Document 85wVqeM7meL8M0eVmjaVnmxgB

I ENT AND PR o-' TATE, THROUGH D OTHER DRAFT public roads of the protect these roads in the State who, rd each succeeding 1 the State any. standard wide-tire the presentation of y county in which 7 treasurer of such iship in which the years, a sum equal no case shall the ollars on one such o any one person, in g any one year; Ks n o road tax, h e years, be exempt may otherwise be y or township in wide-tire wagons one-horse vehicle 3 by 7 inches or sc vehicles (w ith les, or w ith spinnches) four inch r than the above, ities: Alamance, For Chapel H ill ' and Granville, ideation. lorse wagons. THE NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Economic Papers, No. 3 TALC AND PYRO PHYLUTE DEPOSITS NORTH CAROLINA EY JOSEPH HYDE PRATT MINERALOGIST R A L E IG H E, M. U zkelj., P ublic P rinter and B inder 1900 PLAINTIFFS EXHIBIT WCD-362  TABLE OF CONTENTS. Letter oi-' Transmittal....................................................... I ntroduction....................................... Page 5 7 Talc Deposits in North Carolina......'............................................................... Geology and distribution................................................................................ Origin of the talc................ Character of the talc............................... Mining and cleaning........................................................................................ Talc properties................................................................................................ North Carolina Talc and Mining Company........................................... Nantahala Talc and Marble Company.................................................... Valleytown Mineral Company...................................................... Southern Mineral- Company...."................................................................ Davidson property.................................................................................... Hayes m in e.............................................................................................. Cherokee Iron, Marble and Talc Company................... Hitchcock property......... ..................................... . Rogers property ..................... ................................................................. Hillyer property....................................................................................... Notla Marble and Talc Company............................................................. Marble Associated with Talc........................................................................... Pykopiiylute (agalmatolite)...................................................... O c c u rre n ce ....................................................................................................... Mining properties........................................................ Phillips property...................................................................................... Womble property...................................................................................... Rogers Creek Mining Company.............................................................. By-products in pyvophyllite mining....................... -...................................... 7 10 12 13 15 15 15 10 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 23 24 27 27 27 28 28 BOARD OF MANAGERS. G o v e r n o r D. L. R u s s e l l , ex officio Chairman C h a r l e s M cN a m e e .................................................. J - T u r n e r M o r e h b a d ................................... J . A . H o lm es, State Geologist. Baleigh. B iltm ore. Leaks vi lie. Chapel Hill. ..Raleigh. B iltm ore. .Leakeville. -Chapel Hill. LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. R a l e ig h , N. C., March 1st, 1900. To His Excellency, H on. D. L. R ussell, Governor of North Carolina, gIK:_ I have the honor to submit for publication, as the third of a series of economic papers, a special report on the talc and pyrophylUte deposits in North Carolina. It has been prepared in response to the numerous applications received at this office for information concerning the nature, extent, location and develop ment of these deposits. Aours obediently, J. A. H olmes, State Geologist. pi* 5t > )?- TAL The Nortl ing more at workable d< talc are bee the United are beeomi) source of sc The prof which it scale of h purity, or pery touch properties it has beer is no reasc pyrophylk deposits w the except for this. Both tb been knoi been poss f K Now, how of shippir pected. In cor are discu TALC AND PYR0PHYLL1TE DEPOSITS v ; IN NORTH CAROLINA. By J oseph H yde P ratt. introduction. The North Carolina talc deposits are at the present t o e attract ing more attention than ever workable depoto ot th is^ n o era lto a b ^ cfep,, t o in talc are becoming rare, and that ma ; _ the Unitnd Btat th a t^ v e b n e n ^ p ld y ^ with talc t ^ a MW :::r :s ^ . The prop tiL of talc that make it suitable for the pnrpo s to purity, or approximates these ' . o d ^ r n te oceur in quantity it has been nsed, to a limited extent, as a substitute tor tale. 1her " t i t h e talc and pyropbyllite deposits of No'th Carolina have S X ' p o i n t `o t o h e 'm ilt d , and are being thoroughly pro, pected. t a l 0 DEp0Si Ts in north Car o lina. In cons,dering the talc deposit, in North Carolina only those are discussed in this paper in which the cmneral ts snrtable for TALC AND PY R O PH Y LL IT E DEPOSITS. S commercial purposes W h i l ? ; `; pr iIs'- r e f bemg mined for to be harder than the foliate,! .a r il'^ ,, `7 " " f iS iP ` pore and cannot be need for the a Z . " re " im' on it is not considered in J n i ; p e r P" rP" B8' " d " - l-ess silky lustre- or fi 7 P ted) flbrous>WTlth a m--ore or it must be free from grit, ^ ^ ^ P ^ ^ l i n e ; aud greenish-white to bluish-white to white from pale Sreen> in hardness. : ' ^ should not exceed one J e l 7 t t 7 TntTdC ' i ; r " `" l " ,d S1Ml` it i. otherroagnesium minerais" ^ 7 7 ,1 7 " T r * to be found in nearly all of t, eautiful -specimens of tale are no where has 7 1 . ^Persdot.te rocks of the State, bnt sufficient quantity to bo of any e e l 7 ,?eridotIts bM" foui]li be eh,orito ( t a l l ) s c h i s t s l l T 7 7 Many <* the harder minerals , 88,,ciated with it 1 7 7 1 1 7 ' ^ commercial value Most of +p0 . , 1 4 beinS of anJ W formed from ^ vbKh 11 has b" p M S Z present t i l i l h i l l l " i ""nt`ty that are known at the 1 first mined l e n t l o 7 C',W k" ""`s. It ills, and where ng mined for a talc, it is apt re or less im1 for this rea- diich consists ith a more or ''stalline; and i pale green, ot exceed one