Information Circular 6122: Graphite Part 2: Domestic and Foreign Deposits
Information Circular 6122: Graphite Part 2: Domestic and Foreign Deposits by United States Department of Commerce Bureau of Mines (1929). Full text and…
Public-domain full text preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library. Original source: archive.org.
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CircuLar 6122 May, 1929
Information Circular
Department Of Commerce - Bureau Of Mines
Graphite
PART Il -DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN DEPOSITS
By
Paul M. Tyler
Circular No. 6122.
May, 1929. INTORMATION CIRCULAR DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE - BUREAU. OF MINES : GRAPEHI TE PART II. DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN Deposits" By Paul M. Tyler? TABLE OF CONTENTS WOYVOWORG: 284064050 sea us Mewes. Washington .wccccrccvcsccceee LO Domestic deposits pees Seesaw se 4 cae ee Wisconsin ee ee eee - 13 RUADENA..<i cen eateles santeas -3.5 4 Wyoming sscevsgecese LG A GBKS. 660205 oanesaes eae 4 "Foreign deposits sccecccveone 14 Arkansas .ssccccsccccvccccces 4° North America: ee aes California peuneiees eerie, 70) Canada, o 0.. enbeweweewes: LO Colorado... ..ee.ee. Sen baneceres 5 MOXACO osccesccwscnce escvecse LS Georgia. rave ease icisswesiesieewes: (O South America: seues ieieew LC Idaho sclera gue eie aie cubes caress eiaes 6 ae : 16 MeIn6, sass eabwrh ese Austria cecccceee taceee 26 Massackasetts. (seedy eseeetewe, "Oo Czechoslovakia essccceee 17 Michigan eeeeen Se en eee 7 4 bate —— -@avcecene eee 18 Montana ee ecvcesc$se ne! ) a '-. France ara a a ee oe ee 18 " NOVAGS. V08escee ese etwas eae 7H Dtaly. sssasicaccae aces Se New Jersey rbeCbee ses eee knees 8 Spain hceisaraddewsewesawe ces 19 New Mexico' se esesesececsseses 9 Russia ateageceesereesescens 19 New York ee eel Asia: .>—sas:. 20 North Carolina s... Ll (COT LOD cock ces cwewesacecucnes 20 Pennsylvania . vite eteeee neces 11 Chosen (Korea) ..cceseeceoee Sl Rhode Island cocesese LO French IndowChina ese+ 22 South Dakota a a a or er ee oe 2 12 India Cre ee Qe TOEAG" sissies eae wave ba oc bless 12 JAPAN osecsevcracccvscccece . 20 Utah vedas eaioat csaveeuntoes 12 Africa: ao — Cr ecees A er ee ae Madagascar ...cesssssrecssee 20
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1 — The Bureau of Mines will welcome reprinting of this 'Article but requests
that the.following footnote acknowledgment be used: "Printed by permission of the Director, U. Bureau of Mines. (Not subject to copyright. "
a: Assistant 'bo men 2 economics. vanes U. Bureau of Mines.
Inf.Cir.No.6122. FOREWORD
Graphite occurs in many places in the. United States, but previous to
1914 the domestic production amounted to only 15 to 20 per cent of the natural graphite consumed in this country. Including artificial graphite, the praportion was about 25 per cent: Ditring the World War the 'production of both natural and artificial graphite increased until. in 3918 it contributed more than onehalf of the available supply, and since 1919 the proportion has not fallen below 40 per cent. Except during the war: period, however, this apparently increasing independence has not been due to any large increase in production from domestic mines. It simply reflects a larger. output of artificial graphite and reduced imports of Ceylon lump and chip, grades which have never been produced in substantial quantity in the United saaaigiad
Douss# iC DEPOSTIS'
@ewrnrerte s
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characteristically lLowsgts fle. They nbestitnke an. "abundant source of: are supply , but in normal. times. they have proved relatively costly to. work,.-and even at. the same price the. Narious ee have..neyer,. been able wholly to —
graphite, from. Mertens, -
" Marked chances - in 'the, 'athe of ee ies + es have reduced. the 'aemaba for crucible grades of graphite, -so: that differences in quality between. the -dotiestic and foreign supplies: 'tend now to be of less; significance than formerly.: The 8e changes Likewise have ir be 'satisfied by artificial graphite whose range . of. usefulness. includes many of the applications of crystalline as well as of amorphous grades.. Since there is normally a surplus of petroleum coke and an:ample supply of anthracite coal, the production of artificial graphite could doubtless he expanded readily if. necessary -- probably much faster.than the output of crystalline graphite, all of -which has to be concentrated. In Alabamg;and elsewhere, however, there are many idle mills that could probably be started again, rather promptly. The principal known deposits of crystalline flake graphite in the United States are in. Alabama, California, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and. Virginia. Other localities include Alaska;. Colorado, and North Carolina. In Montana is the only known domestic deposit. of vein graphite. . Amorphous graphite is found more or less abundantly in Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Rhade Island, New Mexico, and Wisconsin, and there are great beds of graphitic schists of possible commerclal significance in Maine and ws seit ao bce and I hc other western States. Pe i ee
3 - The data herein ivan wane cuanaae 7 Saeerie Santis have ion —: mainly from Mineral Resources chapters prepared by Bastin, Fergusan,. and... -. Middleton, or from other published sources, and are supplemented by a very limited amount of field work by the writer. oo
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Inf. Cir eNO 6222 °:
ie Alabama. - Moderate-sized- flake: graphite, rather smaller than that produced in certain other: 'localities, occurs:.iri Alabama in -bands-of -graphitic schist: 'in Clay, Coosa, and Chilton Counties in the vicinities of Ashland,. Mountain Creek, and: Good Water, respectively. The. schist usually dips steeply to the southeast and, associated with. granitic intrusions, occurs in lenses up to 100 feet wide in 'metandiphic 'rocks, usually -pre-Cambrian schists similar to the ore itself 'but: containing more mida.*. According to Dr..Ws Be Jones, Alabama State Geologist, 'graphite outcroppings are.found in.four counties in 16 different beds, of which 13 aré-df-commércial importance. He considers the 'supply limitless.° Thé rock: is" 'largely 'quartz 'with 'some. mica and apatite, and with . rarely more than:3' or 4. "per: 'cént of: graphite. The average war-time yield per. ton mined was about '49 'pounds "of 'No. .1° flake, 5 pounds of No. 2 flake, and 3 pounds' 'of dust -~"a recovery:.of a trifle more. 'than 50 per cent of the: total graphite, which averaged' 'about 23: per cent in the rock as mined, - Subsequently, more efficient milling has. made possible a 75 per cent recovery from rock containing ° only 2 percent of graphite, the yield per.ton being about 14 pounds of No. l, 4 pounds: of No.'2, atid:7 pounds of-dust (mainly No. 3 dust containing 75 to 86 per cent' carbon).° Usually.a.small amount of. overburden (1 to 6 feet). "has to-be rémoved,.andthining.is' stopped at .30- to 60 feet: where hard, unweathéred "blue rock" is reached. The' deposits are worked opencast, and. few — mines are as mich as 75 feet:.deep. The weathered ore; can be: mined. largely by hand picks and is much easier:to mill than the:hard ore.. The latter, moreover, contains' a small amount' of pyrite; which is: not present in the.weathered horizons of the ore bodies. Amdrphous. graphite' is also found, in Alabama in the feebly crystalline schists or the Talladega slates," as a black graphitic clay free. from: grit.- 'Occurrences of this sort have been. observed near. Millerville An: Clay County: and in the'vicinity of Blue Hill. in Tallapoosa. County, but. such material is. difficult to heii seine and has sai sabe 'been worked ecu. to any great extent. . ee me Graphite ining tin Alabama was 'aieuniets as eau as: 1888 and Was established in a small way" in 1900. . The chief development of graphite in.. . Alabama, however,' occurred during 1917 and 1918, when.for a time there were 39 concentrating mills in thé area, over one-half of. which were in actual. operation. Activity - contimed after the -Armistice until later in 1920, when the industry. collapsed,' remaining - almost at a standstill until 1926. In 1927.three. operators ; reported sales of 3,474,000 pounds "of crystalline graphite, or two~thirds of. - 'the total for the United 'States. "Though only a little less than one-half the record salés made in 1918, the (1927 Pia ae was more than double the ae duction in pre-war years.:: 3 :
4 Prouty, W. Fe, "Geology and mineral resources of Clay County": Rept. No. l, Geol. Survey of Alabama, 1923. -Brown, John S., "Graphite deposits of Ashland, Alabama": Econ. "G6ol.,-vol. 20, No. 3, May, 1925... - 5 Statement before Ways and Mears. 'Committee, Tariff Readjustment Hearings, .. L929. 6 - McCalley ,' ee Alabama: Geol. Survey. 'Rept.: 'Valley pt. :2,.. aie pp. sai aaa a eee ge
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Inf. oe
In. 1927 the-producing companies ;were the Bama Graphite. Mines, successor to the. 'Flaketown Graphite Co., The Superior Flake Graphite Co., and the Southwestern Consolidated Graphite Co. which has been operating for a number of years in Texas and recently took.over and operated the plant of the Ceylon Co. at Hollins, Ala. The Alabama-Quenelda Graphite Co., successor to the Quenelda Graphite Corporation, expects to operate during 1928.° According to Bastin,' the quarry and mill of the Quenelda Co. were located a little over eight miles west of Ashland, to which the concentrate is hauled for shipment. The rock mined is highly schistose, and is composed largely. 'of 'quartz and graphite. Feldspar and mica are rare, but a white fibrous mineral' (probably sillimanite) is abundant. The original mill which combined wet' and dry concentration was destroyed by SF ae The property of the Flaketown Graphite Co. is in Chilton County, about 34 miles northeast of Mountain Creek (the nearest shipping point). The rock is a graphitic quartz schist of the same general type as those mined in the vicinity of Ashland. Small quantities of green micaceous mineral, probably muscovite, are present in some specimens, but in general mica is rare. A dike of. granite pegmatite 1 foot wide intrudes the graphitic schist at the main pit, lying parallel to the foliation. Within 1 or 2-inches of the schist it carries graphite in scattered flakes up to 1/8-inch .in diameter. An analysis made by. the United States Geological Survey of a composite sample of graphitic schist collected from a number of different - exposures of this property, showed 4.63 per cent of graphite... During-part of the year electric power for the mill is generated by water power from a 24-foot dam on Chestmut Creek. Auxiliary steam poe has also meen installed.
