When pure this mineral is colorless, but, as it occurs, it is usually white, or tinged with some shade of yellow, green, or blue, but in all cases its streak is white. The crystals are rhombohedrons often with edges beveled or corners cut by other faces. It resembles calamine and willemite, but is readily separated from either of these by the acid test, for smithsonite effervesces when acid is placed on it.
Next to sphalerite, smithsonite is the commonest of the zinc minerals. It is a secondary mineral, resulting from the action of lime-charged water acting on sphalerite, and so is likely to be found wherever zinc minerals occur in a limestone region. In the Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa district it serves as a minor ore of zinc, and is termed here “dry bone.” It is also found in the Missouri and Arkansas districts, and in Europe is an important ore for zinc.
Occurs in compact grains or masses, and in isometric octahedrons; hardness 6; specific gravity 5; color black; streak reddish-brown; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
This is a mineral peculiar to the Franklin Furnace region, from which it gets its name. It looks like magnetite, but its reddish-brown streak and lack of magnetism distinguish it. When it occurs in octahedrons, the edges are rounded, while those of magnetite are sharp. It is a complex and variable oxide of zinc, iron and manganese, which has resulted from the metamorphism of the beds in which it occurred probably being originally something quite different.
Though manganese was known in the mineral pyrolusite in early times, it was then thought to be magnetite or magnetic iron ore. It was not until 1774 that it was isolated and recognized as a distinct element.
Manganese is one of the lesser elements in the crust of the earth, making less than .07 of one percent, but as an alloy with other metals, especially iron, it has attained a considerable importance to man. It is used chiefly with iron, 20% of manganese making the alloy, spiegeleisen, a combination which occurs in Nature in Germany, and from 20% to 80% making ferromanganese. These alloys are in great demand because they make an especially tough steel essential in the manufacture of munitions. The sources for manganese are the oxide ores, manganite, pyrolusite and psilomelane, which have been formed as secondary minerals, as a result of the weathering of silicates which carry manganese. They occur widely enough, but throughout the United States the deposits are small, and this is one of the elements in which this country is not self-sufficient. The largest producer of manganese is Russia; however she consumes almost all of her output at home, and our supply comes from the next largest producers, India, the Union of South Africa, and the Gold Coast. A shift in trade may be expected when Brazil’s recently discovered ore body in Matto Grosso is brought into full production. Besides being used as an alloy, manganese is employed in making paints and dyes, for clearing glass, and for some types of electric batteries.
Occurs in earthy or fibrous masses; hardness 1-2; specific gravity 4.8; color black; streak black; luster dull; opaque.
Pyrolusite occurs in soft masses and incrustations, usually leaving a sooty mark on the fingers. Sometimes it seems to be in crystals, but these are pseudomorphs which have the form of manganite, from which the pyrolusite has formed as a result of the water having been driven from the manganite. Frequently pyromorphite and manganite will be found together, and in some cases the outer part of a mass or crystal will be pyrolusite, while the center is still manganite. Psilomelane is another oxide of manganese with water and may appear very like pyrolusite, but both manganite and psilomelane have much greater hardness than does pyrolusite. If there is difficulty in deciding about pyrolusite, it may be placed in a closed tube and heated. It will not be affected by the heat, while, under the same circumstances, both manganite and psilomelane will give off water vapor.
Pyrolusite usually occurs in black streaks or pockets in residual clays which have formed as a result of the decomposition of limestones. It may also occur in dendritic forms in seams and crevices (see manganite). It is found in Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia, Arkansas, Colorado, California, etc.
Occurs in compact botryoidal or stalactitic masses; hardness 5-6; specific gravity 4.2; color black; streak brownish-black; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
Psilomelane is very like pyrolusite, and often occurs with it. It is distinguished by its greater hardness, and the fact, that when heated in a closed tube, it gives off water vapor. From manganite it is more easily distinguished, for it never occurs in crystals, while the manganite is usually crystalline. This and pyrolusite are the principal ores of manganese.
Wad is an impure form of psilomelane, having some iron oxide mixed with the manganese oxide, usually limonite; or the impurity may take the form of a copper, cobalt, lithium or barium oxide.
Psilomelane is found at Brandon, Vt., in Arkansas, Colorado, California, etc.
Occurs in prismatic crystals, or in columnar or fibrous masses; hardness 4; specific gravity 4.4; color steel gray; streak reddish-black; luster submetallic; opaque on thin edges.
This is the form taken by manganese oxide when it crystallizes in the presence of moisture, and pyrolusite frequently changes to manganite when exposed to moisture. The crystals are orthorhombic prisms, with striated sides and the ends truncated. These prisms usually occur in bundles and give the mineral a fibrous appearance. Manganite is not hard to identify, the striations on the crystals and the streak being very characteristic.