uentity it is alteration of constant assorpentine and ns of talc are lie State, but ieen found in e. Many of 3 of talc, but leing of any if talc have ace. Among id are trem- iwn at the ounties. It being used Mr. A. A. ning in this constructed and, Tenn. ras a profit ee dropped, atered this 111 I' ;g -1 /i j'*' i i; M 10 TALC AND p y k o p h y l h t b d epo sits. GEOLOGY a n d DISTRIBUTION-. k r ap' which i,as bes " - p 1 ^ a al ndd 2the' ggIeVn0eSraTl lfoectaatiilontheof tothPe tal^c ydepofsitthsis sTechti.on o*/.TheS,fcate are at intervals of five hundred feet. ( l e " gob * "" s z s ir r ^ >- up the valley of the C , ? * " untain, f,,ll,,,,s then on the Nel U' e i ""t`*hala T e r `ar the Macon county line a 121 Zzrr) TiririTM " the county, it t h ^ , " C ; ; ` \ `: r kee Murphy and f o . Z ^ ^ r r r t t T nr ; r Georgia;b" 1 m ^ % . ? "' * * r - - u;e r : : and marble outcron, lf. l v 1 ` VS c,08e 10 th*"* uearly all the deposits are of Z b e s t and bTt `Z T T '" " wagon is necessary, two milcs * shipping point on the railroad. g ' dlStance from a t i e Z Y f o Z f'`e region in these southwestern conn- and 3S 6TM r T ^ ^ ^ twistedind Z e Z l ` a, f " a Z t Z T " V ^ structure has been almost wholly obliterated and in nglQo1 t has changed considerably their mineralogi'cal charact 7 p Z of the limestone has been metamorphosed and crystallised , compact marbles of the finest quality, ,,bile t Z 3 `nd ? , been converted into a quarts,te, which at times is a im 7 t perceptible granular structure. " without 11"ff rC~5lnW.- be Cheroeological the State )ur lines in Swain follows nty line, ns at an iherokee adening 'Sses the Inity of rraation able for te. 'road or 3uthem listanee the A t-. the talc tion at ing by from a 3 coun' gneiss have riginal y cases Part d into ne has ithout TALC AND PY RO PH Y LLITE DEPOSITS. 11 As far as these beds of marble have been examined they are for the most part free from layers of silicates or quartz, except. of course those in proximity to its contact with the quartzite. Near the contact, but in the marble, tremolite of a nearly pure white color and in prismatic crystals np to a quarter of an inch in diame ter has been found. The limestones which were first laid down and subsequently covered by the sandstone, from which the mar ble and quartzite are the final results, can be traced from about a mile east of Hewitt, Swain county, in a southwest direction across Swain, Macon and Cherokee counties into Georgia. The width of this marble belt varies from a few hundred yards to over half a mile as along Valley river near Andrews', Cherokee county. The Valley River mountain ridge, the boundary between Macon and Cherokee counties, is an anticlinal fold, with a N. W.--S. E. trend which marks rather sharply in some respects the character of cer tain formations to the northeast from those to the southwest. To the east of this ridge the marble-quartzite formation is bounded on the south and north by a slate, while to the west of this ridge this formation is bounded on the south by crystalline schists and slates on top of which are numerous beds of limonite iron ore. To the east of the ridge there are apparently no deposits of limonite. The depth of the stratum of marble has not been determined, but it is known to be over 100 feet. : The strata dip at all angles, due to its being repeatedly folded, but has a general trend of about N. 35 E. . : It is in connection with this marble formation that the deposits of talc occur. What was formerly supposed to be a regular vein of the talc -was probably a series of pockets of this mineral of vary ing thickness, lying for the most part directly between the marble and the quartzite, although at times they are entirely enclosed by the marble. None, however, have been observed that were en closed by the quartzite. These pockets, which resemble, in shape flattened lenses, always follow the dip of the strata in which they occur, and are therefore encountered in all positions from horizon tal to vertical. These pockets of talc were once much more abundant than they are now observed. At the present time the only evidence as to 12 TA LC A N D P Y R O P H Y L L IT E D E PO SIT S. the former existence of many of these is the occurrence of a bluish d ay containing a lew scattered flakes of talc. Wherever the quart zite capping of the pocket of talc has remained the talc is in a good state of preservation; but, on the other hand, wherever the quartzite has been removed by disintegration and erosion the talc has been either partially or wholly decomposed into the bluish clay. In places the talc is found wholly surrounded by the marble as at the -Kinsey mine, where, small pockets or lenses of the talc are in the marble but still close to the contact. The beds of limonite iron ore are found closely associated with the marble and talc deposits between the Valley River mountains and the Nottley valley. ' The iron ore which always lies to the south of the talc is sometimes almost in direct contact with it. The . yellow stains observed upon so much of the talc in this region is undoubtedly due. to its proximity to the iron ore. Although there are a number of iron ore deposits in the Nottley river valley, they are not in close proximity to the talc and marble, and have ex erted but little influence upon the character of the talc. It is in this valley that the most beautiful talc has boen found. Folding and subsequent erosion of the strata have brought the marble and talc to the surface at a number of points along these valleys of the Nottley and Valley rivers, and on the slopes of some of the adjacent ridges. In the broader portions of the valleys they fire often covered by an alluvial soil.which in places reaches a depth of from twenty to thirty feet. ORIGIN OF THE TALC. As is well known, there are many minerals which under favora ble conditions yield talc as an alteration product; of these the most common being pyroxenes, amphiboles and certain of the micas. Tremolite is one of the amphiboles that commonly yields talc as an alteration product, and in connection with these talc deposits of Cherokee and Swain counties, it is the author's opinion that they are the result of the alteration of former deposits of tremolite. There are a number of reasons which have led to these conclu sions. In many of the marbles along the contact of th e'talc there >f a bluish the quart in a good ; quartzite has been clay. In i as at the .re in the ated with lountains ies to the h it. The region is igh there ley, they have ex it is in ught the mg these : of some leys they saches a r favora die most 3 micas, i talc as deposits on that smolite. conclulc there talc and py ro ph y llite