Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1911-10-28
GYPSUM INDUSTRY
IMPORTANT ONE

In view of the fact that the greatest
and purest gypsum deposit iu the west
is about to be opened up by the Nevada
Douglas Copper Co., i'll the Yerington
terial are going to be made in very few
days, the following information regard
ing the magnitude and growth of the
gypsum industry WILL doubtless. be in
teresting to many of our readers:
'The importance of the gypsum in
dustry III the United States IS shown by
figures compiled by +. +. Burchard, of
the United States Geological Survey.
For 1910 the value of gypsum products
was So. 574 AS, and the amount of gyp-
sum mined 2,375. 1874 short tons This
more than 10 per cent. i'll value. Our
gypsum industry is Independent of for
eign sources, for the value of the inn
ports i'll 1910 amounted to only $500, Ill,
or less than per cent. of the domestic
output.
/ New York was the largest producer of
gypsum, with an output valued at ST.,
153, ,977, an increase of sl2l ,327 over
1909. Iowa came second, with value
of S943, $40, and Michigan third with
S66S, 2O1.
The bulk of the gypsum produced was
manufactured by grinding and partial or
complete calcination into plaster of Paris,
molding and casting plaster, stucco,
cement, fibered plaster, plaster boards,
flooring plaster and hard finish plaster
The best known hard finish, anhydrous
plaster, is Keene's cement, which sets
very white and hard 1t is used as a
backing and surface for artificial marble
and for ornamental holdings and cast
ings and its use as a wall plaster is in
Creasing.
Refined grades of plaster are used in
dental work, also as cement for plate
glass during grinding, for making pot
terry molds, stereotype molds and molds
for rubber stamps, and as an ingredient
in patent cements. A large quantity of
gypsum is used i'll the raw state as a re-
tarder i'll Portland cement. Considerable
quantities are ground without burning
and used as land plaster or i'll fertilizers.
Smaller quantities are used unburned in
the manufacture of crayons, paper, imi-
tation meerschauu and ivory, calcimines,
water paints and tints and dry colors,
notably Venetian reds. When used in
excess i'll mixed paints, GYPSUM is re-
garded as all adulterant. The unburned
and dead-burned forms of gypsum may
be used to a certain extent with oil
paints, because they are not very active
chemically.
East of the Mississippi River the gyp-
sum- producing localities are confined to
areas in Michigan, northern Ohio, cen
tral and western New York and south
western Virginia. West of the Missis-
sippi deposits of gypsum are both nu-
merous and widely distributed The
material is mined in Alaska and in the
States of Arizona, California, Colorado,
Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nevada,
New Mexico Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Plaster mills are i'll operation in at least
fourteen of these States. The Alaska
gypsum is shipped to Tacoma, where it
is prepared for the market.
Mr. Burchard' report, which contains a
map showing the location of gypsum
plants in operation in 1910, may be OBJ
tanned free of charge from the director,
United States Geological Survey, Wash
ington, ID. {.