The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-10-27
EXTENSIVE ASBESTOS
DEVELOPMENT IN EDEN
New Corporation Has Acquired a
Mountain Composed OF Valuable
Mineral

The Asbestos Corporation OF Amer-
ca, chartered unler the laws or Mass
achusetts with a capitalization of ST.
BOZ, 900 has acquired control OF the
Vermont and Quebec Power company
and through the same interest has ac'
auired the southwesterly slope OF Bel
yidere Mountain, comprising about
600 acres of notwithstanding rock,
which was formerly the property OF
the New England and United States
Asbestos Corporation.
The Massachusetts company has
made remarkable progress in deve OPP
ing the property and in doing so has
accomplished one Of the most impor-
tant achievements in many years in
developing Vermonts natural re-
sources. Up 10 the present time the
company has invested about $6OO,OOO
in the acquiring OF the properties and
Improvements.
The control OF the Vermont and Que.
bee Power Corporation carried with it
the operating hydro-electr C plant at
Stevens NILS, VI, situated near Rich
ford, and the undeveloped water pow
ers at Johnson and on the Yamaska
and Missisquoi Rivers in the Province
of Quebec. The corporation has just
completed the construction OF new
dam at Stevens Mills. which is 1856
feet wide and "a feet high. This COM
pany IS also building a concrete addi-
ton to the power plant, thereby doub-
ling the capacity, for the purpose OF
supplying electrical energy for the de-
We. opment OF the asbestos properties.
A pole line, q miles in length Is also
being constructed, between Richford
and Belvidere Mountain
The development of the property has
proceeded rapidly during the last six
weeks. The mill bu lding, l06 by "a
feet and four stories high, has been
built at an altitude Of more than 1000
feet, far up on the mountain side in
the midst of the quarries. The inein-
ed railroad from the mill to the base
OF the mountain $500 feet long. with
the. large storehouse at the bottom Is
10 per cent comp etc. The capacity
OF the m II, when in full operation, will
be 100 tons of finished asbestos per
day. This will be graded aud bagged
In the mill, taken down the mountain
OH the inclined railroad aud thence
10y truck 70 Hyde Park. This means
that It Will pass over three miles Of
fine gravel road, which The company
has completed between the storehouse
and the State highway
fOn the southwesterly slope of the
mountain, according to DR.. Gilbert's re-
port, there is in sight an ore body
which he estimates at 20,0G0,000 tons
or sufficient to operate the MIL during
an ordinary life time. The ore Is m-
iuue In its character in that it is dis
semnated asbestos. This means that
all the rock goes to the mill. It is
what was formerly known as slip fibre,
Is OF a silky texture and varies in
length from one to five inches.
The property was worked in small
way number OF years ago before the
present commerc al demand for as
bestos had developed. Recent inven-
tions have enabled manufacturers to
spin the slip fibre and this has entirely
changed the aspect of the asbestos
trade Six years ago there was very
little demand for what Is known as the
mill run" Now the situation is re-
versed and about 80 per cent of the
asbestos used IS not crude asbestos.
This change in the commercial use has
made poss BILE the development OF the
Vermont property .ts.
Owing to the control OF the water
powers, the mill machinery VIII De
completely electrically driven. The
to the mill by n belt conveyor. 1t is
then crushed and passes through the
tower, dries and from that on through
u screening process, when 1t is graded
aud bagged. IL is expected the mill
w Il be in operation before next Jan
uary.
Owing to the demand for asbestos
which Is far in excess of the supply
there is no fixed market price. Ninety
per cent at present is produced By
Canadian mines. Every portion of the
product Is now commercial ly valua
Bile from the sand and tailings whicl
are used In paving blocks as binders
and which is sold for $40 to S25 pei
ton up to the finer spinning brades
which bring from $4,000 to $4,000. The
market for asbestos has grown trem
endously with the different electrica
Inventions. A big market has alst
pnened IN the manufacture and renew
al Of automobile brake bands. Mex
TO the heat insulating and packing