deposits. IS are small branches of radiating crystals of tremolite while m oth ers there are similar crystals which are entirely altered to talc. Also at a number of places, as at the Maltby mine and on the prop erty of the Cherokee Iron, Marble and Talc Co., talc has been found at the contact of the marble which had branching through it many crystals of tremolite. In examining the structure of the talc it is found to be decidedly fibrous, although this is not always apparent in the large masses. When these masses are crushed and exam ined with the magnifying glass in many cases they are seen to be made up of small fibers. Even the compact talc is observed to have more or less of a fibrous structure when crushed and exam ined with the higher power microscope. Bat very little of^ what could be called a foliated talc has been seen, lremohte is the only mineral that I have found associated with the talc, except of course the calcite of the marble and the quartz of the quartz,te. Except where tremolite has been observed m the talc, the lattei is generally free from grit. CHARACTER OF THE TALC. - There is a decided difference in the character of the talc to the east of the Red Marble gap region from that to the west. It is more compact and of a bluish-white to white color, and a consid erable portion of it is suitable for cutting into pencils; while that to the west, of a pale greenish to white to bluish-wh.te color, is more fibrous to foliated, although -this characteristic is sometimes not very distinct in the mass, and but little of it is suitable for cut ting into pencils. The fibrous structure, which at times is a most a bladed prismatic one, is sometimes very marked, especially in the talc that is found penetrating into the marble. When the ta c is crushed and examined under the microscope or magnifying glass the fibrous structure is very pronounced. . Some of the talc found at the Kinsey and Hillyer mines, four and five miles southwest of Murphy, is translucent to transparent and is the finest quality that I have ever seen. All the talc,, ex cept when stained with iron and of the dark bluish colors, grinds to a white flour, which is free from grit. . 14 talc amd py h o ph y llite deposits. fl C0QSlderabIe quantity of the talc is unfit for grinding to a flour on account of its being very badly discolored by i10 ^ d e inn aalllldTir8e'c!tiognres.at TThDisyistroembselrivteedC1m`ySotraelsgePne^rtarlalytiinngtht.hr1o,ug!h h! * foand ^ the valley of Valley river. ' 6 W that The following analyses* have been made of the inb f, fro,,, , te m ,% mille (No. 3)x j t zz ANALYSES OF TALC: W ater (loss on ignition), H 20 Silica, SiO, .... Alumina, A U X . . Ferrous Oxide. FeO TAme, C a O ........ Magnesia, MsO Soda, AXO. Potash, K jO ..... T o ta l......... Kinsey* Mine. Hemit Mine, a) (2) 5.10 61.35 4.42 1.68 0.S2 26.03 0.62 Trace 100.07 Malibv Mine? Theoretical Com position of Tale. (3) 6.14 56.80 9.06 1.84 . 1.40 23.9S 0.72 Trace 4.76 63.49 31.75 99.95 100.00 In me above analyses the samples taken were of the hPSf i y from each locality and, ,, is shown by a" h i . A ?" tha K ,naey mine approach* ctecly t0 ,, ch c o X lly ^ rom g rin` i bT r mad f the ta" ** > *>.. fage if this waste material could be utilized brim b n ^S S t t r .? aS * B y Dr. C harles Basket- rille, Univers ity o f N orth Carolina. idiug to a roil oxide, through it b talc that from the nd of the >e eastern of the for- ; `o retieal TomsitJon of TaJc. 4.70 63.49 31.75 i 100.00 ist quallat from ;alc. able for iderable ; advan>od rea ire of a OWthis . iduced, ^ ;' TALC AND PY R O PH Y LLITE DEPOSITS. 15 M IKING AND CLEANING. " The mining of the talc does not present any serious problems, as the deposits do not extend to any great depth. Those in the low lands of the valley have to contend against water, which occasion ally causes considerable loss of time. Most of the mines thus located have been worked by means of open pits, which during a period of rain have to be abandoned owing to flooding. While some of these deposits, especially those on the hillsides, can be worked to advantage by an open pit, the majority of them can best be worked by shafts and tunnels, leaving one shaft as a pump ing shaft and draining all the water from the others and the tun nels to this one. By using a series of tunnels one above the other the mine is kept as dry as it is practically possible. At the Hewitt and Kinsey mines, from the nature of their loca tion, the work has been successfully done by open cuts and tun nels. But little blasting is necessary at any of the mines, as the width of the deposit is usually sufficient for open cuts or tunnels without interfering to any great extent with the harder wall rocks. As the rough blocks of talc are taken from the mine they are hand-cobbed, if necessary, and sorted into three grades. The larger pieces are cleaned by rubbing them with steel brushes, and the smaller ones by an ordinary founder's scouring machine. They are then dried by being spread over a floor of steam-pipes which are kept at a temperature of about 212 F. When dry, the pieces are crashed and ground and the foreign material, removed by seiving. It is then further ground and the product passed through bolting-cloth, making the final product of nearly uniform grain. In grinding or pulverizing the talc a buhr-stone mill is used, the same as in grinding wheat. The ground product is handled very much like flour, and in filling the bags with the flour talc an ordinary flour packer is used. TALC PROPERTIES BEING DEVELOPED. --The mostN o r t h C a r o l i n a T a l c a n d M i n i n g C o m p a n y . im portant work done east of Red Marble gap is at Hewitt station, IIf. 16 TALC AND PY K O PH Y LLITE DEPOSITS. A Car0,i" TalC " d Mi,TM g ^ ttafeoe Tofaa h,,ijl,l rmis"in"ggaTlmost dJeir"ec`'tCly from the Nanta>h*aloaaritvbeerstXTLhihe pocket of talc la resting on a bed of marble, with banging wall of the same rock and is capped by quartzite. This pocket or bed is almost continuous for nearly 1,500 feet, and includes the adjoin- ng property of the Nantahala Talc and Marble Company. The deposit has been worked for about 500 feet in length by the North aiohna company, and they have cut into the bed of talc to a depth of nearly 40 feet. Other pockets of talc have been opened Tnd ^ " T f t S r " 10 `h9 W" ` f thiS ^ b" ` to toe . To determine whether there was any considerable depth to the deposit a drill was run into the hill for 95 feet, starting at about river T h 7 d U raiira<1 * 7 * ' WMch is betweeD the hill and the ' ^ ! dnl1 penetrated through marble for the whole dis- thha!Mt thheWdreposit of the tbaelcy0hUadd tphiencUhOerdthoWutaIa1t otfha`thedetpaltch,. shAows tihnge