: Alaska - Crystalline graphite was produced. intermittently in' Alaska from: 1905 until 1918. Most of the output was in the nature of trial shipments, chiefly. to experimental mills in the State of Washington, although a little of it was manufactured into foundry facings in San Francisco. The. deposits which occur on the northern and southern slopes of the Kigluaik Mountains, in the southern part of Seward Peninsula, have. been visited by geologists of the United States Geological Survey . The lenses of graphite occur in association with quartz schists. carrying biotite, and garnet schists carrying some calcite. Granitic rocks are found nearby. Locally there are two or three series of graphite lenses which are parallel in strike and dip. It is not. known whether these are distinct horizons, or merely result from faulting or. folding. There are a number of exposures snowing lenses varying in thickness :from one foot to several feet, and it is reported that these deposits of graphite offer an opportunity for large production... Transportation problems are simple, 'as ore could be carried to Graphite Bay, a good shallow-water harbor.® :
Arkansas - In Arkansas graphite has been reported in the western part of Pulaski County and also in Crawford County. Some development was in progress in Crawford County in 1910 on material, said to rum 40 to 60 per cent in carbon, but. Bastin, who examined the prospects in 1912,. reports that. the deposit was
7 =U. §S. Geological Survey,, Mineral Resources of tha United. States, 1913: Pt. 2, ppe 191-193.
8 - U. S.- Bureau of Mines, Mineral Resources of the United States, 1917: Pt. 2, pope 11115. 7
2766 i, ces
Inf.Cir.No. 61220 0570
not <akglebass ese Was a: sini bed of: beiniahiicentt tha vert ae Mae ee
california - - california win wciaaina: 1927 'after. a lapse of. four: years. The Standard Graphite Corporation revived a property which, though worked intermittently. for 30 years, seemed incapable.of commercial production before the flotation process was introduced. 'The;ore is-crystalline graphite .. occurring: in. small flakes finely disseminated through schists..which are locally enriched up to a thickness of 100 feet, and contain-lenses of. -high-grade ore varying in width from 6 inches to 15 feet. Mining is conducted by means. of . shallow vsciiniaie and. bigrilng ate
"mis mine is Vetusbed 'iat 15 miles. nies Los Pen "a is 3° characteristic of.other deposits in Los Angeles and San. Diego: Counties, all of which resemble in a.general way characteristic occurrences in New York, Pennsy1- vania, and Alabama. . The California. flake, however, is much smaller than that found in many' of the?eastern deposits; often being only. QO.25 .millimeter..in . diaméter. The percentage of graphite, however, is higher, and due to the Hants that. mica-is practically absent, it is fairly easy to concentrate by modern — methods into a product suitable for foundry facings and paints. Probably products even purer could be:made if necessary, but the smallness of the flake makes it of little value for crucibles or refractories, although it is probably suitable for lubricating stock. Before the sida was some — was mined — in? Calaveras and secnpicaasans Cometeeaee a See :
: Colorado - iii eemtted was poet fairly pies in Colorado before 1922.. A considerable. portion of the output was sent to a mill at Warren,. Ohio, where it was prepared: for use in paints, foundry facings, etc. The .. . deposits appear to be' related in origin with the Cretaceous coal deposits of the Crested Butte area. - Anthracite coal has also been, found nearby. In addition - to the main bed, there are a:.number of subordinate beds, interbedded with white , to gray crystalline limestone, buff quartzite, and..gray to. purple. silicious schists.. A dike of fine-grained granite cuts the sediments a few feet.from the . Main graphite bed, which varies in thickness from & to 4 feet, and about one. half of-which has been second-grade ore: containing. more clay and less graphite. than the' first-grade ore, which is dull black and very pure. The first-grade ' graphite used to be 'packed in bags, while second-grade was shipped in. bulk. The property of the Yederal Graphite Co., the principal producer, was situated northeast of Turret in Chaffee County, 5 miles froma siding of. the Denver & Rio Grande 'Railroad.' . Sinee 1916 graphite has been produced in some. eee in Gunnison: County, near en elitahahl x0 ime from the railroad.
Georgia nue iis aeiaioail 3 no true panies but a quantity Sah oe in containing '2 to 15 percent 'carbon quarried near Cartersville in Bartow County has been ground for use as a filler and dryer in fertilizers. For some -: years prior to 1910, the output of this material was included in the production statistics; but'-since it is not adapted for any of the purposes for. which higher grades i Dc so tas Brapea te are used — since ) these aia Seal grades are not used
9 - Hut - Hubler, We — "iGoncentrating ais in oe Californial Eng. and Mine eben VoL. —. Jurie sO, 1928, [psi snl -
¥
ms
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Tnf.Cir.No76122." -
as.fertilizer filler, this aia is no ee "aaa as 'graphite. "Et formerly sold at $1625 to $1.50 a short ton f.o.d.,. aes The Sepceehn Se been desoribed by Hayes. and Palen. 1°; oo these " :
Idaho - In. 1908 a er mine was. 'opened in Ketchum, Blaine county; Idaho, and a little amorphous graphite was. reported to have been produced in the following year. Graphitic schists occur near Salmon River, near Grangeville; a specimen analyzed by the United States Geological Survey in 1912 contained Ve +674 fixed carbon.
' Maine' + Graphite is known to occur in several localities in Maine, and in 1905" an an unsuccessful attempt. was made to mine it 'near Madrid in Franklin County." 'Accérding to George. Otis - 'Smith graphite occurs at Madrid in very: small particles; 'ranging from 0.5 .t0:0. 20 millimeters in diameter, agreed evenly distributed in'a'schist near its contact with granite pegmatite: A:sample analyzed 8.5, per cent graphite, but: it would be extremely. difficult to prepare-a marketable product bécause the zranphite, in addition to being" so small, is intimately associated with mica flakes (muscovite). In Cumberland County, 12 miles north- - "west of Yarmouth, grevhite occurs as. disseminz. ted flake' in a' dike of granite
"pegmatite... The sample analyzed.9 per cent graphite by weight, but as the dike "is only 1 fdot wide, the: deposit is not considered to ave any immediate value.
Massachusetts - Considerable hintortead interest attaches to a érajphite ' deposit near Sturbridge between: Worcester and Springfield in Massachusetts. This mine: was not only the first graphite mine worked in the United. States, but was one of 'the first mining ventures of any kind .in America. 'It was first secured by a grant to John Winthrop, jr..(son of Governor Winthrop of Massacmsetts), 'who 'al'so: 'purchased: the tract from the Indian inhabitants between 1644 and 1658. The preliminary operation appears not 'to, have been successful,' 'but in 1738 mining was resumed, and one or-more shipments were made to England,' where the material brought about 4 pence a pound. Less than 1 ton was extracted in ' the summer of 1740, and there is no record of further development: until 1828-29, 'when it was operated by Frederic Tudor of Boston ag an adjunct ''to the mamfacture of. crucibles.12 'After again being idle. for many decades it was eventually sold in 1902, after which it: was operated internivtently for a few years. One lump oF solid: 'graphite maar 510. pounds Was. reported to 'have been taken' out in 1904.
