. High-speed tool steels, cemented carbides, and other hard, dense alloys can be cut, sharpened, or shaped efficiently only with diamond-tipped tools and diamond grinding wheels. .. Second only to the diamond in hardness is corundum, an impure form of the ruby and sapphire gems consisting of alumina and oxygen (Al²O³) with impurities such as silica and ferric oxide. Corundum generally crystallizes from magmas rich in alumina and deficient in silica, as in the nepheline syenites of eastern Ontario. Grain corundum is used in the manufacture of grinding wheels; very coarse grain is used in snagging wheels. Both types of wheels are employed in the metal trades, where the hardness of corundum, coupled with its characteristic fracturing into sharp cutting edges, makes it an ideal cutting tool. The finest corundum (flour grades) is used for fine grinding of glass and high-precision lenses. From 1900 to 1921 Canada was the world's leading producer of corundum. Following this period the deposits located in northern Transvaal of the Union of South Africa supplied more and more of the world's requirements, and since 1940 South Africa has provided almost the entire output, which has ranged between 2500 to 7000 tons a year during the last decade. Minor amounts have also been produced in Mozambique, India, and Nyassaland. Opportunities for Mining Corundum Corundum deposits in southeastern Ontario are of three types, which may be described as follows: 1—Scattered, irregularly-shaped deposits of coarse-grained corundum which could be mined by means of small pits. About 10 groups of such deposits are known. Although the tonnage of individual deposits of this type is not great, it has been estimated that several years' ore supply is available for a small tonnage operation. Deposits average about 9 pct corundum. 2—Large irregular deposits of coarse-grained corundum which would require mining by adit with possibly a scavenger operation on the remains of former surface deposits. The Craigmont deposit of this type produced about 20,000 tons of corundum concentrate during operations between 1900 and 1913. Most of the readily available surface ore was removed by operators during that time. Reserves of ore above road level have been estimated to average 7 pct corundum, but none of the so-called reserves have been blocked out, or even indicated, by diamond drilling. From 1944 to 1946, 2025 tons of

Jan 1, 1955

By Arthur Hockman, Howard W. Jaffe, Howard F. Carl

THE problem of establishing practical techniques for evaluating natural corundum ores arose from the desire to improve the existing purchase specifications for crystal corundum procured by the Federal Government for stockpiling. Such purchase specifications had been developed for a large number of products, including minerals and ores considered to be critical and strategic because of the country's dependence on foreign sources of supply. It will be apparent to anyone considering the subject of purchase specifications that the determination of whether or not a submittal meets the specifications is a prime consideration. Consequently satisfactory specifications for minerals should not only incorporate physical, chemical, and mineralogical requirements that are practical but should also establish the means by which both buyer and seller can be assured that materials meet stated requirements. The Munition Board's Material Purchase Specification for corundum, dated February 1954, covered two grades of crystal corundum intended primarily for abrasive use. It established limits of size and of composition: Grade A, at least 95 pct +3 mesh and 92 pct alumina (Al2O3); Grade B, at least 95 pct +7 mesh and 90 pct alumina. It also specified that "of each lot of material, not less than 95 percent shall have a hardness equal to or exceeding nine (9) on Moh's Scale." These specifications were unsatisfactory for several reasons. They did not allow the purchase of lower grades of corundum being used by industry. Neither did they specify exactly what a corundum ore actually was, except that it should contain so much alumina and have a certain scratch hardness. Nothing was said about the abrasive qualities of the material that was to be purchased primarily for abrasive use. During the period 1946 to 1948 supplies of the two grades defined in the then current specifications continued to decrease. Early in 1949 industry recommended that the finer sizes of corundum known as "crystal corundum concentrates," ¼-in. to 16-mesh material, be added to the stockpile specifications and that lower grades of crystal corundum also be included. In the spring of 1949 the National Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Mines were asked by the Munitions Board to cooperate in developing more practical specifications for grading natural corundum ores. The National Bureau of Standards indicated that it would investigate physical test methods for determining abrasive characteristics of corundum, and the Eastern Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines at College Park, Md., stated that it would consider the mineralogical aspects of the problem. Members of these two agencies, in consultation with representatives of the Office of Materials Resources of the Munitions Board and of the Federal Supply Service of the General Services Administration, and with the cooperation of industrial suppliers and consumers of abrasive corundum, developed, in a fairly short time, more practical specifications for six grades of corundum ores. The new specifications, issued January 1951, were for corundum, natural crystals, as by this time high-purity synthetic corundum was available and widely used. Nevertheless, for certain specific applications the natural product was preferred over the synthetic material. It has been extensively used in forming snagging wheels. It breaks into more or less cubical particles, whereas artificial corundum fractures into splintery shapes. These produce irregular cuts in glass, while the more symmetrical shape produces a more uniform ground surface. For this reason natural corundum has been preferred for certain types of lens grinding. Pure corundum is clear, colorless alpha alumina (A12O3), but it is rarely found in nature in this form. The most important gem varieties include the blue and yellow sapphires and the ruby. Minute impurities of titanic oxide impart a blue color,

