The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1890-02-13
IN WESTERN n. c.
A Mineral Product in which This
section Leads the World.

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Editor Citizen:-A brief description o
this valuable mineral, now found il
quantity in various sections of Western
North Carolina, may prove of interest tC
the readers of THE CITIZEN.
Corundum is pure crystallized clay, o,
alumina, and is the next hardest sub
stance in nature to the diamond. In its
crystallized form, when colored by differ.
ent proportions of oxide of iron, it he.
comes gem; and these, nine in number
are known as oriental sapphire, ruby
astoria, emerald, topaz, amethyst, gira.
sol, chatofant, and white or colorless
sapphire, which is often used in place o,
the diamond.
From the time of Solomon the corun.
dun gem localities have been known and
worked in Armenin, Bactria, India, Cey.
lon and elsewhere. In size, brilliancy
color and artistic execution, there are no
modern precious stones of the mineral
equal to those that have come down to
us from an carly date. Some of these
gems to-day outrank in value. as they
have ever done, the costliest diamonds.
In granular form corunduin was known
to the Persians as Armenian stone, to
the Chinese as adamantine spar, 1t is
taken from the Hindoo word korunda,
or cinnamon stone, the Hindoo variety
being Of this color. The chief sources OF
supply heretofore have been certain dis
tricts in Hindostan. in the Himalaya
mountains, and from these districts not
to exceed twenty tons per annum have
been sent to the markets of the world, as
the united product of all Asia.
From n very early period corundum
has been used as an abrasive power. Dur
ing the first French empire, the emperor
placed an obelisk from the banks of the
Nile in the "Place dc Ia Concordc." Wish.
ing to inscribe the date of its removal
upon its base, his workmen DESTROYED in
their labors several sets of their best
steel tools, but failed in their purpose.
Yet the same column is covered from tip
to base with hcroglyphics by the work
side of the Red Sea, whence came the
harder monuments Of the Nile valley.
there have RECENTLY been fund corundum
with all the indications of ancient work
ings. From this locality, may not these
anpient worknen, "skilled in all the wis.
dom Of the Egyptians" have found their
tools with which to execute thousands OF
square yards OF exquisite workmanship
with seeming ease, to initiate u few lines
OF which successfully exhausted the re-
sourses of the mechanics of Napoleon Bo-
naparte:
Emery is an impure corumdum, and
consists of mixture oi alumina and
magnetic pkile oi iron. 1t is mined Ia
some extent near Ephesus, i'll Asia Minor,
at NaNos, Greece, aud at Chester, Mass.
The abrasive powers OF pure cOrundum
are much greater than those OF emery.
Taking sapphire as the standard ut 100.
the product of our best Western North
Carolina corundum mines has a power
of 30 to 81 as an abrasive, while that of
the best emery lNaxosl is from 10 TO 81,
When connected in vitritied wheels. this
corundum cuts readily and rapidly gran
lite, chilled iron, hardened steel, all the
corundum gems, and even the diamond.
One OF its best tests is the bringing of a
steel tool rapidly To cutting edge with
out heat or loss Of temper.
The first corundum mine ever opened
in this country was that at "Corundum
Hill," Macon county, in this State, by
Col. c. W. jerks, of New York City, in
1871. This. with another secured and
opened at the same time, and now
owned and worked by Or. Lucas. of
Philadelphia, pay the largest profits Of
any similar mines in this country. Other
localities are being developed and worked
with great results in several western
counties in the State, and as the demand
Is great, both here and abroad, II is only
n question of time until the mining ot