The graphite: Seen this mine 'apparently was 'similar to the occurrences in Sesto and at: Dillon, Mont., but apparently it formed a series of disconnected lenses or flat pockets, mostly less than 3 or 4 inches thick, 'conformable with the bedding but not, vary persistent. The containing rock was. quartzose mica schist intruded by .small: mas ses of granitic. rock. The. 'main lode has been pros- . pected 'to 'a depth 'of 50 to 60 feet for a half mile or more, and the chances of a alcatel are not favorable. a 1O -"Hajyres,' G. oe Pore: ee TW. Con, Graphite deposits near Cartersville, . Georgia: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 340, 1908, ppe 463-5. : LL Smith; G. 0/8; Graphite in Maine: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 283, 1906, PPo 480--483. 12 - Hayes,, G.H., "The tale of 'Tantiusmies, an "early mining aor aad in Massachusetts": Am. Anti. Soc. Proce, Ann. Mtge, Oct. 31, 1901. (Reviewed in Mineral Resources, 1913.) oo
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Michigan - Graphitic. slate, claased as iiieeheies graphite, has been produced in considerable quantities near LtAnse in Baraga County, Mich. The rock mined is a dark. reddish~brown graphitic and ferruginous material said to average 33 to 35 per. cent.of graphitic carbon. After careful sorting it is crushed, ground, air-floated, and bolted through 200-mesh silk. It has been used for paint pigment, and has been employed in the manufacture not only of
black paints but, saath with other pigments, also of greys dark-green, and dark~ red paints. a
- Montana - The only graphite property operated in Montana is that of the
' Crystal Graphite Coe. 'near Dillon. This deposit yields vein graphite very similar to Ceylon material. The rocks immediately associated with the graphite deposits are (Paleozoic' 9) limestones and quartzites, which lie above schists and slates that are probably pre-Cambrian. The sedimentary formations are intruded by granite and pegmatite. There are several graphite veins, the main vein showing from 2 to 8 inches of very pure graphite. -In one of the exposures the vein is 2 feet wide and consists of an irregular network of graphite veinlets enclosing the many shattered fragments of schist graphite forming about one-half the vein material. According to Bastin,13 the. graphite of this mine is in the form of rather irregular véins deposited along. fracture planes and more or less broken by later fracturing. Particularly near the surface, thin films of iron - oxide often occur along parting planes between. the graphite plates. The graphite is'a Little softer than that from Ceylon and. - grinds up more easily, but its 'lustre is not quite so brilliant.' Thése differences may be due to the fact that the workings are still confined to rather shallow depths. Truly fibrous varieties such as the needle lump, which occasionally occurs in Ceylon, have also been . noted in Dillon. Substantial quantities of graphite were produced from this mine during the war period and shipped to eastern consuming centers, but since. 1918 . the output has been very irregular. In 1927 the company was active mainly in perfecting a milling process:
Deposits of flake graphite in Montana were prospected in 1918, but the profitable operation of such. Raponsse SO far distant Pe saan centers will lah hepa iat Beas
Nevada - The Carson Black Lead Co. has. produced ueaiens graphite quite steadily for more than 20 years from its property in Ormsby County, 3 miles from Carson City. The material, a black graphitic shale, is said to carry 30 to 50 per cent of graphite; a composite sample from 20 different places across the main pit when analyzed by the United States Geological Survey showed 49 per cent carbon. -Separation of the graphite from its. associated minerals is not economi~ .
cally feasible, but the shale after fine grinding is suitable for use as paint pigment and as foundry facings. Most of 'the production to date has been used for the manufacture of graphite paints in a small mill at Carson City operated periodically by' the company. The deposit. appears to be moderately large, as the shale is traceable. for half a mile along thé strike and, in places at least, is 100 feet wide. The graphitization may be due to the intrusion of: pegmatite granite, which cuts the shale. cada deposits of amorphous graphite have been
13 U. Se "Geological Survey , Wineral Resources of the United States, 1913: Pt. 2, pp. 202-4.
Inf. Cir.No.6122.
reported in Nevada, put denen: none . of them have been commercially produc-. tive, A-specimen sent to the United. States Geological Survey from Ludwig, Lyon County; wad. of good quality, and was said to save come from a deposit 4or5. . feet - thick which was visible for several hundred feet —. the ines de
Seas Jersey - Graphite occurs as disseminated. 'flake. in, "the crystalline 'Bodies of the highlands of New Jersey at a number of localities. According. to Bayley and Stewartl© the graphite occurs in several wa%s: (1) As a component of Franklin. limestone; :(2).in gneisses.which may be..in part altered sediments but..in places are. mashed. _pegmatites; (3)- in coarse granite. dikes and pegmatites; and (4) in fine-grained ..quartzitié. micaceous schists, e specially where they are associated with pegmatites... . The last-named mode. of occurrence is the. most. ,important. . Pegmatites. are. only. graphitized, close. bo the. eres or .wnere. thoy acme : fragments; of. schists: a & ;
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an
, The. latest 'Gavelopnent- is 'ab. 'Annandale a a. os 'quantity'. of graphite schist has. been opened. up. .In-an open—cut. at. the bottom of a hill. this. schist, : some . of; 4t heavily. charged with. graphite, has. 'been exposed. for; length
. of 200. feet,. roughly, and. ta a depth of. 50 to.75 feet. in. places, . The strata. in this vicinity are highly contorted and the. workings follow.the axis of a. well-_
..- developed anticline. Tongues. of. feldspathic. rocit intrude. the. schist.and in. places. the schist itself. contains bands and small. stringers. of. feldspar, suggest- 'ing. the presence. nearby of. pegmatites. "Beyond. this cut the ground rises abruptly and graphite has. been found in, drill holes,. test. pits, and. open-cuts. at various places beneath the wash (mostly. from 3 to.10 feet: deep) over.an area. 'several. —
. thousand feet Long and. probably. 2B thousand feet wide. . (A quarter of a mile or. more from the lower. workings, in the. side of what. is- imown as Graphite Hill, a small tonnare of mil} Ling. ore averaging from, vy to. 9 per cent carbon was: mined. in 1928 by 'means of a power—shovel, and in this excavation samples of schist found at a depth of - feet were said to aney 343 per cent alibaaiies
bs Owing. is. Tos, of "" tesakion as to. 'the. "nlciccnas of the. deposit, it is not possible to make estimates as to the tonnage available, but the development records indicate that possibly millions of tons are within easy 7 av surface mining. Moreover, the average grade of the ore seems to be:as high/S? higher than that of other known deposits in New Jersey. where. the graphite 'content has usually been reported as being between 4 to. 8 per cent, with. occasional ee soil as much as HL cent. ae ee ; ices of pore nearness to consuming. ate and their moderately. highcarbon content the. New Jersey graphite deposits have repeatedly attracted the. attention of investors, and mumerous attempts have been made at various times to utilize the deposits commercially... Concentrating works were erected at Bloomingdale, High a am. near aan all:-these ventures. eensets, however,
14 - Bastin, Be C.. lineral Bes Resources ces oF ? the United nh, 1913: Bt. 2, pe 204. . i 15 - - Bayley, W. Se, and Siemans, G. A., Note on the' occurrence of "graphite ° :.f schist in Tuxedo Park, Ne Yet: Econe Geole, Vole 5, 1908, ppe 355-098. "7
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Inf.Cir.No.6122.
and no further attempts were made from 1907 .to 1925. . From-the description of the deposits it would seem that the earlier difficulties may have been due in part to the intergrowth of biotite mica and possibly of pyrite (both of which are present in some deposits) and in part to-the-tendency of the flake to be destroyed by the sharp quartz grains in the' process of grinding. 'Pancalcing" also may have been a factor. In 1925 .the Annandale Graphite Coe, after some preliminary exploratory work on previously known deposits, discovered and. began the. develop ment of a new ore body situated along the tracks of the Central Railroad Co. of New Jersey, 55 miles from New York and practically on the concrete highway between New York and eastern Pennsylvania. In February, 1927, a large mill using the dry process was completed, but it failed to produce a concentrate containing more than 32 to 38 per cent carbon. After. several months of experimental work a section of this mill was remodeled and run for three months as a pilot plant, producing a. concentrate said.to average day after day practically 97 per cent of graphite. Extraction was reported as over 90 per. cent, and the tailings averaged only one-half per cent carbon.. The new process involves graded crushing, first in jaw crushers and rolls and then. in rod. mills with. intermediate screens or classifiers. at each stage to remove both. the. clay and the flake graphite as soon as they are 'Liberated from. the rock.. The overflow from the various classifiers. (all minis 65-megh) As - then treated in K-and-K- flotation machines, the froth fron. which is reground. in a rod. mill 'before passing to the K-and-K machines used "as Cleaners. The . cléaned. concentrate. is. pumped to a thickener, then to. a vacuum filter, and is 'finally. dried. ready for shipment. The concentrate as thus pre- 'pared may run over. 97 per. cent graphitic. carbon, but a further cleaning process has béen deviséd:for increasing the carbon content to over 99 per cent in graphite for lubricating purposes. A product mown. as. "Lubricite" is being put up in packages for, sale to automobile. owners and preparations are being made for the ttarketing of various other 'specialties, utilizing both large. and. small flake. The tailings from the ore mined in certain parts of the deposit consist-of clean sharp sand, sufficiently high in silica.ta.be sold to:manmufacturersof refractories. In other portions of the deposit,.. particularly where the rock has not been weathered, the feldspar content. is "SO oe. that the statlings could be used only for concrete, road. building, etc. tec
" New Mexico Small quantities. of. alto rphous graphite have been mined in . the past from a large deposit. that occurs in the canyon of the Canadian River about @ miles southwest of: Raton, in Colfax County, Ne.Mex. The :-bed, which lies
the outcrop and laterally into the 'principal coal bed of the Raton field which contains bituminous coking coal. In many places where igneous material has been forced into the coal measures, coke has been formed, but in the Canadian canyon the intrusive mass took the form of mumerous. gills above, below, and in the .coal bed, with the result that coal was completely graphitized, especially where the bed was fractured and the diabase was forced into it. The graphite occurs in pockets in the diabase and is more or less: columnar. .A representative sample. taken where the bed was about three feet thick showed fixed. carbon, 76-11 per cent; volatile matter, 6.07 per. cant; ash;..16.51 per cent; and moisture, 131 per cent. In 1889 some 250 tons of this graphite was shipped to Pennsylvania where it was found suitable for the mamfacture of paint; the refined product contained 80 per cent of carbon, the remainder being mostly silicon. The mill
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was being taken apart for ia to Raton hen it was. iia' by fire. : 'Nothing has since been done toward developing this graphite .16
: New York - For many years New York produced more graphite than any other State, The deposits, which are situated in the foothills of the Adirondacks, mainly-in Essex, Warren, Washington, and Saratoga Counties, were worked before the 'Civil War. The largest graphite mine in the United States was at Graphite, near Lake George and 11 miles south of Ticonderoga. This mine (which was operated by the American Graphite' Co., a subsidiary of the Joseph Dixon Crucible Co. of Jersey City, N. J.) was closed in 1921, and several other mines in the vicinity are reputed to be worked out or abandoned as i aaa aad resources of the State are by no means. maria
'The ore coatains on the average igbeak 5 or 6 per cent. snabibe. While the carbon content is thus'mdre than double the average for Alabama, the ore is unweathered and hard, resembling.in this. respect the deeper portions of the Alabama' depésits, which portions ("blue rocki!) are not mined. Two classes of deposits have been observed -- one comprising contact: metamorphic: deposits in limestone, adjacent io pegusatite, and another occurring as regional metamorphic 'deposits, not far from the contact of. the Have ga:net-sillimanite gneiss. with. the Faxon limestone ur Swece Pond gneiss. The former class, although it contains large flakes of #raphite, has proved too erratic and: pockety for profitable: de velopment. 'The regional metamorphic deposits on the other hand have proved. .- quite regular and uniform. The ore beds range in thickness from 10 to 25..feet, averaging possibly 15 feet. They dip 25 to 35°, so that as. mining progresses...