Jan 1, 1955

By A. E. J. Engel

The New York talc deposits of commercial importance are in St. Lawrence and Lewis counties, in the northwest Adirondack Mountains (Fig 1). All of the deposits are of pre-Cambrian age and occur within highly deformed and recrystallized marble of the Gren-ville series. The deposits in St. Lawrence County, near Gouverneur, are the largest and most productive of their type known in the Western Hemisphere. In 1948 the seven mines which are in operation will produce about 130,000 tons of ground talc. All talc production in Lewis County is from one mine. There the annual production ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 tons. These so called talcs of New Yorb State include earth materials of different chemical and mineral compositions. In general the mineral talc is subordinate in amount to other minerals in both the Gouverneur and Natural Bridge deposits. In the Gouverneur district the mineral talc comprises less than 25 pct of the mined and ground rock. Most of the rock mined is a tremolite- or tremolite-anthophyllite schist somewhat altered to serpentine and talc. This characteristic in no way tlevaluates the "talc" for certain markets, and in some instances makes the material more desirable. The Natural Bridge talcs include types high in serpentine, as well as complex aggregates of serpentine, talc, carbonates, and diopside. Usage of the term talc, however, for

Jan 1, 1950

By W. B. Mather

A RKANSAS is not only a geologist's paradise, but Ait is also particularly fortunate in possessing a wide variety of mineral resources. The future mineral production and mineral industry of Arkansas, like the other states in Mid-America, will probably depend to a large degree on efforts to increase the exploitation of the non-metalliferous deposits of the state. The term nonmetalliferous, as used in this paper, embraces all types of mineral deposits, except fuels, water, and those deposits from which, after bene-ficiation, metals are ultimately derived. For example, bauxite is the ore of aluminum, but a considerable portion of the bauxite mined eventually is employed in the production of nonmetallic alumina, an important oxide in the abrasive and ceramic industries. The bulk of the production, however, becomes metallic aluminum and therefore this type of mineral resource is considered metalliferous and is omitted from this paper. Arkansas' nonmetalliferous deposits are of many different types, too numerous to discuss in detail in a single paper; therefore, only their salient features are presented. Many types of deposits such as limestone, glass sand, novaculite, shale, and sandstone are exposed over wide areas, providing inexhaustible reserves. Other types of deposits, such as barite and tripoli, contain large reserves which certainly are not unlimited. Still other types of deposits, such as celestite, kaolin, and vermiculite, appear to occur in small isolated deposits containing relatively small reserves. Of course, all of Arkansas' nonmetalliferous deposits probably have not as yet been recognized, nor have all of the known deposits been prospected, tested, and evaluated. Various types of deposits are too low grade or too limited in extent to be profit- ably produced by today's standards. In the case of other deposits, the known uses are few in number, thus acting as a retarder to their development. Due to anticipated technologic advancements, the future demands of industry are not expected always to be the same as they are today, and therefore idle deposits or those of current limited production may readily become the important revenue producers of the future. The types of nonmetalliferous deposits discussed here include: clays, shales, and slates; silica deposits including glass sand, novaculite, tripoli, sandstone, chert, and quartz crystals; limestone and dolomite; barite; gypsum; celestite; nepheline syenite; green-sand; phosphate; vermiculite; fuller's earth; ben-tonite; diamonds; sand, and gravel. The location of the various types of deposits are presented on the accompanying map (fig. 1). Symbols indicate the general area of occurrence. Many deposits, such as limestone, shale, novaculite, and so on, are represented by formations which could only be properly shown on a geological map. In these instances only active deposits or those of exceptional merit are indicated by symbols on the map. A general northeast-southwest line divides the interior highland from the Gulf Coastal and Mississippi Alluvial Plains of south and east Arkansas. The data presented in this paper are only a surnmary of a portion of a more comprehensive survey and study of the natural resources of the entire state.' The study was sponsored and underwritten by the Arkansas Power and Light Co., Little Rock, as a public service to the state and its residents. Permission to present some of the data and conclusions resulting from the survey is gratefully acknowledged. Table I, prepared by the Arkansas Geological Survey from state severance tax records, presents the annual production secured from Arkansas nonmetalliferous mineral deposits. Clays, Shales, and Slates Clays: It is realized that each method of classifying clays is prone to criticism. In this paper, Arkansas' clays of potential value are arbitrarily