bed was worked toward the northeast it widened to 14 feet, mak! ing e average width of the deposit about 11 feet. The marble . b^rreeaaTt ddeeaall (M422.7700 p^er^cent\.) of free qua"rtz Canhdaratrcetemrolbiutet contahls a . A large percentage of the talc mined is of No. 1 quality onJv about one-fourth of it being off color, of which a p o S 0? a rather dark bluish tint. More material suitable for cutting into pencils is obtained from this mine than any of the others ' ? Uu DS tn 6 T St year (1899) 0Ver 900 tous of ta]c were mined Of IK 7 Whleh ab but 43 t0QS were made into flour-talc' Of this about 700 tons was of No. 1 quality. The 43 tons refe.ed to were cut into pencils of various sizes. There is but very little hauling of the crude talc necessary as the mill is located at the foot of the hill on the narrow strip of ,,round between the railroad track and the river. This location also makes it very convenient for shipping the commercial products The mill has a capacity of 10 tons of flour-talc per day. N a n t a h a l a T alc and Ma b b l e CoMPANY.-Adjoining the prop erty of the North Carolina Talc and Mining Company on the west . h Frank be south rer. The wall of r bed is adjoiny- The ie North a depth led and he same- h to the it about and the ole dis allowing As the stj makmarble itains a t.y, only is of a ng into >mined >ur-talc. referred sary, as strip of location roducts. ie propfae west TALC AND PY R O PH Y LL IT B DEPOSITS. 17 is that of the Nantahala company. This company also owns tiie land adjoining the North Carolina company on the east. The occurrence here is very similar to that at Hewitts, being on the same range of hills rising from the Nantahala river and the prop erty taking in part of the same vein. The talc is of very good quality and considerable of it is compact enough to be cut into pencils. Only a little work has been done here during the past year. But little mining has been done for talc between these proper ties just described, on the east, and near Tomotla, on Valley river, Cherokee county, on the west, an intervening distance of about 20 miles. This d^es not mean, however, that there are no talc beds throughout this distance, but only that the favorable portions for the occurrence of talc in this section of the formation have not been as thoroughly prospected as others. It may be found, as this region is more carefully prospected, that talc beds which may have origi nally been here have been subsequently altered and removed by erosion. V alley to w n M in e r a l Co m pany.--This company has done a little mining about two miles northeast of Tomotla, or six miles northeast of Murphy, in Cherokee county. About 200 tons of talc were obtained, some of which was badly mixed with tremolite, from a pit close to the railroad. A mill was erected for grinding the talc but it has been closed for nearly a year and no mining has been carried on during that time. From the indications observed here, there is reason to believe that there is a considerable bed of talc on this property. So u th er n M in e r a l Co m pa n y .-- Less than a mile to the south west of the above property is the old Maltby mine, now owned by the Southern Mineral Company, of which D. C. Curtis, of Tomotla, is manager. The work done at this mine consists of a pit approx imately 70 feet square, and 10-20 feet deep, cutting across the bed of talc. Near the centre of the pit a shaft 15 feet deep has been sunk, which penetrated the talc and entered a greenish talcose rock which was very gritty. A few feet to the south of the pit two additional shafts have been cut to a depth of 30 feet, the lower ten 18 TALG AND PY R O PH Y LLITE DEPOSITS. feet of which penetrated talc. But little work has been done to ac curately determine the depth of the talc, but borings have been made at angles of 45, which penetrated talc for more than 50' feet. The southeast or hanging-wall is a marble and the north west or foot-wall is a quartzite. The dip of the strata is 5-10 S. E. A little prospecting has been done in the vicinity of the mine which has showed the presence of pockets of tale which con tain a great deal of tremolite. In excavating for the foundation of the mill, talc was uncovered. The marble in contact with the talc is dolomitic in character and carries occasionally crystals of tremolite. As there is no chance to run a cut into the pit all the talc and waste material are hoisted by whim and derrick. It is probable that this mine could be worked more profitably by shafts and tunnels. Considerable of the tale from this mine is off color and accord ing to the discoloration is classed as No. 2 or No. 3. These lower grades are, however, usually as free from grit as the No. 1 talc. None of the material thus far obtained from this mine is compact enough for cutting into pencils. Mr. Curtis reports that about 1,000 tons of the various grades have been mined, of which a por tion was ground, and part shipped in the rough masses as mined. The mill on this property is one of the best equipped of any in the talc region, and has a capacity of 15 tons of flour talc per day. D a v id s o n P r o p e r t y .--One mile southwest of the Maltby mine, and at Tomotla, the formation crosses the farm of Winslow David son. A few pits have been sunk in the lowlands of Valley river to the southeast of the railroad track and opposite the depot. In a number of these pits talc of good quality was encountered, but no work has been done to demonstrate whether or not it exists in quantity. H ayes M in e . Phis mine is about five miles northeast of Mur phy and one mile southwest of Tomotla on the property of J. E Hayes. On this talc deposit there is an open cut about 60 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 30 feet deep, following down its contact with the marble on the southeast. Tests made by boring show that there is a considerable width and depth of talc at this mine Lone to ac lave been 3 than 50 he northis 5-10 ity of the rhich conrandation t with the rystals of it all the eb. It is by shafts .d accordiese lower lo. 1 talc. compact at about ich a por is mined, my in the r day. tby mine, >w DavidIley river mt. In a :d, but no exists in t of Mr ir of J. F. ut 60 feet ts contact ing show his mine, TALC AND PY K O PH Y LLITB DEPOSITS. 19 and test pits made, 50 feet to the southwest and 200 feet to the northeast, indicating that along the strike the pocket extends for some distance. .. According to Mr. Hnyes, about 1,000 tom have been taken out of this mine in reeent years, ot which only about twenty-five per cent was of first grade. The tale was not so badly stained at the lower depth and was freer from grit. No mming has been done. during the past year- . Between the Hayes mine and the next property of importance on the west, that of the Cherokee Iron, Marble and Talc Company, there has been but little prospecting, and nothing of importance has been found. Comoro* I r o n , H u m am . Ta m CoMrivv.