" open—pit mining: rapidly gives way. to. underground operations. employing ordinarily the room—and~pillar system with underhand stoping. poner aeeee 4 have. been used at most mines, as 'the Tock is 'hard. a
The graphite deposits of New York, including eatin and mines as well as those which were operated during the war, are described in. great detail in a report by H. L. Allingt? who distinguishes the deposits of the northern area, mainly limestone contact: deposits,from those of the southern area which are characteristically bedded. On the map the line runs only a trifle north of Lake George and considerably to the south of Lake Champlain. - The northern area includes the deposits of Essex County and sundry prospects... and abandoned mines in Ticonderoga Township, none of which have been operated . _recently, as they have proved too uncertain, too pockety, and too small in 'extent to be minable under ern conditions. :
The graphite seabe' of. the aoatnues area, iia commercial ne of . the Adirondacks, Alling divides. into. four groups in order of their relative economic importance, as follows: 7
16 — Les, W. T., Graphite Near gato, i. Mex: U. Se Geole Survey, Bull. 530, 1913, pDpe B71-374. °
Alling, H. Le, The Adirondack Graphite New York. State Mus. Bull. 199, eek 1918. oe ee
5766 a ae
Inf. cir. Wo.6122.
eo "The eauad he es carrying "5 i 7 per oak graphite, iat comprises two beds in some properties. and 'one bed. in others and has: an ore horizon of from 3 to:30 feet thick which tends to be micaceous both above and below. . The mica. aoneens: 'increases with increase in the feldspar content. ee eee ei taeaaee schist, : carrying. 6. per cent graphite and 10 per cent micaceous incae ahaa er
3. ie nai: of he. can en conbateing id and tourma- Line in which the graphite has been redistributed so that certain layers are rich.
a 4. - er ae which - ones almost entirely of 'potash felaspary a eee, ne only l. : per 'cent en ae ee rn ee
on. 3 only: the material of rie: 'first group can $8: souetaeree; as aisha iii but Alling estimates that the properties. 'of Faxon, Hooper: Bros., The lake. :: Graphite Co., and the Graphite Products Corporation, have a combined reserve of 10 to 13 million tons of graphite schist, one-half of which. is readily available. Assuming that. 3 per cent of the graphite is' recoverable, these:
reserves should yield 3,000,000 pounds:..of graphite' enough:to supply. the: normal requirements of the United States aa a harks of: 'era for seed et "8
. North Carolina Graphite is. ear yi occur in many localities ie the: central and, western parts of North Carolina,. but attempts to work these deposits -have generally failed. The: principal. deposits: of: the have been. —
described by the. North saaciitatatinal en vial A 18. aes
a 2 ih little. flake iomsiabe, was shipped in. 1911 fron a "deposit a miles" north of Franklin. Some amorphous. graphite .was produced' in 1916 in. Catawba' County..- Early in. 1919 a. small: quantity. of crystalline: graphite' was mined' neat Shelby, Ne. C., by the General Graphite Co..of Birmingham, Ala.;. ae en ".
also: ieisibiin saath saa work on. South Carolina. sc etal ie 7 ei ee
nnsylvania Sanita. eae eae mined. cubhkdaliee in , Pennsylvania from an aes date. The principal prodyeing deposits are situated about 30 miles west of Philadelphia, and occur in the gneiss of Pickering Valley, Shawtes County. With one exception the operations have been confined to soft, disintegrated material, analyzing Ze to 45 per cent graphitic:carbon. - The deposits usually dip.35 to 50° and have been mostly worked opencast; although thére. pal been some underground mining employing. room—and=pillar methods branching off - from shafts or tunnels. The various operations have -been described: in- some os detail by F. Bascom. +9 In 1920,;.the -Graphite.Products Co.,; Beyers, Pa, re- .. siti a pentanthan: from: its. ming at. Uwehlan. — 'Since 'then no ata has enh
'is Pratt, J. He, "ihe Mining. industry in. Worth Carolina acing 1901: 'Worth ae Carolina Geol. Survey Econ. Paper 6, 1902, ppe 69~72. oe 19 —- Ue. Se: Bureau of es Mineral Resources of the Rae or , ica 7 Pte 2, PD- SLO=922e2 ce ey Ee ee ee we EP 5766 2 ee " ae @
Inf. Cir.No.6122. ee from the iia halcriis soi ara which iiseotied have all been idle.
Rhode Rhode Island - . Grephitie. shales have been worked in Rhode Island for many years. rse The dep deposits which occur. in the vicinity of Providence end near Tiverton in Newport County represent a phase of the adjacent coal deposits.
They were first developed successfully in 1889, but prior to 1898 none of the ventures appears to have been. particularly profitable: The principal operation. has been at Fenner Ledge, in Cranston, a suburb of Providence. This mine started as an open pit but has been contimed underground. The material, which is associated with anthracite coal; is produced cheaply and is sold at alow. price chiefly to, foundry~facing mamfacturers and paint grinders.
South Dakota - Amorphous graphite containing from 30 to 35 per cent . carbon and about 40 per. cent silica has beén found 'in 'the Black Hills, notably about 1.4 miles (by wagon road) north of Oreville in Pennington County. Samples of this material seemed suitable for the production of paint pigments or foundry facings, but the distance from consuming centers represents an obstacle. ile apparently has not yet been. surmounted. , 2
Texas — 'In. the central - part of Toxas, between Llano and Burnet, are situated deposits containing from 6 to 10 per cent graphitic carbon. The yield — of No. 1 flake is rather small because amorphous graphite is present and because, as the gangue is hard, 'mach flake is. destroyed in grinding. The economic value of these deposits which occur in Packsaddle Mountain, a silicious pre-Cambrian : formation intruded by granite pegmatite, is indicated by the fact that:one— . company successfully continued operations.after the war during a period. when i. nearly all the other producers. of crystalline graphite in the United States. were idle. The principal producing company is the Southwestern Consolidated Graphite Co., a Boston concern (which has lately purchased another property, in Alabama) .. At the property of the Southwestern: Graphite Co. tha overburden, which varies in thickness from 2 to 8 feet, contains 3 to'4 per cent graphitic carbon. The graphite, however,- occurs chiefly in large boulders 'contained in the hard-baked detritus along with considerable clay.and vegetable matter. The ore~body is. fully 100 feet thick and a mile long and:it. dips about 65 degrees southeas st.
It is mined by steam shovel,and a wood-fired churn drill is used for drilling the holes preliminary. to blasting. Five-ton motor trucks with automatic dump bodies are used for ne to cae ee which now employs K-and~K flotation . machines. 3 3
Utah - Savi 1909 a mine was opened in "Brigham in. Box Elder County Utah. In that Vicinity there appears to. be a fairly long belt of carbonaceous schists, forming part of. an extensive series of altered sediments. The beds where exposed are 20 feet thick and appear to be persistent. along the strike. An analysis made by the United States Geological Survey, however, showed no graphite, although the material contained an average of 3.48 per cent fixed carbon and selected samples showed 5.59 per cent.. Apparently the material might be used for paint, although it has a cae been exploited on any substantial scale.