Jan 1, 1951

By W. B. Mather

A RKANSAS is not only a geologist's paradise, but Ait is also particularly fortunate in possessing a wide variety of mineral resources. The future mineral production and mineral industry of Arkansas, like the other states in Mid-America, will probably depend to a large degree on efforts to increase the exploitation of the non-metalliferous deposits of the state. The term nonmetalliferous, as used in this paper, embraces all types of mineral deposits, except fuels, water, and those deposits from which, after bene-ficiation, metals are ultimately derived. For example, bauxite is the ore of aluminum, but a considerable portion of the bauxite mined eventually is employed in the production of nonmetallic alumina, an important oxide in the abrasive and ceramic industries. The bulk of the production, however, becomes metallic aluminum and therefore this type of mineral resource is considered metalliferous and is omitted from this paper. Arkansas' nonmetalliferous deposits are of many different types, too numerous to discuss in detail in a single paper; therefore, only their salient features are presented. Many types of deposits such as limestone, glass sand, novaculite, shale, and sandstone are exposed over wide areas, providing inexhaustible reserves. Other types of deposits, such as barite and tripoli, contain large reserves which certainly are not unlimited. Still other types of deposits, such as celestite, kaolin, and vermiculite, appear to occur in small isolated deposits containing relatively small reserves. Of course, all of Arkansas' nonmetalliferous deposits probably have not as yet been recognized, nor have all of the known deposits been prospected, tested, and evaluated. Various types of deposits are too low grade or too limited in extent to be profit- ably produced by today's standards. In the case of other deposits, the known uses are few in number, thus acting as a retarder to their development. Due to anticipated technologic advancements, the future demands of industry are not expected always to be the same as they are today, and therefore idle deposits or those of current limited production may readily become the important revenue producers of the future. The types of nonmetalliferous deposits discussed here include: clays, shales, and slates; silica deposits including glass sand, novaculite, tripoli, sandstone, chert, and quartz crystals; limestone and dolomite; barite; gypsum; celestite; nepheline syenite; green-sand; phosphate; vermiculite; fuller's earth; ben-tonite; diamonds; sand, and gravel. The location of the various types of deposits are presented on the accompanying map (fig. 1). Symbols indicate the general area of occurrence. Many deposits, such as limestone, shale, novaculite, and so on, are represented by formations which could only be properly shown on a geological map. In these instances only active deposits or those of exceptional merit are indicated by symbols on the map. A general northeast-southwest line divides the interior highland from the Gulf Coastal and Mississippi Alluvial Plains of south and east Arkansas. The data presented in this paper are only a surnmary of a portion of a more comprehensive survey and study of the natural resources of the entire state.' The study was sponsored and underwritten by the Arkansas Power and Light Co., Little Rock, as a public service to the state and its residents. Permission to present some of the data and conclusions resulting from the survey is gratefully acknowledged. Table I, prepared by the Arkansas Geological Survey from state severance tax records, presents the annual production secured from Arkansas nonmetalliferous mineral deposits. Clays, Shales, and Slates Clays: It is realized that each method of classifying clays is prone to criticism. In this paper, Arkansas' clays of potential value are arbitrarily

