Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-09-09
Graphite Industry Growing in Wiscon-
sin.


which little has been heard of outside of
Portage county, is graphite mining.
These mines are located about mile
from the village of Junction City at
the junction of the Wisconsin Central
lines and tie c. M. & st. P. railway.
Graphite is typical form of car
bon, the same as the diamond or
charcoal, but 1t cannot be burned as
charcoal nor diff used like the dia-
mond under heat. It is non-fusible
and non-combustible, making it the
best mineral yet discovered for the
mandatory of crucibles for the
melting of the refra ctory metals.
There are two principal forms of
graphite, the foliate and the amor
phous. The foliate variety is dis
tinguished by the crystals always
forming the leaf shape, while the
anonymous variety has no regular
form of crystalization.
The Wisconsin graphite is an amor
phous variety of great purity and
fine texture. 1t occurs in we'll defined
assure veins dipping on an average
OF about 80 degrees. In these veins
the mineral occurs very pure and clean,
making mining very inexpensive. An
average of S10O per ton will cover the
cost of mining. The oldest company
in operation, the Wisconsin Graphite
Company, has this year built large
new reduction plant at McDill near
Stevens Point, where it secured an
excellent water power. This company
also has a manufacturing plant in
Pittsburg, Pa. 1t keeps crew of
miners constantly employed at the
mine and ships the ore to McDill for
treatment.
In appearance Wisconsin graphite
ore resembles slate, but upon rub
bling with the finger or cutting with a
sharp instrument the difference is
plain, graphite showing a shiny, black
polish like freshly blackened stove.
In fact graphite enters largely into the
manufacture of stove polish.
1t is in the lead pencil, however,
that it is most commonly met with,
and while one pencil contains but.
small amount, in the aggregate
the lead pencil trade uses large
quantities of the mineral. In cruel
bles also it is very largely used, and
of recent years core carbons, rheo-
stats, and various electrical appli-
ances have come to add to the con-
sumption of the mineral. The use of
steel for structural work and roofing,
sheeting, etc., has been responsible
for large increase in it's consump-
ton.
In 1894 the Master Railway painters
of the United States took up the
study of graphite as a protective
covering for iron and exposed metal
surfaces with the result that
they recommended it's use to nearly
every railway company in America.
Many of them have already adopted
it and it's use in this direction is
being largely extended every year.
The Baltimore & Ohio railway was
perhaps one of the first companies
to become large users of the mineral
as paint.
The mines at Junction City have
proven to be most excellent variety
for paint pigment, as we'll as for
crucible and electrical work and for
lubricants in various forms. One of
the exclusive products of the Wiscon-
sin mines is what is called pipe joint
paste, and is used to seal the joints
of iron piping the same as white or
red lead has heretofore been used.
It is claimed that with this paste the
joint is made secure and the pipe
can be taken down after any length
of time without injury to the threads.
The value of graphite depends large
ly upon it's texture and percentage
of carbon, the best grades bringing as
high as $3.50 per ton, while the lowest
bring from $50 up. The Wisconsin
company mentioned elsewhere in this
article receives 500 per ton for it's
best grade in large lots and the very
lowest price on the poorest grade is
$50 per ton. With mining and reduc-
tion costing around $40 per ton the
profits are certainly large.
Most of the graphite used in the
United States today comes from
Mexico, while the Celon product is
being brought into the single port
Of New York at an average of twenty
five tons daily. There are but, few
mines in the United States and among
those worthy of the name are the
Joseph Dixon Crucible Cos mine
at Ticonderoga, N. Y, which supplies
small part of the mineral uses; one
in South Carolina; one in L'Anse
county, Mich, which yields a very
low grade, and the Wisconsin mines.
The Pioneer Graphite Company was
recently incorporated and has several
hundred tons of ore mined ready for
reduction near Junction City, and
expects to have it's reduction plant
in operation by the first Of January
next.
Where few years since biologists
told us there could be no graphite
is now found the profitable industry