Selected Annotated Bibliography of Asbestos Resources in the United States and Canada GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1019-L Selected Annotated Bibliography of Asbestos Resources in the United States and Canada By RUTH BUTLER AVERY, MARY LOU CONANT, and HELEN F. WEISSENBORN CONTRIBUTIONS TO BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MINERAL RESOURCES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1019-L Contains references on the geology,­ mineralogy, and origin of asbestos resources UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1958 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FRED A. SEATON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printlnl\ Office Washinaton 25, D. C. -. Price 25 cents (paper cover) CONTENTS Page Abstract---------------------------------------------------------- 817 Introduction------------------------------------------------------ 817 Explanation of the annotated bibliography____________________________ 819 Annotated bibliography____________________________________________ 821 IndeX------------------------------------------------------------ 859 m CONTRIBUTIONS TO ·BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MINERAL RESOURCES SELECTED ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF. ASBESTOS RESOURCES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA By RUTH BuTLER AvERY, MARY Lou CoNANT, and HELEN F. WEISSENBORN ABSTRACT This bibliography of 198 annotated references to asbestos resources in the United States and Canada lists publications that appeared before January 1956. The alphabetically arranged annotations emphasize the geology, miner­ alogy, and origin of asbestos resources. The entries in the bibliography are cross indexed by geographic areas, geologic and mineralogic terms, and other topics of interest for research, mining, and prospecting. INTRODUCTION Asbestos has been recorded in literature from the days of the Romans, but it was not mined and used in large quantities until the deposits in Canada, near Thetford, Quebec, were opened in 1878. The first asbestos mined in quantity in the United States was from Georgia, as early as 1894. These discoveries encouraged prospecting and by the early 1900's many States reported deposits of asbestos. The first major uses were as fireproofing fabrics; as woven, then molded brake linings; and as industrial packing. During World War II, spinning fibers with low-iron content became of strategic impor­ tance. Domestic asbestos production is greatly exceeded by domestic use, and foreign sources supply most of the ore. This bibliography contains information on mines, occurrences, and areas geologically favorable for asbestos in the United States (including Alaska) and Canada. Its preparation was prompted by an increasing need for asbestos and the consumption of reserve in asbestos-producing regions. Asbestos comprises the naturally fibrous forms of the serpentine and amphibole groups of minerals. The important commercial varieties are chrysotile of the serpentine group, and crocidolite, amosite, an­ thophyllite, and tremolite of the amphibole group. Picrolite, a colum­ nar brittle form of serpentine, has no known commercial value. 817 818 CONTRIBUTIONS TO BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MINER·AL REISOURCES Actinolite, a common amphibole, rarely occurs in useful fibrous form. Paligorskite, also known as mountain leather, mountain cork, mountain flax, and pilolite, occurs in flexible sheets of interwoven fibers or as masses of matted fibers; it has little commercial use. The asoostiform minerals occur in cross-, slip-, and mass-fiber habits. Cross fibers are nearly perpendicular to the walls of the veins, whereas slip fibers range from oblique to approximately parallel to the vein walls. _Mass fibers are diversely oriented, sometimes as radiating aggregates but commonly as felted masses. Chrysotile commonly occurs as cross and slip fiber, whereas crocido­ lite and amosite are principally cross fiber, Anthophyllite is commonly slip fiber and, like paligorskite, occurs also as mass fiber. Tremolite is ordinarily slip fiber. Chrysotile, anthophyllite, and tremolite are the only commercial asbestiform minerals that occur in the United States. Chrysotile is associated with ultramafic rocks that occur in a narrow belt extending frpm Alabama to Maine along the east coast and in another belt from California to Washington on the west coast. Scattered occurrences of ultramafic rocks in Texas, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, and Idaho contain chrysotile. The large commercial chrysotile deposits associated with ultramafic rocks are in Vermont, but numerous small deposits have been mined in California. Minor deposits are known in Maine, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Wisconsin, and .Wyoming. In Arizona commercial deposits of chrysotile in metamorphosed lime­ stone near