Jan 1, 1951

By J. P. Smith

DURING the winter of 1946 to 1947 potash operations in Germany, France and Spain were visited by the author. The U. S. Department of Commerce, through its Field Intelligence Agency Technical, sponsored the inspection of German properties by representatives of the American Potash Industry. Vast deposits of potash salts occur in the above-mentioned countries, and the production and marketing of these salts are important in their respective economies. Germany An area of some ten thousand square miles of north central Germany is underlain by lenses of potash salts interbedded with greater thicknesses of sodium chloride or common salt. These salt measures are relict deposits from the evaporation of an arm of the Zechstein (Permian) Sea which formerly covered northern Europe. During the peak year of 1940, Germany produced salts containing 1,860,000 tons of K,O and, next to coal, potash is its most important mineral raw material. The German deposits are found in the synclinal areas flanking the Flechtingen, Hartz Mountain and Thuringian uplifts, and, to the north they lie beneath the plains of Hannover. The regional dip of the salt measures is to the north, hence, lenses of potash found at depths of 500 to 1000 m* in the Two general depositional provinces of potash concentrations are recognized: (1) the main basin, and (2) the subsidiary basin. The main basin embraces the producing districts of Stassfurt, Sud Hartz, Halle, and Hannover-Braunschweig. From J. P. SMITH, Member AIME, is Clzief Geologist, U. S. Potash Co., Carlsbad, New Mexico. New York Meeting, February 1948. TP 2621 H. Discussion of this paper (2 copies) may be sent to Transactions AIME before Feb. 28, 1950. Manuscript received May 26, 1948. 40 to 45 pct of the German production comes from this basin. The Werra-Fulda district, producer of 50 pct or more of the German potash, lies in the subsidiary basin. Salt Stratigraphy: Five commercial potash zones or beds are recognized. The three beds present in the main basin are: The Stassfurt bed that occurs near the top of the older salt, and the Ronnenberg and Riedel beds in the younger salt occurring 200 to 300 m, respectively, above the Stassfurt bed. The Stassfurt bed is found over the entire main basin, while the Ronnenberg and Riedel are restricted to the Hannover area. Two potash beds occur in the Werra basin. These are the Thuringian, or lower bed and the Hessen or upper potash bed that occurs 60 m above. These beds lie 210 and 150 m, respectively, below the position of the Stassfurt bed, and are restricted to the Werra basin. The upper bed is 2.5 to 11.5 m in thickness, and the principal ores are hartsalz with varying thicknesses of carnallite. The lower bed averages 3 m in thickness, and contains hartsalz. The upper bed is presently being mined, and the

