The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-19
SOME INTERESTING NEWS AND
 ssA@ GOSSIP FROM WASHINGTON
BY WALTER HARPER

1 lions. The limestone belongs mainly to
 the Mississippian Oower Carboniferous) | series, and to the Chicamauga limestone , of the Ordovician system. The clay oc- l CUTS as residual to rocks of Cambrian and Carboniferous age, and the shale is com
 mon to the Pennsylvanian series (coal
 rleasures). The Paleozoic rocks outcrop 1 in, broad belts northeastward from below | Sessemer to beyond the state line into I Georgia and Tennessee and constitute | what are popularly known as the Valiey 1 rocks They also form broad crescentic belt across the northern portion of Ala | oama. following in general the direction of the Tennessee valley. The purest lime stones are those of Chicamauga and Ban gor age. The older rocks are often found
 to contain a considerable portion of mag snesia, which renders them unsuitable for l Portland cement manufacture.
 i 'In central and southern Alabama the raw materials suitable for the manufac- l ture of Portland cement occur mainly a. | two horizons. namely those of the Sel- | mn chalk ('rotten limestone of the | Upper Cretaceous series and the St. Stephens limestone of the Tertiary sys- | tenn. The clays available are residual having been derived from the decomposi- I ton of these two limestone formations I Also, there are stratified clays of the l Grand Gulf formation, and the alluvial | olays that lie in the river and creek bot toms. The limestones just mentioned l outcrop in two broad crescentc belts l from northwest to southeast across the state. The belt of Cretaceous rocks ranges l from b to 25 miles in width, and crosses portions of Sumter, Greene, Hale, Dallas I-owndes and Montgomery counties. The Tertiary rocks occupy a belt of similar width which crosses portions of Choctaw, n0f 1a -1ra 1t,l,
 Covington, Geneva and Henry counties, | and extends southeastward into Florida and eastward into Georgia. "The PaeoZoic limestones of northern | Alabama furnish a wide range of possi l tilities for cement manufacture. They are particularly well located with regard I to fuel supplies for they lie within, or
 on the borders of the Alabama coal field. The Selma chalk is of almost the proper composition, so far as percentage of lime carbonate is concerned, for the manufac- 1 ture of Portland cement. It requires the addition of little clay, and in consequence | the cost of grinding and mixing should be
 tow as compared. with 0 hard limestone I clay mixture. The chalks, however, have a very low silica a-aluminum ratio, and are | in places difficult to dry properly The St. Stephens limestone is not so near an l ideal composition as the Selma chalk. but | may still prove to be a very satisfactory cement material in combination with the l overlying Grand Gulf clay. So far as 1 transportation facilities are concerned cement plants located where the Creta- ceous and Tertiary rocks cross the navi- I sable rivers of Alabama should be able I 10 place their product at points on the | gulf or the southern Atlantic seaboard at | tow prices. owing to the cheapness of water transportation.
 |,
 At present three plants are in existence l in Alabama The plant of the Alabama Portland Cement company is located at l Spocari, near Dcmopolis, and uses soft, l tenn, and a residual clay. both of which Standard Portland Cement company is located at Leeds The raw materials used ot this plant are hard limestone of Chick amauga age and shale of the Clinton l f'Rockwood) formation The plant of the Atlantic and Gulf Portland Cement com rary has recently been built near Rag 1 land. Hard Chickamauga limestone and Carboniferous shale are used at this rlant. Coal is used as fuel in both plants. Several other prospective plants are re- ported to be in various stages of promo ton or construction: A plant at St. Stephens, near Mobile to use St. Stephens
 limestone and 'overlying clay: a plant near Blount Springs, to use Bangor lime l stone and probably shale of the Clinton ] formation: and a plant near Ensley, to use blast furnace slag and probably either l limestone of Chickamauga or Bangor | age"