The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-03-05
-v.zrTE AND MoNAZITE MIN
ING IN NORTH CAROLINA.

In answer gOOAO u JO0@ SOAAO0RS
who asked recently for some mona
CIV y, seeds. and for instructions as to
s.r 70 plant and cultiUate it, I beg to
limit the following notes concerning
81. interesting and valuable mineral
;n5nstry in North Carolina.
North Carolina is noted for its rare
.;naraIs. some of which are so rare
.Lot very few of her citizens have ever
Ian them. Others, which, like the
r,onazite. were considered are min
erals a few years ago, T now being
discovered and mined on a considerable
ocsle. In one of the reports of the
geological Survey, several years ago,
the occurrence of monazite, in several
of North Carolina counties was men
toned, but at that time no one knew
of any special purpose for which the
mineral could be used.
Later another North Carolina min
sral, which is found abundantly in
Henderson county, known as '~'zircon,"
was used In the manufacture Of burn
ers for incandescent gas lights. And
later it was discovered that monazite
Guild be used for the same purpose,
more cheaply and to better advantage
than the zircon. The companies manu-
featuring these gas lights consequently
discontinued the use of zircon, and
there sprung up for this purpose a con
siderable demand for the monazite. In
consequence of this demand search was
made for new deposits of monazitea and
many have been found in the counties
surrounding the South Mountains, in
Piedmont North Carolina.
In answer to your correspondent for
Instructions as to how to plant mona
ute, Imay say thathe nodoubt already
understands that this mineral was
planted in the hard rocks of the South
Mountain region by old mother ma
ture' ages and ages ago. The rocks on
the surface, all this while, have been
decaying into soil, but the mineral
monazite has not decayed with them.
AS the soils are washed down the
slopes OF these mountains and hills by
the rain water the monazite is washed
down with them, and being heavier
than the soil the monazite tends to set
tie in the bottom of the sand and gravel
in the beds of streams and along the
low lands; and in some cases it is found
in considerable abundance on the
higher lands.
Monazite is somewhat widely dis
tributed, but until now has been found
in commercial quantities only in Brazil,
Siberia, Norway, North Carolina, and
t~oalesser extent in Spartanburg coun-
ty, South Carolina. The North Caro-
lima area already explored embraces
between 1 800 and 2. 500 square miles,
situated in Burke, Mcdowell, Ruther-
ford and Cleveland counties. The
principal deposits of this region are
found along the waters Of Silver, South
Muddy, and North Muddy creeks, and
Henry's and Jacobs forks of the
Catawba river, in Mcdowell and Burke
counties; the Second Broad river, in
Mcdowell and Rutherford counties;
and the First Broad river, in Ruther-
ford and Cleveland counties. These
streams have their source in the South
Mountains.
Some monazite is also found in Polk
county, and to q small extent along the
western edge of Catawba, Lincoln and
CASTOR counties The mineral is also
reported as occurring in Madison,
Mitchell and Yancey counties, but not
in commercial quantities. The best
CrystalIzed specimens have been found
at Milholland's mill and Stony Point,
in Alexander county. The monazite
occurs in the sands and gravels of the
stream beds, associated with other
minerals, such as quartz, feldspar,
hornblende, epidote, mica, magnetic,
garnet, zircon, rutile, corundum, etc.
1t is separated from most of these, ow-
ing to its greater weight, by washing
IN sluice boxes in much the same way
that placer gold is won
The thickness of these stream-gravel
deposits is from 1 to 2 feet, and the
width of the mountain streams. in
which they ccu is seldom over IL to
Is feet. The sluice boxes are about 8
feet long by 20 inches wide by 20 inches
deep. Two men usually work at a box,
the one digging the gravel and shovel
ing it into the box, the other one work
ing it up and down in the box with a
gravel fork or perforated shovel in
order to float off the lighter sands.
These boxes are cleaned out at the
end of tho davis work. the cleaned