Jan 1, 1951

By J. P. Smith

DURING the winter of 1946 to 1947 potash operations in Germany, France and Spain were visited by the author. The U. S. Department of Commerce, through its Field Intelligence Agency Technical, sponsored the inspection of German properties by representatives of the American Potash Industry. Vast deposits of potash salts occur in the above-mentioned countries, and the production and marketing of these salts are important in their respective economies. Germany An area of some ten thousand square miles of north central Germany is underlain by lenses of potash salts interbedded with greater thicknesses of sodium chloride or common salt. These salt measures are relict deposits from the evaporation of an arm of the Zechstein (Permian) Sea which formerly covered northern Europe. During the peak year of 1940, Germany produced salts containing 1,860,000 tons of K,O and, next to coal, potash is its most important mineral raw material. The German deposits are found in the synclinal areas flanking the Flechtingen, Hartz Mountain and Thuringian uplifts, and, to the north they lie beneath the plains of Hannover. The regional dip of the salt measures is to the north, hence, lenses of potash found at depths of 500 to 1000 m* in the Two general depositional provinces of potash concentrations are recognized: (1) the main basin, and (2) the subsidiary basin. The main basin embraces the producing districts of Stassfurt, Sud Hartz, Halle, and Hannover-Braunschweig. From J. P. SMITH, Member AIME, is Clzief Geologist, U. S. Potash Co., Carlsbad, New Mexico. New York Meeting, February 1948. TP 2621 H. Discussion of this paper (2 copies) may be sent to Transactions AIME before Feb. 28, 1950. Manuscript received May 26, 1948. 40 to 45 pct of the German production comes from this basin. The Werra-Fulda district, producer of 50 pct or more of the German potash, lies in the subsidiary basin. Salt Stratigraphy: Five commercial potash zones or beds are recognized. The three beds present in the main basin are: The Stassfurt bed that occurs near the top of the older salt, and the Ronnenberg and Riedel beds in the younger salt occurring 200 to 300 m, respectively, above the Stassfurt bed. The Stassfurt bed is found over the entire main basin, while the Ronnenberg and Riedel are restricted to the Hannover area. Two potash beds occur in the Werra basin. These are the Thuringian, or lower bed and the Hessen or upper potash bed that occurs 60 m above. These beds lie 210 and 150 m, respectively, below the position of the Stassfurt bed, and are restricted to the Werra basin. The upper bed is 2.5 to 11.5 m in thickness, and the principal ores are hartsalz with varying thicknesses of carnallite. The lower bed averages 3 m in thickness, and contains hartsalz. The upper bed is presently being mined, and the

Jan 1, 1951

By Thomas L. Kesler

Essentially all of the barite produced in Georgia has come from the Carters-ville district in the northwest part of the state. The earliest recorded shipment of ore, 60 tons, was made in 1894.' With the exception of the four-year period 1931 to 1934, the separate yearly output has been recorded and published since 1915, whereas the total yearly output of the United States has been published since 1880. The separately recorded production of Georgia (Cartersville) through 1947 is 2,232,544 short tons valued at $14,900,746,2 but unpublished data on the period 1931 to 1934, plus the estimated unrecorded output prior to 1915, make the actual total about 2,400,000 short tons. This is about 21 pct of the total production of the United States, which, through 1947, is 11,328,440 short tons valued at $71,683,386.2 The barite-producing part of the Cartersville district is relatively small, having from north to south a length of 4.5 miles, and a width of 2 miles. This small area, containing 35 barite mines, is the source of practically all of the barite produced in the state. The area is hilly, and has a total relief of 500 ft. The west-flowing Etowah River crosses the middle of the area, and is an unfailing source of water for operations on properties near its course. Opencut mining is carried on during the entire year, but is hampered by rain in the winter and early spring. Three railroads, two U.S. highways, and a network of graded roads provide access to and within the district, as well as excellent shipping facilities for ore and supplies. In addition to the barite, the district contains deposits of manganese, brown iron, ocher, umber, and specular hematite. Geologic Setting The area containing the barite deposits is underlain by Lower Cambrian rocks and their weathered residua. These rocks are grouped in three formations; in ascending order, these are the Weisner, the Shady, and the Rome. The Weisner formation consists mainly of finely micaceous metashale containing many random beds of quartzite, a few beds of conglomerate and metasiltstone, and beds of crystalline limestone that is apparently scarce. The formation is more than 1000 ft thick, and the base is not exposed. On account of their resistance to weathering, the rocks of the Weisner formation have sustained the higher elevations and therefore crop out on the ridges that characterize the area. Nearly all of these ridges are underlain by asymmetric anticlinal folds, and conversely the intervening valleys are underlain by synclinal folds. A diagrammatic section, showing typical mode of exposure of the Weisner rocks and their relation to overlying formations, in the limb of a fold, is shown in Fig 1. The Shady formation here consists of a lithologically distinctive series of variably siliceous specular hematite beds and thin beds of dolomite, which in places contain abundant fossils. In the zone of weathering, the dolomite has been leached and most of the hematite hydrated to ocherous and umber-ous clays, hut bedding planes in these weathered materials are commonly well preserved with or without distortion effected by slumping. This preservation of structure during weathering is lacking in the residuum that rests on the Rome dolomite, which is described below. The maximum thickness of the

Jan 1, 1950