--This company's property, of which Edward McCrady, of Charleston, b. O is presi d e d extends to within about a mile of Murphy, following along the talc-bearing formation for over two miles. Prospect,ng was undertaken by means of shafts and pits, and m the latter partm November (1899) by boring with an auger M bile " lk h i shown the presence of a considerable quantity of tale. has not yet shown much of good quality. Mr. A. S. Emerson, of Baltimore, Md , who is milling for talc at the Kinsey mine, has been testily the property by boring holes through the soft material until the d lid ,-oek was^encountered. Most of the tale found thus far has been mixed with a considerable per cent, of tremolite, and much of it has been badly stained. As prospecting is continued it is not at all unlikely, but is very probable, that good deposits ot talc will be found, free from stains and grit. H itchcock. P k o p b m y . - T I i U property, comprising about 2 700 acres is the first one to the west of Murphy where there has been " A c t i n g for talc. A number of cuts and small pits have been made at various places which have shown the presence ot talc, but for the most part of inferior quality. Systematic boring would be the easiest and quickest way to determine whether there are any deposits of good talc. From the indications shown by the present prospecting, it is not unreasonable to expect that good de 20 T A L C A N D P Y K O P H Y L L IT E D E PO SIT S. posits will be found on this property. The nearest shipping point on the railroad is Murphy, a distance of two miles. This property is now owned by Mrs. Lily Coit, of San Francisco, Cal. R o g e r s P r o p e r t y . --This adjoins the Hitchcock property on the southwest, and has been prospected to a limited extent, both by pits and borings. No definite information could be had regard ing this, but it is reported that good talc was encountered in many of the borings. The property extends for two miles along the matble-talc formation, but .more thorough prospecting is necessary before anything definite will be. known regarding either the de posits of talc or of marble. The Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern railroad crosses the property. H i l l y e r P r o p e r t y . -- This property, including the Hillyer mine, lies to the southwest of the Rogers Tract along the Atlanta, Knoxville and Northern railroad, about four miles southwest o f ' Murphy, and is owned by the Atlanta Talc, Mining and Manufac turing Company, of which Judge George Hillyer, of Atlanta, Ga., is the president. '' _ Mtmng has beeu carried on quite extensively at this mine, which ]s one of the largest and best that is known on the 'talc forma tion. Three shafts nearly in a line, with the strike of the rocks and 100 feet apart have been sunk on the bed of talc penetrating this for 27 feet, making a total depth of each shaft about 60 feek The foot-wail of quartzite is but 1-6 feet from the shafts, and is dip ping nearly 30 to the southeast. The width of the bed is known to be 40 feet, but no tests have beeu made to determine its actual . width or depth. A little to the northwest of the line of shafts and 300 feet to the southeast, a tunnel 100 feet long was run along the quartzite contact and good talc encountered. This mine has yielded several thousand tons of the finest quality of talc, but practically none of it was compact enough to be used in cutting into pencils. The mine when examined was full of water, so that nothing could be seen of the talc in place, and noth ing definite can be said regarding the quantity, but judging from what has been obtained from the mine, and the report of the ipping point his property iperty on the . mt, both by had regardred in many ss along the is necessary ther the de ed Northern the Hillyer the Atlanta, southwest of nd Manufacitlanta, Ga., mine, which talc formaof the rocks ) penetrating bout 60 feet, s, and is dip ped is known ne its actual of shafts and un along the finest quality h to be used 1 was full of ce, and noth udging from ieport of the t a l c and pyro ph y llite d e p o s it s . 21 amount of wort done, and from what could be ^thomd from sur face indications, there is a large quantity of good talc still m t mine. N o n a Makbm and Taco ConPANV.-This company's property is-located at and in the vicinity of Kinsey, K. G The hale depi is known as the Kinsey Mine, and is being worked by A, fe. En son, of Baltimore, The larger part of the talc from this mine h been found wholly within the marble, but near marble with the quartzite. Two tunnels, one of them ha_ ,, length of 75 feet, have been run in on the deposit, low the other. The talc occurs in a series of rather hat lenses which yield a product of the finest quality, like that obtained from the HUlyer mine. That found at the contact between the marb m id TM quartzite is not of as good quality as the entirely sur rounded by the marble. These pocket, of tale at the Kinsey m no have been pretty thoroughly worked nnt, and other portions o 10 company's lauds are now being prospected b , borings to locate if possible"other deposits. Blocks of tale have been obtainedIfTM this mine that have weighed nearly a thousand pounds A mill connected with this property has a capacity of six tons of flour-tale per day. The railroad passes by the mine and within a very short distance of the mill. n There has been but very little talc found to the southwest of he Kinsey mine, and nothing has been observed that has indicated the existence in that direction of any important deposits of this mineral. M ARBLE ASSOCIATED W IT H TH E TALC. Associated with all the talc deposits described above is marble, which in many localities is in such quantity and of_such quality as to he of commercial value. The marble varies in color from white- to pinkish and bluish. While a great deal of the marble has been too much broken in connection with the folding and gen eral np-lift of the rocks of the region to be available as a building stone, there are however, a number of deposits in which it is o considerable economic importance. >k 22 T A L C AND P Y E O T H Y L L IT E D E PO SIT S. At the present time the only locality that is being worked is at the Kinsey mine, some four miles southwest of Murphy. The mar ble here is of a pinkish-white and bluish-gray color, and of a uni form texture. Some of the most promising outcrops of marble are in the val ley of Valley