In seams and tiny crevices this mineral, and often pyrolusite, grows in a branching manner, resembling tree-like or “mossy” masses. This is termed dendritic, and the growths of manganese minerals are called dendrites. One of the most curious of these is when the “mossy” growth is inclosed in chalcedony, making the so-called moss agate. These moss agates are abundant through the Rocky Mountains and are frequently cut for semi-precious stones. The finest ones however come from India and China.
Manganite is found in the Lake Superior region, Colorado, etc.
Occurs in compact cleavable masses; hardness 4; specific gravity 3.5; color rose to dark red; streak white; luster vitreous; translucent on thin edges.
This usually occurs in pink to red masses which cleave readily parallel to the faces of the rhombohedron. When it is found in crystals, which are rare, these too are rhombohedrons. It is usually found in veins as a gangue mineral with copper, silver or zinc ores. Its beautiful color and the fact that it effervesces in acid serve to distinguish this mineral. It is found at Branchville, Conn., at Franklin Furnace, N. J., and in veins with silver in Colorado, Nevada, and Montana.
Though aluminum is one of the most abundant of all the metals, making some 8% of the crust of the earth, its union with other elements is so firm, that only recently have methods been found for getting the metal free. It was first isolated in 1846, but up to 1890 the extraction of aluminum was so expensive, that it could not be widely used. About that time electrical processes were applied to its extraction, and since then the price has steadily dropped, until now it is under $.20 per pound. It is very malleable, and ductile, and has high tensile strength. Exposed to the air, water or ordinary gases, it does not tarnish; and it is very light, an equal bulk weighing about a third as much as iron. The combination of lightness and strength, and the fact that it is a good conductor of electricity, have made it available for a wide range of uses, such as electrical apparatus, delicate instruments, boats, aeroplanes, and domestic utensils.
It is an essential component of all the important rocks, except sandstone and limestone, and combines to a greater or less degree in a host of minerals. Though present in clays, shales, argillites, feldspars, and micas, it is only from bauxite that it has been successfully extracted. Aside from the small number of simple compounds of aluminum grouped here, it also takes a part in the make-up of a large series of minerals termed silicates, treated a little further on in this book.
It alloys with other metals, especially copper. The union of copper and a small amount of aluminum makes aluminum-bronze, which looks like gold and is used for watch chains, pencil-cases, etc., and also for the antifriction bearings of heavy machinery. A small amount added to steel prevents air holes and cracks in casting.
Occurs in cleavable masses or in hexagonal crystals; hardness 9; specific gravity 4; colorless, red, yellow, blue, or gray; luster vitreous to adamantine; translucent to transparent on thin edges.
Corundum is readily recognized by its hardness, second only to that of the diamond. The crystals may be simple six-sided prisms, hexagonal pyramids or combinations of the two. The cleavage is usually described as parting, for it is by no means perfect, but when it is recognizable it is parallel to the faces of a rhombohedron, and cleavage pieces may appear almost cubic.
When in clear and perfect crystals this mineral is one of the most highly prized of all the gems. Clear and colorless it is known as the “Oriental white sapphire”; when tinged with blue it is the sapphire; when colored yellow, the “Oriental topaz”; when green, the “Oriental emerald”; when purple, the “Oriental amethyst” and when red, the ruby. Sapphires range from colorless to deep blue, the value depending on the shade of the blue, and increasing as the color deepens. The Oriental topaz can easily be confused with the true topaz, which is a much commoner and less valuable gem, but can be distinguished by the hardness, topaz having a hardness of but 8. The name emerald is applied to several green gems, mostly to beryl, which is not so hard and is the true emerald. The Oriental emeralds have a value about the same as diamonds. Rubies of clear and deep color are the rarest of all gems, ranging in value about three times as high as diamonds of equal size. The most sought-for shade is the so-called “pigeon-blood red,” and the value of a stone of this sort is almost dependent on the whim of the buyer. The best of the rubies come from granites or metamorphosed limestones in Burma; the best sapphires from Ceylon, though both of these, and some of the other corundums of gem quality, have been found in North Carolina and Montana.
Around these stones, which have been used so long among the Hindus, Persians, Jews, Egyptians, and Christians, a wealth of lore has been woven. The sapphire was Saturn’s stone, and a talisman to attract Divine favor. Where tradition makes the stone on which the ten commandments were written the sapphire, it is probable that, what was really meant, is lapis lazuli, as is also the case when sapphires are mentioned as building stones for the celestial gates. The ruby in ancient lore is termed “lord of stones,” “gem of gems” etc., and so protected its wearer that he was safe from injury in peace or war.