30 Menardi, He Be, "Modern oe ane pee TD Rock vol. 31, No. 18, Sept. 1, 1928, pp. 74-7.
5766 2 12 -
Inf. CireNo.6122. °
Virginia - Graphite is Known to occur.in.a maumber of localities in: the Piedmont region, east of the Blue. Ridge in Virginia. el Mention has haan made in published reports of large exposure of. graphitic. schist at Somerset in Orange County (Somers Place) and also of specimens from Louisa County near Green Spring Depot, in Charlotte. County on the road from Drakes Branch to Saxe, and in Powhatan County near J efferson. : Many years ago there was a graphite mine about 2 miles west of Buck Mountain in the northern part of Albemarie County. 'This mine was visited. by Bastin in April, 1911, and. was* -déscribed by him in the chapter on. 'graphite. in Mineral Resources for 1913:.. .: The only visible exposure is on the south wall of an open pit where thé rocks are much weathered. Here the pyroxene-syenite is cut by a single vein which varies from 1 to 2 inches across and-branches off into the country rock in mumerous short veins. The vein is composed largely of graphite which in places is earthy in texture, but in others is crystalline with a-.well-developed fibrous structure. The description of some hand specimens closely resembles that of Ceylon graphite. In 1915, a new shaft was sunk on this old property with encouraging results. In 1915, also, prospecting for graphite was carried on '3$ miles from 'Front Royal in Warren County. A sample examined by the United States ReoLogicas Survey consisted of schist containing. graphite in eerie i flakes. a
'Washington - haring the World War. some havetepmait work was bani ona graphite property on the east slope of the Cascade Range in Chelan County, several miles west of Nason Creek, Washe Evidently there were opened up several bodies of schists containing a small percentage of graphite and occasional small veins or lenses up to 18 inches wide of richer material. The graphite particles are mostly under 0.5 millimeters in diameter.Although this. graphite might be used for paint pigment, foundry facings, boiler-scale preventives, and possibly stove polish, it would be rather difficult to separate. Cost of milling and high freight constitute. serious handicaps to the. ists ealaes utilization of these deposits.
ie Wisconsin - Amorphous graphite has — 'produced quite eee in the Vicinity of Junction City, Portage County, Wis. The product is crushed, dried, pulverized, and air-floated. In this. condition it has been worth at times from $25 to $35 per ton. The carbon is said to range from 30 to 40 per cent. In both the principal properties the rock is a black slate or shale. :: The carbon is in such a very finely divided. state that concentration is impracticable. - It is uncertain whether, the carbon is true graphite or merely amorphous carbone Wyoming - According to a bulletin by. the State zoologist © gmorphous: graphite is found in Laramie, Albany, Carbon, and.Fremont Counties, the carbon content, as shown by analyses of samples, varying from 10 to 60 per cent.::::In County there is a large district known as Plumbago Canyon, where there
21 — Watson, Thomas Le, Wineral escurcen: of "Virginia: 1907, PDe 188-150.
Published by Jamestown Exposition Commission... we De Jamison; ¢€:. &E., Mineral Resources of Woming: Wyoming State Geol. Bull. vo "OE, sere B, 1911, p. 34. 7 oN
oon
anes Cir.No ° G122.
are a great' many deposits. of, -" graphite, on 3 in 'veantek: ae a depoatt of graphite, said to be extensive. and very pure, .occurs near Miners Delight. Deposits: in the Haystack Hills, Laramie. County, occur in pré-Cambrian mica schist rear its contact with. granitic intrusive rocks. The largest band of graphitic' schist observed has a thickness of only 8 to 10 feet, but can be. traced along its strike for at least. 1,000: feet. The richest material contains upward of 16 per cent of graphite, but the average probably would be from 6 to 8 pér cent, and the flakes are very minute. -- from Q,04 to 0.15 millimeters in diameter. — The deposits 1 were 'Brospected- as ee as. rae: ne, never' been works.29 - SRE Se
FOREIGN TEPOSITS eee
"Graphite is. 'found, in practically all a aed of the Masta" 'Seven coun-' tries - Austria, céylon, Chosen, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy, and: aan furnish almost 83 "per cent of.the world output, but 'there are a dozen' or more minor producing count ries. and inriume rable localities where 'graphite, especially amorphous graphite, could. be. 'produced. in quantity.: Ceylon holds its place to a large extent beatsé of the unique propertiss of its product, but elsewhere graphite mining is a matter of cost of production and transport to consuming market. The large output of Czechoslovakia, for example, is the result as well as the cause 'Of a great local industry. utilizing its products, and the same is. true of Germany, Austria, and Italy. Districts such as Madagascar or Korea, remote from consuming. centers, owe. their exploitation solely to the fact that, due to favorable natural advantages and native labor, they can produce cheaply enough to overcome the oe of. haying. — AE product comand round the globe to market. . ions i st oy In the following. ngbes. no. "attempt: 1s - 'made to. cover any: "put che more . eae 'present-day sources of world supply. Among the: many localities which are not herein described, mention may be made at this point of Borrowdale (now exhausted) and other less. famous places in England and: Scotland; Berttula, Finland; the Machakos District in Kenya.(Hast- Africa); the Victoria and Wankie Districts, Rhodesia; Uganda; Natal. (near Ladysmith) and various other © localities in British South Africa; Mt. Bonple, Queensland; Munglinup and © Kendenup, Western Australia; Ey re's. 'Peninsul. , South Australia; Undercliffe, New South Wales; Senjen, Norway; the. Departments of Suceara, Gorji, and Nehedinti, and the Carpathian Mountains, Rumania; Vittangi (amorphous) in Lapland and Norberg (flake) in central Sweden} Finland; Switzerland; the Belgian Congo and, just over the border. therefrom,: the Bambari District of French Equatovial Africa; Fortuguese. Bast Africa. (Mozambique); Chile, Paraguay, and. Uraguay; and Kirin, Shansi, and Honan Argstelline) and Chihli, Kiangsu, and Hunan (amorphous) in China. .
'
235. Ball, Se. EH, Graphite in the. Haystack Hills, Laramig County, Wyo.s U- S. Geol. Survey Bull, 315, 1907; 'pps: 426-28.) .-
24 - Places noted in Finland, South Africa, : enced: hosbuiitn* Rumania,
Sweden, and China are described or mentioned by Imperial Mineral Resources
Bureau. Graphite (1913-1919), anne 1928.
5766 7 oe
Inf. Cir.No.6122. NORTH AMERICA
Cariada "Qrapliite- is widely distributed 'through Canada, but. the lie deposits that have been worked extensively are in southern Quebec and Ontario. Nearly all the Canadian graphite is of the small-flake variety, although up to 1908 a considerable amount of amorphous graphite was produced near St. John, New Brunswick, and:a few: tons: of. crystalline vein graphite (cf. Ceylon plumbago) was mined in 1917-1918 from Baffin Island. °-The typical deposits are either in sillimanite gneiss or in crystalline limestone. A less common occurrence is of the contact metamorphic type. In many years over one~half the total Canadian output has been furnished by the -Black Donald mine at Calabogie in Renfrew County. This is the largest graphite mine in the Western. Hemisphere and perhaps in the world,-and it--has been worked almost contimiously since 1896. After being: destroyed: by fire. éarly in 1928, 'the: mill and various mine buildings were rebuilt," At "the 'time: 'of the fire® 200° men were employed. The. deposit, which is. contained 'in Yimestohe, averages 65 per cent graphite," ranging from 40 to 80 per cent. The proportion of coarsé flake to dust is about one to three, the percentage being larger, however, near the footwall. Formerly the product was all sold for foundry 'facings, practically as. mined, but since 1909 it hag been concentrated by flotation. Six grades are produced —- three for
a eaiaievabtie:d perponse and three for foundry facings: and stove polish. ;
i Although 'the Ontario deposits: are. in limestone, rs in Quebec are all in 'gneiss,' resembling the Adirondack' deposits in New York; most of the Canadian aa lal ibaa 3 contain larger percentages: of. 'graphite. ff
: Artificial eT: has been produced in 'Cahada' by the Acheson graphite Coe, a subsidiary whose works are situated on both sides of the national boundary at Niagara Falls.
Most of the Canadian paths is essa to the United States, but there is a: small: local: consumption for crucibles ," 'foundry feoings, and 'pencils, all of yin are manufactured in' Canada. ee ae oe oe ies eee
Mexico. - the largest srsphitte Te ibe North: América is the United® States Graphite. Coe which producés amorphous" graphite from extensive deposits "4 situated a little south of Hermosillo,- Sonora, about 350 miles from the American border at the Santa Maria mine. - 'fhe main: graphite bed averaged 9 to 10 feet in thickness, but being highly folded it' 'pinched and swelled so that in places it reached a thickness of 24 feet. 'There are at least six beds of which two or three are of good quality and of: minéable width. 'The beds, originally coal" seams, occur in sandstone near a contact with the granite which sometimes appears on the walls, and "in small. dikes which cut the beds. The graphite is exceptionally pure, and selected samples contain as much as 95 per cent graphitic carbon.' 'A'typical analysis shows' 86.75 graphitic carbons 7.60 per cent Silica, 65 per cent iron oxide, and 5.00 per cent alumina. During the' last few years new deposits have oe mined - 'which are" even Ficher 'than the santa.
eo Hess, F. Le, "Graphite Mining near Golorade, Sonora, Mex.": Eng. Mag.,.. vol. 38, 1909, pp. 36~48.