river. Of these the one which has shown the most promising prospect is at the Hickerson place, across the river from the railroad depot at Andrews. The deposit here has been tested by means of boring at a number of places, and it was found suffi ciently solid and free from cracks to make it suited for building and ornamental purposes. It is white in color, fine grain and com pact, and indications seem to show that this can be used as a stat uary marble. Marble outcrops at intervals from the Kinsey to the Hewitt mine, and it is not at all improbable that other deposits of com mercial value will be found in connection with this talc belt. The marble that is in direct contact with the talc deposits is dolomitic in character, as seen by the analyses below. The pink and bine marble found at the Kinsey mine show but a very small per cent, of magnesia. In the following analyses,* Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are of white marble that is in direct contact with the talc at the Kinsey, Maltby and Hewitt mines respectively; No. 4 is of the pink and No. 5 of the blue marble from the Kinsey mine. ANALYSES OF M ARBLE ASSOCIATED W ITH TALC DEPOSITS: . W hite M arble, K in sey M ine. (i) Inso lu b le resid u e.,.. ..... 5.20 Lim e, CaO................ ..... 28.62 M agnesia, M gO........ ..... 19.27 W hite Marble, Vlftltby M ine. (2) 2.10 30.14 20.70 , W hite M arble, H ew itt M ine. (3) 42.70 17.62 11.48 Pink Marble, K in sey M ine. Blue M arble, K insey M ine. (4) (5) 2.90 2.80 49.10 52.30 3.67 . 0.50 In the first three of the above analyses the ratio of the CaO:MgO is as follows: ' ' No. 1, CaO:M gO=.511 487=1.05:1. No. 2, C aO :M gO =.538:517=1.04:l. No. 3, C aO :M gO =. 314:287=1.09:1. * By Dr. Charles Ba&kervilie, U niversity of N orth Carolina. comstatiwitt com- bsleev, MgO TALC ANT) P Y K O PH Y L L IT E DEPO SITS. 23 These are very close to 1:1, which shows that they represent normal dolomite marbles, and as these analyses are o samples from three points at different places on the formation they indi cate that all the marble in contact with the talc is of the same ^'T^ie^m arb^from Hewitt's (No. 3) contains a large percentage of Impurities which were very apparent in the hand specimen , however, graded into a marble that was very free from grit That from the Maltby mine (No. 2) shows a very pure marb e close to rhe contact, and that from the Kinsey mine (No. 1) does not con tain a very large percentage of impurity. The insoluble residue consisted of talc, quartz, and sometimes a little tremolite The pink and blue marble from the Kmsey and ^ .are very pure lime marbles, the latter containing but little more than a trace of magnesia. It is not unreasonable to expect that the near future will see considerable activity in marble quarrying m this section of t e S tate' PY R O PH Y LLITE (AGALMATOLITE). The name agalmatolite properly means a variety of pmite, one -of the micas, hut it has been loosely used for a variety of as compact talc (steatite) and compact pyrophyllite. The name was originally used for a soft mineral found m China which was used for carving into minature images, considerable of which was a gennine pmite, hut some of that used was a compact talc and Dvrophyllite. Thus the name has been given to talc and pyrop yflite from a number of localities on account of their resemblance -to the pinite (agalmatolite) of China. n, It is seen from the analyses on page 26, that the so-called .agalmatolite from Moore and Chatham counties, North C arolina^ not a pinite but a pyrophyllite. As the name agalmatolite has been so constantly used as a trade name, for the mineral from these cou'nties, it will be given in parentheses after the name pyrophyllite wherever it is necessary to use the name m describing the mineral. 24 TA LC A N D P Y R O P H Y L L IT E D E PO SIT S. OCCURRENCE OF PY K O PH Y LLITE IN NORTH CAROLINA. , The pyrophyllite (agalmafcolite) deposits are located in the ex treme north central portion of Moore and the south central part of Chatham counties, and can be traced across the country for a distance of eight miles. The principal mining that has been done is near the boundary between the two counties in the vicinity of Glendon, Moore county. They are associated with the slates of this region but are not in direct contact with them, being usually separated by bands of silieious and iron breccia, which are proba bly 100 to 150 feet thick. These bands of breccia contain more or less pyrophyllite, and they merge into a stratum of a pyrophyllite schist. Between this and the massive beds of pure pyrophyllitethere are very often small seams of quartz and larger lenticular quartz masses, several feet thick. The strike of this formation is approximately A. 55-60 E,, and dipping 60--70 to the northwest. It is first encountered about three and three-fourth miles southwest of C. H. Womble'shouse, and three and one-fourth miles beyond Deep river. Where the formation crosses the river there is a good outcrop of the pyrophyllite, and then at a point 100 yards to the northeast and extending for about half a mile, the mineral has been mined at in tervals. Beyond this point, which is near Rogers creek, there has. been no mining, but the formation can be followed for another three miles to the northeast. In this distance there are many promising outcrops of the pyrophyllite, which will probably develope into as good deposits as any that have been heretoforeopened. The beds of this mineral are not entirely of commercial qual ity, but there are bands_ of the pyrophyllite that are highly sill-- cious along side of those that are entirely free from grit. Although the general appearance of the waste and good material is very similar, they can readily be distinguished by the touch, and can, readily be kept separate by hand cobbing. Small seams of quartz often penetrate into the beds of pyrophyl lite, cutting across the bedding of the formation, while those be- LINA. . in the exentral part untry for a 3 been done vicinity of :ie slates of ing usually are proba,ain more or >yropbyllite yrophylliter lenticular 55--60 E. encountered i. Womble's. er. Where irop of theirtheast and nined at in is, there hasfor another j are many, robably de i heretofore- ercial qualhighly sili-- Although srial is very ;h, and can. >f pyrophylle those be- TALC AND PY R O PH Y LL IT E DEPOSITS. 