When corundum is colored brown by impurities of iron, it is termed corundum, when black by greater quantities of iron, it is emery. These varieties are far the commonest form in which corundum occurs, and when ground to finer or coarser powder make the commercial emery. Emery is likely to be found in sands, making so-called “black sands,” where it has accumulated as a result of the weathering to bits corundum-bearing rocks. In some one of its forms, corundum is found in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and all down the Appalachian Mountains, also in Colorado, Montana, California, etc.
Occurs in grains, or oolitic or clay-like masses; hardness 1-3; specific gravity 2.5; color white to yellowish-white or reddish-brown.
Bauxite never comes in crystals, but is usually in earthy masses, which have resulted from the decomposition of granitic or volcanic rocks, in circumstances where hot alkaline waters were present. This explanation seems to apply especially to the deposits in France, which were first the chief source of the bauxite, and may be applicable to those in Georgia and Alabama. Some of the other deposits, however, do not seem to have had any hot water available, and the deposit appears more like simple decomposition of the underlying rocks by alkaline waters.
In many cases bauxite resembles limonite in being a mixture of two or more aluminum oxides with water of crystallization, such as Al₂O₃·H₂O, Al₂O₃·2H₂O and Al₂O₃·3H₂O. This is particularly true of the bauxite which resulted from the decomposition of rocks by surface water.
Bauxite is the ore from which aluminum is obtained. The deposits are not large, but the United States has its share of them. It is found in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and California.
Occurs in pseudo-cubic crystals or massive; hardness 2.5; specific gravity 3; color white; luster vitreous; transparent on thin edges.
Cryolite is a relatively soft mineral, colorless to white as snow; for which reason, and partly also because it comes mostly from Greenland it is called “ice stone.” It is really monoclinic but the inclination of the c axis is so slight, that, unless examined carefully, the crystals appear to be cubic. Until about 1900 great quantities of this mineral were shipped from West Greenland, and from them the metal aluminum was extracted. When bauxite was discovered, it was found to be considerably cheaper to make the aluminum from that mineral, and now cryolite is no longer sought. Aside from its occurrence in Greenland some cryolite is found in Colorado, near Pike’s Peak.
The metal, arsenic, is a dark steel gray in color, when the surface is fresh, but it soon tarnishes. It is very brittle and easily powdered under the hammer, and its only use as a metal, is for an alloy with lead in making shot. Its compounds find a wider use. The white powder called “arsenic” is arsenous acid, and is used mostly in making poisons, which fortunately are easily detected in animal tissues. Copper arsenate, (Scheele’s green) is a pigment used in making green paint, and formerly in the green colors of wall paper. A combination of arsenous acid, copper oxide and acetic acid is the well known Paris Green, so much used for an insecticide. Beside these uses, arsenic serves a large number of other purposes, as in making glass and enamel, embalming fluids, and various medicines.
Curiously arsenic plays a double part, acting part of the time as a metal, as in the two following minerals, and part of the time as a non-metal, as in cobaltite, niccolite, etc.
Occurs in well formed crystals, grains, or masses; hardness 5.5; specific gravity 6; color silver-white; streak black; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
When in crystals, they are usually short prisms of the orthorhombic system, either end being terminated with a low roof. Though usually described as silver-white in color, there is always a brassy cast to the color. Its appearance is much like cobaltite and smaltite, but it can be easily distinguished from both these by putting a piece in nitric acid. The arsenopyrite will not materially change the color of the fluid, but the other two turn it rose-red, and all give off the smell of sulphur. It looks sometimes like marcasite, but that is yellower, and has the fibrous structure, not found in arsenopyrite.
It is found in veins or in metamorphic rocks, associated with argentite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. It is distinctly a mineral formed by deposition from hot vapors or hot water rising from either lavas, or in the course of metamorphism.
It is found in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, California, etc.
Occurs in incrustations or scattered grains; hardness 1.5 to 2; specific gravity 3.5; color orange; streak orange; luster resinous; opaque on thin edges.
Crystals are very rare, but when found are short monoclinic prisms. The color is aurora-red, changing to orange as soon as it is exposed to the air. This and the streak are entirely characteristic. It is a mineral associated with hot vapors or hot waters, and is found about volcanoes, as deposits from the hot water of the geysers in Norris Basin, Yellowstone Park, and in veins, associated with barite, stibnite, quartz, etc., as in Massachusetts, Utah, California, etc.
Occurs as incrustations or powdery masses; hardness 1 to 2; specific gravity 3.5; color lemon yellow; streak yellow; luster resinous.