5766 15 -
Inf. Cir eNQe bleZ..
Maria and are much more accessible to .the railroad. The output is all shipped to the mill of the parent company in Saginaw, Mich., where it is reduced to impalpable powder and employed for pencils,. Rowder glazing, elecatrotyping, foundry facings, lubricants, stove polish, graphite paint, etc. This graphite is said to be. superior,even to the best Austrian graphite. for the manufacture
Deposits. ig 'Been opened up in the same gener ral wicinity by 'vies. American interests but have furnished very Little ena Graphite was. - first discovered in ve Ln. same , to Cnn6 pete te t
- South Arica
Graphite has been iat: sin. a, small way - in. Chile, 'Paragiay. a Geamiag. a and deposits on the island of Chiloé and. in the province.of Atacaoma in.Chile 'are said to be of. potential importance. - So far, however, graphite mining ona... commercial scale in South. America has been practically . confined to Brazil, which has exported small ae aida to the United diate
Graphite sduivte ead '0 to. VW 'per cent. carbon have deen employed locally for pencil-making. In Minas Geraes, 'notably in the Lafayette district, abundant supplies both of flake and of vein graphite have been noted} undeveloped deposits of flake graphite have also been. located in the State of Sao Paulo,and in a number of places in Bahia amarphous graphite. has .beén observed.°6 Veins 19 - to 40 inches thick containing masses of. 'graphite weighing hundreds of pounds © are reported to occur at Emparedado, Bahia, but lack of transportation has prevented development. -A deposit.about 10 miles from Aracoiaba, a station. on the Ceara-Baturite Railway. about. 50. miles from. the port of Ceara may be opened up in a small way. a —
Austria - The former Austro-Hungarian empire produced annually over. one-third of the world's output of graphite. Although the tonnage was substantially greater than that of any other country, the value was low, as the . material was almost exclusively amorphous and most of it of Low grade. About... two-thirds of the pre-war output was derived from deposits situated within. the a borders of the new State of Czechoslovakia, , but there are important deposits in . the Alps of Styria.and in the. hills of Lower Austria which remain within the . present republic. In the Styrian Alps the graphite occurs. in. highly folded. slates and. limestone. The. most important mines are 'at Kaisersberg and Trieben, where there are from three to seven seams ranging from a few. feet up to 30 feet in thickness and extending more or less continuously for 30 miles. The Styrian graphite, since it is derived originally from coal. .Sseams , varies. greatly in 7
26 fe caceor., H.G. Ming ral Resources of the United States, 1918: Pt. 25. 1919, ,-
p-244.. ... eo? - U.S. Department of Connenes Penorte, 40a, Sept. 25, 1917, D. tos 28 - U.S.. Department of Commerce Reports, Nove <6, 1928, pe 553.
5766 - 16 -
Inf.Cir.No.6122.
quality, some mines yielding soft earthy material and others a hard arate grading into anthracita.
Graphite is produced in smaller wegen in Lower Austria, whe re it is found in an area along the left bank of the Damibe from 39 to Fs) miles west of. Vienna, probably an extension of the German district of Passau. Both crystalline' and amorphous graphite have been mined. The former, however, is in very small flakes ("fling"), rather sparsely disseminated in gneiss. Because the
yield in flake is only 5 per cent and the flake is so small, this material is not mined under normal conditions, although during the war it.was used for the mamfacture of crucibles. Amorphous graphite occurs in graphitic slates which are found between the gneiss and mica schist. In the Muehldorf district a steeply dipping bad of impure graphite 35 to 130 feet thick occurs in crystalline limestone. . As early as 1855 it had been mined to a depth of 500 feet in the Dunkelsteinér Wald. The graphite produced in Lower Austria, even after refining, contains only 60 per cent of carbon, but the rock is cheaply mined, and the yield is moderately high (30 to 50 per cent). The product is used principally for foundry facings but is also employed for electrical. purposes and as a lubricant, more especially on the curves of street car tracks. In 1926 Lower Austria produced 4,500 tons of refined graphite; it could easily produce 7, O00 tons. Of the two principal mines, the one situated at Muehldorf sells its own ore from an office in Vienna. The other at. 'Horn sells through Heinrich Linn.
In Styria. the crude ore runs 'from 40 to 95 per cent carbon, and needs: only to be hand-sorted;- some of it is shipped in lump form, but a considerable part of it is fine-ground and air-floated, and is then shipped in bags or wooden © barrels. At the largest mine four grades are produced - one grade containing 45 to 65 per cent carbon; the next grade, 55 to 70 per cent; the next, 65: to 84 per cent; and the best grade, 82 to 84 per cent. The better. grades are employed locally for. making crucibles which although not so. durable as those . : produced from crystalline graphite, are much' cheaper. In 1926. the Styrian atneai i. furnished 9,000 tons of crude graphite, but if the market permitted, they might yield four or five times this quantity. The principal mines are, in order of their recent production, the one of A. Miller's heirs at Treiben, Franz Mayr Melnhof's mine at Kaisersberg, and the Brockhues-Triebener graphite mine at 29 Trieben - all owned apparently 7 one. is ioamarinh) Prager Handels Co., of Prague.
Czechoslovakia There are tei graphite fields in Sesthioniceneia, one in Bohemia and the other in Moravia. The former produces a little crystalline as well as amorphous graphite, while the latter produces only amorphous graphite. Although worked almost. contimmously since 1790 the minés of the Schwartzbads— Krumau district in southern Bohemia, yield the bulk of the large output. credited . to that province, and there is said to be a large area of ground still undevel- : oped. The refined product resembles the graphite from Lower Austria in that it: contains only 60 per cent carbon and is uséd chiefly for foundry facings and_.thecheaper kinds of pencils. The deposits are irregular lenses of graphite schist 29 - Petraschek, W., "Austrian graphite and its Sources": Eng. and.Min. Jour.,
Octe 8, 1927, Pe 568.
9766 ; res ee
Inf.Cir.No.6122.
interbedded with other metamormnhic rocks. The Kollowitz district yields a slightly better grade of graphite but in much less quantity, and the Smojanow district yields a poorer grade, containing mich pyrite. The Moravian deposits lie mostly near the Bohemian boundary; the most,.important are those of Altstadt, Kunstadt, Mueglitz, and. Oels, all in the Brunn (Brno) mining district.
"In the Aistadt district béeds of impure amorphous graphite underlie an area of about. 4 square miles. In the Kunstadt district, beds of 'graphite-schist are mined. In the Muglitz dis. trict, a bed of graphite-schist containing 32 to 42 per cent caroon and ranging in thickness' from 1s tc 65 feet, has been developed to a depth of. over 300 feet. The graphite is used for manufacture of pencils ard foundry facings. In the Oels district the graphite occurs in the same manner as at Milelitz, . but the possible reserves are greater, and- there are three - - beds 15, 18, and 35 feet thick, respectively. The graphite' contains an appreciable amount of en aa is suitable only for pencils or paint! 130
a Germany 7 Although an aiden source of. graphite, Germany no surwean above its own large requirements. The imports. in 1913 amounted to about 'three times the domestic output. This output is all derived from the Passau
os 'district. in eastern Bavaria near the Austrian frontier. The economic value of
these deposits is enhanced by the preserice nearby of the famous Klingenberg
-.¢lay, long considéred the most suitable clay for crucibles. 'Crucibles were
manufactured in Passau from local clay and graphite for the use of the alchemists in the Middle Ages. Before the war, Ceylon plumbago was used in large part 'even in Bavaria for making crucibles, and the local flake was employed princi--
- pally. for lubricants and foundry facings. In war time, however, Bavarian
7 graphite was again used for crucibles, and the Passau. district enlarged its
- Output from 1s, 300 short one of graphite. in 1913 to 71; 700 short tons in 1918.
'The Bavarian graphite 'is of 'the. Siesmnnie' flake: tyne and - occurs in lenses and pockets in gneiss-and schist. Weathering extends to considerable depths; hence the ore is largely soft and sandy and is easily mined. Since the graphite content is fairly high, ranging from 20 to 30 per cent, a ihaaiicite
costs ought to be low. :
- 4 - France ee graphite has been mined in France for many years, chiefly in the Department of Hautes Alpes, close to the Italian border. The deposit is geologically similar to the Italian deposits. 'There. are said to be — ; "urideveloped deposits also in the departments .of. Ariége and Rhone. - Domestic 'supplies have been in the past, and will doubtless be in the future, a minor factor in the growing graphite- consuming industries of 'France.