25 tween this and the brecciated rock or schistose rock are parallel with the strike. Besides the quartz as an impurity, portions of the deposit are filled with small particles, some of which are chlorite, and oth ers hematite, giving them a decided speckled appearance. These portions vary from seams a few inches m width to lenses several feet thick. A cross section of these beds will probably not show an average of over twenty-five to thirty per cent, of commercial pyrophyllite. The pyrophyllite rocks have a width of about 500 feet, but not over 100 feet of this would constitute the workable deposits, and of this but twenty-five per cent, would be of commercial pyrophyllite (agalmatolite). This, however, is so located that not over fifty feet would have to be mined to obtain the twenty-five feet of goo number-one material. _. While the talc deposits of Cherokee and Swain counties are pockety in nature and of limited depth, the pyrophyllite formation is continuous and of considerable, though of unknown depth. Since the construction of the railroad from Gulf, Chatham county, to Carthage, Moore county, by the Durham and Charlotte R. R. Company, nearly the whole pyrophyllite formation has been brought into close proximity with railroad facilities, thus making the mining of these deposits a practical proposition. While possessing many of the physical properties of talc an often being mistaken for it, the pyrophyllite is quite different m its chemical composition,-and is a distant mineral species. Although this mineral probably cannot be put to all the uses of talc, it can be used for the larger number of them, and those for which the talc is used in the greatest quantity. Some of this might be of such quality that it could be cut into pencils, but the most of this mineral would only be of value when ground. It is soft with a greasy feel and pearly luster, and has a foliated structure. The color varies from green, greenish and yellowish-white to almost white; but when air-dried they all become nearly white. Very little compact pyrophyllite has been observed that would be suita ble for carving, as is used in China, although considerable of this has been used in the manufacture of slate pencils. 26 T A L C A N D P Y K O P H Y L L IT E D E PO SIT S. Chemically, pyropbyllite is a hydrous aluminum silicate, while talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate. The following analyses* have been made of three samples of this mineral, from the prop erty of the Rogers Creek Mining Company: . ATCALYSUS O F PY R O PH Y T L 1T B ( A G A L M A T O L IT E ): Black Variety. !1YROPIIY LLITE. (i) W a te r (loss on ignition) H 20 ............ ............. 5.86 Siliea, SiOi ............................................ ............. 61.27 A lum ina, AI2O3..................................... .............. 25.66 F errous Oxide, F eO .............................. ............ 5.37 Lim e, C a O .............................................. , ........... 0.60 M agnesia, M gO ..................................... Soda, N a20 ............................................... ............ 0.83 Potash, K jO ............................................ ............. 0,11 Yellowishwhite Variety. (2) 5.45 64.53 29.40 0.67 Trace Trace 0.28 Trace T o ta l..................................................... ............. 99.70 100.33 Apple- green V ariety. (3) 5.85 63.50 28.73 0.84 Trace Trace 0.37 Trace 99.69 In the above analyses No. 1 represents a black variety of the pyropbyllite, which was apparently free from any grit, and the -dark color was undoubtedly due to the large percentage of iron that the mineral contained. The other two analyses are of two sam ples of the massive mineral of first quality, as it was obtained from the mine, No. 2 being of a yellowish-white and No. 3 of an apple- green color. As is noticed in these analyses the percentage of iron is very low and the composition of the mineral is made up almost entirely of alumina (Al2Oa), siliea (Si02), water (H20) and only a trace of magnesia. . The ratios of A120 3:Si02:H 20 are in 1, = 1.08:4:1.12, and in 2, = 1.08 :4 :1.24, which are approximately 1:4:1, giving the formula H 30, A1.20 3, 4 Si02, the same as for pyrophyllite. That these pyrophyllite schists and beds of the massive mineral were not steatite, or the genuine agalmatolite was first shown by Prof. George J. Brush,| of Yale University. In 1862 he had spec imens of this mineral which was at that time supposed to be talc (soapstone), analyzed in the Sheffield laboratory with the result *B y Dr. Charles Baskerville, of the U niversity of N orth Carolina, t Am, J. ScL, No. I4, 1862, p. 219. ticate, while Lg analyses* m the prop- Agrpepelen* V ariety. (3) 6.85 63.50 28.73 0.84 Trace Trace 0.37 Trace 99.69 riety of the rit, and the of iron that )f two samtained from of an applesrcentage of is made up * (HsO) and L.12, and in giving the ite. ive mineral t shown by ie had specd to be talc i the result TALC AND PY R O PH Y LL IT E DEPOSITS. 27 that they were shown to be identical in composition with pyrop yllite and that the variation in the Prognostic properties of t different varieties is entirely due to their structure. These deposits have been known for over fifty years but the has been hut very little systematic mining, and what materia obtained was used for the same purposes as talc. The pyrophyllite, after coming from the mine, is c eaue a tested the same as talc, being ret dried and then c eane: y bruehm-- then crashed, seived and passed through bolting-cloth. The ground product is almost identical In appearance wtth hour tale, and should bring in the market about the same prices that talc does. m ining pr o per ties. P h i l l i p s P r o per ty . - B e g i n n i n g a t the s o u t h w e s t p o r t i o n o f t h e formation, the first locality at which any mining has been done is on a e Phillips property, about one and a half miles northwest of Olendon and a third of a mile northeast from Deep river, and e tending from 1,200 to 1,500 feet on the pyrophyllite formatio ^ This property has been opened up at intervals during the past ihtev-hve yearn, lire last work being done by the White Soapstone Company of New York City. The deposit has been opened alo g the strike for a distance of about thirty-five yards by a cu from ten to twenty feet in width and ten to wen y ee Near its southwest end there is an additional cut five feet_deep by twenty feet wide. Very little good pyrophyllite is m sight at any of the openings on this property; but the indications are that material of good quality will be found if the developed. No mining has been earned on here lor a number ot years. . W omble PROBERTY.