diabase intrusives are mined; similar occurrences are known in New York, California, and Montana. Anthophyllite associated principally with ultramafic rock is reported in Georgia, Idaho, and Montana. Tremolite associated with serpentinized peridotite occurs in California, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. In Alaska, tremolite, chrysotile, and paligorskite occur in ultramafic rocks, but only small quantities have been produced. Most of the Canadian deposits are chrysotile asbestos associated with serpentinized peridotite. They occur chiefly in Quebec, Ontario, and in British Columbia, but deposits are known in the Yukon Ter­ ritory, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland. The important ore bodies are associated with the ultramafic belts that extend northward from those in the United States. The eastern belt trends northeast from Magog, Quebec, through the Gaspe Peninsula, and into Newfoundland. The western belt trends northward from Princeton, British Columbia, into the Yukon Territory where it bends sharply and trends southwest through Alaska. Some chrysotile asbestos is found in limestones of the· Grenville series in southern Quebec. · Canada produces about 60 percent of the world's asbestos, princi­ pally from chrysotile deposits in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, . .. ASBESTOS RESOURCES IN THE UNITED STATES AN'D CANADA 819 the Cochrane district .ot Ontario, and the Cassiar district of north­ western British Columbia. The Cochrane and Cassiar districts have been developed since 1950. Mines in southern Africa, .especiaJly those in Rhodesi~, Swaziland, and Union of South Africa, produce about 15 percent of the world's asbestos. These three countries contain the major sources of crocidolite ~nd amosite; they also produce chrysotile and anthophyllite. Although the United States consumes about 50 percent of world asbestos production (exclusive of Russia), it pro­ duces only about 4 percent of the world's asbestos. Most of the asbes­ tos in the United States is produced from Vermont and Arizona; California, Georgia, and North Carolina are sporadic producers; .and, until1941, Maryland was an important producer. Small quantities of asbestos have beeri mined in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.. Asbestos is important because of its fibrous .character and electric and thermal nonconductivity. Its various uses depend on the length, strength, flexibility, chemical and thermal stability, and iron content of the fibers. The most strategic fibers are those of spinning quality which have a low iron content. The major source in the United States is Arizona; the major source in the world is Sout)1ern Rhodesia.· Asbestos may be divided according to use into two major groups: (a) spinning fiber suitable for textiles, yarn, tape, rope, cord, thread, and wick, and (b) nonspinning fiber suitable for paper and cement products, for which uses the fibers are felted. Spinning fibers are of two types: crudes, which are hand cobbed, and milled fiber. All non­ spinning grades are milled· fiber. A few uses for fibers of spinning quality are yarn for cable wrapping, cloth for fireproof insulation and frictio11 materials, tape for wrapping and oil wicks, and industrial filters. Shorter fibers, not of spinning quality, are used i~ felt, p~per, and millboard for heat insulation and in molded form for brake lin­ ings. Increasingly large amounts of short fiber and impure grades of asbestos are used ir:t composition materials, such as furnace linmgs, pipe coverings, siding shingles, and roof and floor tiles. · EXPLANATION OF THE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY The compilation of references, organization of material, and anno­ tations for many of the references were done in 1953-54 by Ruth Butler A very. Most of the references concerning New England and Canada were annotated by Alfred H. Chidester, aided by Wallace M. Cady and Arden L. Albee. Some of the references pertaining to the Arizona deposits were annotated by Andrew F. Shride, Fred N. Houser, and William P. Shulhof. The annotations were compiled and prepared for publication by Mary Lou Conant and Helen F. Weis- 820 CONTRIBUTIONS TO BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MINE'R·AL REOOURCES senborn. They are selected from serials published through Decen1ber 31, 1955. The principal sources of references are-- Bibliography of North American Geology, 1919-54: U. S. Geol. Survey Bulls. 746, 747,.823, 937,938,949,958,968,977,985,1025, 1035, 1049, and 1054; . Annotated Bibliography of Economic Geology, published semi­ annually 1928-55 ; and U. S. Geological Survey Library, Washington, D. C. Geologic names listed are those of various authors and do not neces­ sarily follow the usage of the U.S. Geological Survey.. The annotated references are listed in alphabetical order by author (or authors) with full title and publication data. The