BO. + Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau, Graphite, 191g-1919? Londen, 1923, De 3a
5766 18 ey ee
Inf.Cir.No.6122.
valy .- Amorphous graphite, grading in places into anthracite, occurs in beds up to 10 feet thick in the Provinces of Turin, Genoa and Cuneo in northern Italy. The best refined graphite averages 70 per cent carbon, and is suitable for foundry facings and lubricants. There is a considerable surplus above domestic needs, which are rather small. This surplus formerly went largely to Germany, but more recently it has been sent to France and England. A little was sent to the United States. Before. the war the Italian graphite used to be very cheap, and the ocean freight, WAS . saad $2.50 per toa.
Spain - - - Spain began producing' graphite. in 1915 from deposits near Almonaster, in Huelva Province. . The. graphite is of the flake variety and occurs in enriched lensés containing. 10 .to- 20 per. cent graphite. in a belt of graphitic schists which extends from Alojao to Aroche. and possibly beyond the Portuguese frontier. They have been Aeveloped more. or, less for,a distance of.10 miles along the strike and over a width in places of half a mile. From 1750 to 1800, @ considerable output of crucible graphite. wags,made .in Malaga Province, but the deposit was apparently. exhausted as this province: has subsequently produced. : only intermittently and in a very. small. way.. . For. many. 'years. before: 1913. Spain's meagre requirements of crucibles and other graphite products were imported.
Russia - The graphite resources of Russia are tims enor eS in Mineral Resources. of the United States for 1918: re
Russia, 'particularly Asiatic Russia, conebacee large - reserves of graphite, but, so far.as data are available, the production - has been insignificant. . 'The famous Alibert mine,
near Irkutsk in eastern Siberia, formerly 'produced a con-. siderable quantity. of pencil graphite,: and this, graphite has also been used.to a small extent in the manufacture of. crucibles... The other important deposits, those of. Yenisei . River in eastern Siberia.and. those in the northern part of the Caucasus Province, probably consist of amorphous graphite. Some. work was done on the Yenisei:' deposits in 1908: and 1909. In the extreme eastern cape of Siberia there are graphite © . deposits similar to those: of the Nome Peninsula,. Alaska. The availability of the Russian deposits depends on. the - possible future development of Russia as a manufacturing — country, for, unless the deposits should prove of exceptionally high grade, difficulties of. \deigeae: nblaaminaa etal reduce their. availability. for foreign USCe Fe eae
"At the outbreak of. the war 'the Morgan Ueantbie: Co. E established a crucible factory in: Russia, and a large quantity of Ceylon. graphite was imported. It is. not known whether the clay was also imported or whether suitable local supplies were obtained.
"The only deposit in Huropean Russia concerning which information is available is that of the Dzimarsk district, in the Caucasuse Here graphite, presumably amorphous,
5766 19 —
Inf.Cir.Nos6122:
:- occurs in large beds or lenses with an.average tide: .ness of 1 meter, and a known extension of 1,500 meters. The carbon content — from 30 to 60 per cent..
". ex)
"Other occurrences are as follows: "Pudosch district, near 'aren Olenetz paneer Jelantschik district, southern. Ural Mountains,:. granite boulders containing high-grade crystalline graphite; Zytomierc district, near Mecherzynce,- Volhynia, near Mariupol, Jekaterinslav district, Ukraine, with a:'reported — production of 2,000 tons (in 1913); Kumi Maggi, on the- °- north shore of Ladoga Lake, Finland; Ekatérinburgs 'Miask; and Slatust. Graphite 'for foundry facings was recently : aad at sil ae a bias Mountains." ? 'Sroneuukens have. pute on offered ty the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics: for the exploitation of two graphite deposits, one in the Crimea and the other in the vicinity. of Irkutsh in Western Siberia. Ceylon - As measured by value of autick tates has long been by far the principal graphite-producing. locality. . Competition from Madagascar combined with the curtailed demand for graphite: crucibles: for. which Ceylon plumbago is particularly favored, - hag made heavy inroads. into. Ceylon's trade, but the island will continue for. many years to be a large if.not the principal 'source of world supply of. high-grade: graphite. The deposits were known as' early as 1681; they were exploited before 1830 and have produced continuously 'since 1834. The increasing depth at which:mining had been advanced has. tended to: increase costs, particularly..in a country of such heavy. rainfall, but: reserves are still abundant and the. graphite . content of the rock is fairly high. The commercially important deposits, which lie in-the-Western.and Southern Provinces, are all veinlike in character and were. deposited along fracture planes in the rocks. Sometimes, however, the veins.are so short as.to be more correctly described as lenses. The width varies from less than one-eighth inch to: several.feet, and veins two-thirds of an inch wide or wider:aresaid to be workable. .In small veins the graphite usually forms an aggregate of platy needles set at right angles to the vein wall. In larger veins the graphite is:ordinarily coarser. though the needlelike structure may be developed for a short distance away from' the walls. It is this needlelixe material which when separated is classed as "needle lump, ! the highest priced of all Ceylon graphite :because of its much desired fibrous structure. In addition to graphite, various gangue minerals may be present in the veins. Quartz and pyrite are nearly always present, and occasionally biotite, orthoclase-feldspar, pyroxene -(usually augite), Le aed beepers and rutile OCCUr.
31 - Siberian i a are sl heccsiadal —- ame eee
5766 "god oe iiew
Inf.Cir.No.6l2e.
connected with underground. workings. A few mines. are as deep as 500 feet, but. most of them are less than 100 feet deep. With few exceptions they are owned — and operated by the native Sinhalese. As a rule the mining methods .are. still crude. and modern equipment is conspicuously absent. The material as it comes from the pits may contain as much as 50 per cent of impurities, mostly in the form of quartz and wall rocke It is carried in bags to a dressing shed where the impurities are reduced to 5 or 10 per cent by hand picking, after which it is packed in barrels and shipped to Colombo or Galle. At these ports it is unpacked and given the final preparation for market. 'The methods of "curing! employed by the different merchants vary somewhat. Usually the large lumps are broken with small hatchets by women. .This releases the coarser impurities and the smaller lumps of graphite can then be rubbed up by hand on a piece of wet burlap and polished. ~The lump and chip grades from different mines ordinarily differ somewhat in size or texture and mst be blended to meet the demands of the trade, a process requiring skill and long experience... The refining of poorer material: is. done less carefully. After being beaten up by wooden implements it is sorted into different grades. Occasionally it is washed.in a tub or pit, the material placed in saucer—shaped baskets, and the graphite. thrown out in much the same way as fine sand is removed in panning gold. ..:Very fine material is dried and thrown up into the air so SDSS, the graphite is winnowed out and falls on the floor.42
The United. States, which has frequently rs more than. one-half of 'tis: total exports, has been the largest purchaser of Ceylon graphite; the balance has been taken principally by Germany and Great Britain. Before the war 30,000 tons or more were exported anmally, and the business is said at times to have afforded employment to as many as 50,000 persons. Since the war, however, the Ceylon industry: has been: mich: depressed; exports have amounted to less than half and often scarcely more than one-third the pre-war shipments. Various plans have. been proposed to get back at least some portion of the markets that have.been lost to Madagascar, but the consensus is that the chief requisite is lower costs. One proposal is to form a Plumbago Exchange. through which the small mines can get into direct touch with the exporter and thus eliminate the profits of two or three middlemen who now. intervene in most
transactions. . There are 17 ahead of whom about half are aad ol 'and half are Bt firms.°9 oo
Chosen (Korea) - The graphite industry of Chosen dates only from about 1905 when the first exports were made, but by 1913 production had advanced to more than 16,000 short tons and consisted almost wholly of amorphous graphite. Deposits of crystalline graphite have been developed, and in fact. a few shipments of Korean flake have been made to the United States,. 'but. production of this variety has been sporadic and the product of poor quality. The amorphous graphite occurs in beds and, irregular lenses which are found mainly in the
$2 The deposits and methods. -of production in Ceylon are described in detail by Bastin in the chapter,on Graphite in. Mineral Resources of the United States, 1913, pt. 2, ppe 254~238. :
35 Mining Journal (London}, on graphite trade": Dec. S, 1928, De 1020, -
5766 21
Inf.Cir.No.6122. central 'and eastern parts. of 'the country ae one. district (Kyeng-Sang) there are three. seams having maximum mineable Widths of. 78, 18, and 48 feet, respectively... The crystalline graph ite occurs .1n the northern part. of the country in. thin. flakes, resembling the 'Alabama, deposits. in the United States. Korean graphite is uged.. largely. in Japan: which has a very small domestic production. It is. alsa. exported 40, other. countries, including. the United States. A considerable part.of the. export. trade. is. ; trans shipped at Japanese ehh American — has 'been B semavel 4 in. the. spraattablon ; of these BAO SES:
a ry
that commercial exploitatién Began. ome 'earlier work was down in Annam but veins were later opened uD. in Upper. Tonkin" on the 'banks of the Tam-Ty. River near the Yunnan frontier. 'The ore as ined. contains about. 20 per cent. carbon and the flake produced is said: to, be low in 'iron, 'almost free from sulphur, and. otherwise. suitable for éricivles, 'pencils, lubricants and other articles. The' graphite' occurs at the surface. and . is easily mind. A concentrating plant. has. been 'installed at. the mine', 'and the' output, all 'from one company, may. be increased 'shortly to 4, 0cd tons anmially.- rN 'Little ore 'is being shipped to England and Germany. 'and 'a few sales have been made direct to the United States but the 'bilk of the 'material .is exported to Trance whence it. may be reexported either crude or after treatment in a refining plant. 'Quotations Ceief. French. ports are ee emndt Be es 500 francs. about, $90). Per metric. ton noe the 86 7 cent 'carbon product. Sn ck eae te ra ee *Exports were 8, '000 tie tric 'tons Th Your', "and were increased to.15, 000. metric. tons in 'the following years "This: material came. from Annam and mach. of : it: contained" only 44 per cent 'graphite,, although. at doubtless, could have been brought "ap, to 80° 'per cent by. more careful mining and. sorting. In.1920 the industry collapsed, and no exports were made from Indo-China. for several years until in 1924 2. 264 metric tons, were exported, . ; 'Later mining site declines. oncé more until the" new deposits in. Tonkin were 'opened Up .