-The property adjoining the Phillips to the northeast is the Womble, which extends along the -m atron for a distance of 1,200 feet. It is now owned by Mrs. Cora C. Pry, o Glendon; but is controlled and operated by G. H. 1 ' om e- --a pits have been sunk at intervals for nearly its entire length, but the mining now being done is at the northeast end of the property 28 TA LC A N D P Y R O P H Y L L IT E D E P O S IT S . and consists of an open pit forty feet deep and from ten to twenty feet wide, which follows along the strike. The mineral obtained here is of very fine quality, of a white to yellowish-white color. Adjoining the Wotnble property is a narrow strip of 100 feet, owned by H. 0. Gard, of Marrietta, Ohio; and next to this another narrow strip of 130 feet, owned by Mrs, Fry. A little work has been done on both of these properties, but nothing of any impor tance beyond showing that the formation is constant. T h e R ogers Cr e e k M in in g C ompany'.-- The property of this company, which is the next on the northeast, extends for a dis tance of 785 feet along the formation to and beyond a small creek which flows into Rogers creek. This company has started out in the most systematic manner in mining for the pyrophyllite. A large open cut has been made on the northeast face of the hill which rises gradually to a height of over 100 feet above the branch. The cut is toward the southwest on the strike of the pyrophyllite schists and extends into the hill for a distance of seventy-five feet, with inclination sufficient to drain it at the bottom. At the south east end, when the mine was visited in November, 1899, the cut was thirty feet deep and about sixty feet wide, broadening from eighteen feet in width at the entrance, this work having been done during 1899. The facilities for mining the mineral cheaply are better at this mine than any of the others now opened. There has been no mining to the northeast of the small branch crossing this tract, but prospecting pits have shown that there are deposits of this material as promising as those which have already been opened. ' . The next 700 feet of the formation, northeast of the Rogers Min ing Company's property, is owned by Mrs. J. R. Gilliam, Pocket, Moore county. Beyond this to the northeast, and taking in nearly a mile of the formation, is the property of the George H. Snow estate, Raleigh, N. C. . BY-PRODUCT IN PYROPHYLLITE MINING. In mining the pyrophyllite (agalmatolite) there is a considerable percentage of the mineral that is not suitable for making the to twenty obtained ! color. ` 100 feet, is another work has ny impor- ty of this for a disaall creek ;ed out in rllite. A f the hill le branch, rophyllite ?-five feet, die south1, the cut ling from been done eaply are 11 branch there are e already igers Min 1, Pocket, in nearly ow estate, isiderable iking the TALC,: A N D P Y R O P H Y E L IT E D E P O S IT S . 29 ground product, on account of the grit (usually quartz and the small black specks referred to above) that it contains. It is there fore very desirable that some commercial use be found for this waste material.' The most practicable one that has thus far been suggested is its use in the manufacture of fire brick. The mineral has the properties necessary for a bond used in the manufacture of these bricks and a few preliminary tests already made with the pyrophyllite in the construction of a fire-brick, have shown that it can without doubt be adapted for this purpose. With brick fac tories in the vicinity of the deposits it is not improbable that that portion of the pyrophyllite that is mrt suitable for grinding may be used in the manufacture of a fire-brick. Certain portions of the pyrophyllite deposits are hard and com pact enough to be used in the manufacture of slate pencils, and as far hack as 1862 it was mined for this purpose. BU LLETIN S OF TH E NORTH CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 1. Ira n Ores o f N orth C arolina, by H en ry B. 0. N itze, 1803. 8, 230 pp., 20-pl., a n d m ap. Postage 10 cents. 2. B uilding Stone in N orth C arolina, by Joseph A. H olm es an d J. V olney Lewis. In preparation. 3. Gold D eposits in N orth C arolina, by H e n ry B. C. N itze an d Geo. B. H an n a, 1896. 8, 196 pp., 14 pi., an d m ap. Ou,t o f print. 4. R oad m aterial an d R oad C onstruction in N orth C arolina, b y J . A. H olm es an d W illiam Cain, 1893. 8, 88 pp. Out of print. 5. T he Forests, F orest L ands a n d F orest Products o f E astern N orth C arolina, b y W. W . A she, 1894. 8, 128 pp., 5 pi. Out of print. 6. The Tim ber Trees of North Carolina, by Gilford Pinchot and W. W. Ashe, 1897. 8, 227 pp., 22 pi. Postage 10 cents. 7. F o rest Fires: T heir D estructive W ork, Causes an d P revention, by W . W . Ashe, 1895. 8, 66 pp., 1 pi. Out o f print. 8. W ater Pow ers in N o rth Carolina, by George F. Swain, Joseph A. H olm es a n d E . W. M yers, 1899. 8, 362 pp., 16 pi. Postage IS cents. . 9. M onazite a n d M onazite D eposits in N o rth Carolina, by H en ry B. C. N itze, 1895. 8, 47 pp., 5 pi. Postage 4 cents. 10. Gold M ining in N orth Carolina and o th e r A ppalachian States, b y H en ry B. C. N itze an d A. J . W ilkins, 1897. 8, 164 pp., 10 pi. Postage 10 cents. 11. C orundum an d th e Basic Magnesian. Rocks of W estern N orth Carolina, b y J. V olney Lewis, 1895. 8, 107 pp., 6 pi. Postage 4 cents. 12. D rinking W ate r Supplies in N orth C arolina, b y Jo sep h A. H olm es. lit preparation. 13. Clay D eposits a n d Clay In d u stries in N o rth Carolina, by H ein rich R eis, 1897. S, 157 pp., 12 pi. Postage 10 cents. 14. Mica D eposits a n d Mica M ining in N orth Carolina, by Joseph A. H olm es. In preparation. 15. M ineral W ate rs of N orth C arolina, by F. P. V enable. In press. 16. A L ist o f E levations in N orth Carolina, by J . A. H olm es an d E. W. M yers. In preparation. 17. H istorical Sketch o f N orth C arolina Scientific a n d Econom ic Surveys; and B ibliography of N orth Carolina Geology, M ineralogy and N atural H istory, by J . A. H olm es an d L. C. Glenn. In preparation. 18. R oad M aterials an d C onstruction, by Jo sep h A. H olm es an d W illiam Cain. In preparation. 19. C orundum a n d th e P erid o d ites in W estern N orth C arolina, by J. H . P ra tt and J. V. Lewis. In preparation. 20. T he Loblolly P ine in E astern N orth C arolina, by W, W. Ashe. In -pre paration. E c o n o m ic P a p e r s , N o . 3, on th e M aple Sugar In d u s try in W estern N o rth Caro lin a ; No. 2, on recen t road legislation in N o rth C arolina; an d No. 3, on Talc a n d Pyrophyllite Deposits in N orth Carolina, are also distributed free, on th e paym ent of postage, 2 cents in each case. " These publications are mailed to libraries and to individuals who m ay desire in formation on any of the special subjects named, free of charge, except th a t in each case applicants for th e reports should forward the am ount of postage needed, as in d icated above, for m ailing th e bulletin s desired, to th e State Geologist, Chapet m i l , N. C.