" India The State of Travancore in sothee: "India formerly. produced graphite similar. to the. Ceylon. material; however, production became. unprofitable with increasing 'depth, and there has been litsie or no output. since 1913. A. smali amount has come from the State of in the central of the irda aa # , neo
i Japan - apan. 'produces' & pertain amount of passes 'tbat not enough to. . supply 'the. 'Local market which depends. partly. on imports from, Korea, Ceylon, — etc. From. 1900 to. 1909 'thé output. comprising both. crystalline and. amorphous grades fluctuated from 195,000. to 480,000 pounds. .The occurrences are. mostly in bedl ike deposits," although. there are, a few. veins. of the bedlike deposits 54 —-Us Se, Bureau of.Mines, Mineral RESOUICES, 1919: Pte 2, Ppe 199200. -.
35 - Data furnished by' Be. AL 'Masuret, Office of Ue Se Trade Commissioner at
Paris. (Trade Notés No." 227.) em.
. +e we . oe , . e : td se 8 i. : : : os Fs . $ Lt oo. yes ' ° oe ' oy weet 2 ' ees . o ry i - oe de € . , 5766 . : ee g ° . ya} ae
Inf. Cir.No.6122.
two varieties aré noted:(1) flake deposits in Archean gneiss and (2) masses of amorphous graphite in Palaeozoic slates and.Mesozoic shales: The flake deposits, which furnish the bulk of. the production, are situated it the Provinces of Hida and Etchu in central Nippon. . The deposits of amorphous "graphite are found in the Provinces of Rikuzén 'in. northern Nippon, and in Nagato and Satsuma in the southern part of the island. Graphite from Kataya in. the: Province of Kaga in céntral Nippon, said to occur as a vein deposit, is of high quality; it is used for pencil manufacture.
Africa
Mihininnne! - ities the presence of aaah, in Seas had been © er as early as 1838 the graphite industry of this French colony dates only from 1907 when 8 metric tons were produced and there was no appreciable exportation until 1911. By 1913, however, the annual output had grown to 8,000 metric tons and in 1917 it reached 35,000 tons. . The graphite is of the flake variety and is 'similar in enpearance 'to the best American flake although: somewhat thicker. The occurrence is. widespread throughout the graphitic schists and gneiss which comprise over. two-thirds of 'the surface. of the island. The ore lies in seams like coal, striking north and south with a general dip to the west. The beds are many miles in length and of considerable thickness usually 30 to 65 feet" and sometimes more. At operating mines the overburden never exceeds 6 to 10 feet. Mica appears principally in the upper portions and thus may be discarded in mining. The workable beds consist mainly of graphite and quartz and are so soft and decomposed that they can be dug.out with wooden spades. The graphite content probably averages fron 10 to 12 per cent. In the plateau region material — containing 7 per cent of. graphite is classed as: ore, but in the: coastal plain where transportation 3° better. and there is more water for washing, the workable limit is 5 per cent .® On the. other hand at.one mine the graphite: 'content is 40 per cent, and in some cases it is reported to be 50 or'80 percent. In addition to flake graphite there is said to be more.or léss lump or fibrous © graphite resembling that produced in Ceylon, but if has not hal appeared in any substantial quant ity in the. exports. tot
The deposits are usually worked by open ale. although in a few cases they are opened up by short tunnels. Various crude: processes are employed for raising thé grade of the mine product. Sometimes the ore will be dumped into a mud box. 3 feet square by 2 feet deep where it is.spaded over in a stream of water. The overflow from this box -- suspended. sand,.mud, and flake graphite -- is passed over a 60-mesh screen. The flake remains on the screen and is gradually worked forward into a small box.- In. another cleaning process the mine dirt is beaten with a mallet or club, thrown into a square tub, and then agitated constantly; the graphite remains in the tub. with the sand from which, after Ory ing in the sun, it is separated. by screening. .In 1927 a concentrating plant
56 Mining in Japan, past and present, Bureau of Mines. Japan, 1909, pp. (133-5 . (digested by' Bastin, E. G., in Mineral Resources of the vem States, pte 2, 1909, De 27)... 37 - Lavila, 'Le, Graphite: 'First 'Gommetcial Fair (pamphlet), Tananarive; 1923.
5766 20 -
Inf. CireNo 5122 é
was placed in operation by Lasnier & Co. at Tananariye.°° Machinery for this plant was supplied by the Humbetdt Co. of Cologne, Germany. The crude ore is 'ground in a ball mill, apparently* 'in closed circuit with a classifier, and then treated' in a-12-cell mineral': separation flotation machine, the concentrates being filtered: The tailing was said to run l or 1s per cent carbon, and from 8/10 to 1 :ton per hour of 87 t0o''88 'per cent concentrate is obtained from crude material. containing 40 per cent carbon. Wita richér ore a 90. per cent eee 'can be miade.
The leading factor in the Madagascar industry its the Maskar Co. which has a large warehouse at Tamatave and buys its ore from the many native operators. It is a subsidiary of the Morgan Crucible Co. of London, England, although in compliance with French law it is registered as a 'French Comme and has. a French cog tee ial , Beer: 5 ata :
Yormerly silicates graphite varied in' quality. on very: er to eaten: poor, .but under the auspices of the French Government a standard of 85 per cent .was established, and material corresponding. to this standard may be certified: by an official stamp affixed to a léad seal." AS early as 1922 a graphite commission was set up by the Governor General for the purpose of furthering the use of. Madagascar graphite, and extensive advertising was done in the United States and: Laine vial Ss : Wenlacabba' has: enormous reserves on. "readily available graphite of good. 'quality. Costs of: production: some years 'ago were estimated at 450 francs, but. in some instances they we're ag low as 250 francs der tone In 1925 T. Ge Hunter, @ representative of the Ceylon: Government; estimated the average. as between 600 and 1,000. francs," 'and subsequently sonewhat higher averages have. probably been 'maintained. 'The Labor shortage which has 'been a factor limiting production. in. peak periods doubtless could be' remedied by introducing modern methods. of, mining and refining and even a small amount of modern equipment. Certain. of the larger French consolidations have - recently made some progress in this direction. In 1917 the graphite' industry gave employment to several thousand — white men and about 200,000 natives, but subsequently mining has had to compete with the growing of vanilla, maize, "coffee, and other remunerative agricultural products.' As in many native communities ,. larger wages, instead of attracting more labor; 'result simply in a reduction 'of the mumber of days worked. The average 'output 'of graphite per man per 'day. is about 1 ton and the average wages are. about: 3 francs 'per day. Royalties' Vary} in one case reported by Mr. Punser the royalty was about 100 francs per ton. 59 a ke
Aside from labor conditions tretisportation is 'the. principal handicey' of the Madagascar industry. There are few roads on the island, and even when. a . new road is constructed it can scarcely be maintained except at prohibitive coat; often the product has to' be carried to the Warehouses on the backs of natives.
48 Madagascar refinery at' TananaFive: Bull. 'Econe Mense Noe le (Tananarive), Nove, 1927, Ppe 44-46.°° 7
59 - Report of Plumbago et cae aad Colombo, XXXI: 1925 ( Goverment Record Office),:15 pp."
5766 5427
Inf.Cir.No.6122.
Many of the mines, however, are within fairly easy reach of railroad or canal. Two men in a canoe, costing about 400 francs, can carry 3 tons so that even though the round trip lasts two or three days the carriage to railroad is often fairly cheap. Yrom Tananarive to Tamatave the distance is 225 miles and the freight rate varies from 42.50 francs (about $1.65) per metric ton in carload lots (20 tons) to 50 francs per ton for shipments of less than 10 tons. Even after it reaches the warehouses at Tamatave, however, Madagascar graphite must be shipped a great distance before it reaches the markets of Europe or the United States. Except for an occasional shipment from Vatomandry somewhat further south Madagascar graphite is all shipped from the Port of Tamatave. According to Mr. Hunter carriage to French ports, both Havre and Marseilles,
ls by way of Messageries Maritimes and Havre Lines; the freight in 1925 was 165 francs or about $8 per metric ton. The ocean freight to London was 45 shillings ($11) and to New York 65 shillings ($15.85) per gross ton all in English bottoms. In 1925 the rate quoted to New York was $17.90 per gross ton.