This mineral is very like realgar in its physical properties, and likely to occur with it. It gives the lemon yellow color to the basins about hot springs, as in the Yellowstone Park, and about volcanoes. It also comes in veins with realgar.
Molybdenum is a rare metal, silvery-white in color, brittle and very difficult to fuse. It is used mostly as an alloy of steel, to make certain grades of tool steel. The world’s greatest supply is obtained from Climax, Colorado, where the principal ore mineral is molybdenite.
Occurs in scales or scaly masses, occasionally in tabular hexagonal crystals; hardness 1.5; specific gravity 4.7; color lead-gray; streak bluish-gray; luster metallic; opaque.
This mineral is the chief source for the metal molybdenum. Its extreme softness and greasy feel will distinguish it at once from any other mineral except graphite, which has much the same qualities, but its scaly character and the more bluish tinge in streak and color will distinguish these two.
It occurs in granites, gneisses, and metamorphic rocks in Colorado, New Mexico, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, etc.
Antimony is another hard, brittle metal, of bluish-white color. Exposed to the air at ordinary temperatures it does not tarnish; and this combined with its hardness make it useful for such alloys as Britannia metal, type metal, and pewter. Only one of its minerals, stibnite, is common enough for mention.
Occurs in prismatic or needle-like crystals; hardness 2; specific gravity 4.5; color lead-gray; streak lead-gray; luster metallic; opaque.
The crystals of stibnite are orthorhombic and usually elongated, the sides striated and the ends with low pyramids on them. Sometimes the long crystals are curved or even twisted. There is a well-developed cleavage parallel to face b in the figure. While the color is similar to that of galena, the form and cleavage are so different that stibnite is easily determined.
The ancients used stibnite to color their eyebrows, now it is the source for the metal antimony. Hungary and Japan are famous for the fine large crystals they produce; but moderate sized crystals may be found in this country. It occurs in veins along with pyrite, galena, cinnabar, and realgar, with quartz, calcite or barite as gangue minerals.
Stibnite has been found in Arkansas, California, Nevada, and Utah.
Nickel as a metal is silvery-white in color, rather hard, and does not tarnish when exposed to the air. When pure it is malleable and fairly ductile. It is highly useful for plating other metals to protect their surfaces. Alloyed with steel, it makes a product of extreme hardness. Copper, zinc, and nickel make the well known German silver.
Nickel has a fairly large range of minerals, but they do not occur with any abundance in the United States, so that we have to import most all of our nickel. In the earlier days New Caledonia produced most of the world’s supply, but recently since the finding of large nickel deposits near Sudbury, Canada, this locality has not only outstripped New Caledonia, but now produces four-fifths of the world’s supply. In this country but two nickel minerals will be found at all common.
Occurs in masses; hardness 5.5; specific gravity 7.4; color pale coppery-yellow; streak pale brownish-black; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
Niccolite is very seldom in crystals, but if they do occur they are hexagonal. The mineral looks a little like smaltite, but in case there is any question of the determination, dissolve a piece in nitric acid, and if niccolite, it will color the solution green.
Niccolite is usually associated with copper and silver ores, and in this country has been found at Chatham, Conn., and Silver Cliff, Colo. It may be associated with pentlandite, a sulphide of iron and nickel, which is similar in appearance, but not so hard, and occurs in small grains throughout dark lavas. The particles of pentlandite are however so small, that they are seldom noticeable, but at Sudbury, Canada, this is the chief ore of nickel.
Occurs in needle-like or fibrous crystals; hardness 3.5; specific gravity 5.5; color brass-yellow; streak greenish black; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
The fibrous crystals of millerite belong to the orthorhombic system. The color and streak suggest pyrite, but the crystals are long and slender, while pyrite is in cubes, octahedrons, etc. If there is any doubt of the identity of this form, place a piece in nitric acid, and if it is millerite, it will color the acid green.
It may occur in veins associated with cobalt and silver minerals, or as a secondary mineral as at Gap Mine, Penn., or in cavities in sedimentary rocks. In the last case it usually is in needle-like crystals growing through calcite crystals, as at St. Louis, Mo., Keokuk, Iowa, and Antwerp, N. Y.
As a metal, cobalt is hard, brittle, and of a grayish color, tinged with red. It was not recognized as a separate element until 1735, and even today is one of the minor metals. Cobalt, chromium and a little tungsten make the alloy stellite, which has come into large use in making high-speed tools. The oxide of cobalt (CoO) is “smalt,” used to give the blue color to porcelain, pottery, glass, tiles, etc. Invisible ink is made by diluting cobalt chloride in a large quantity of water. This solution is a faint pink color and practically invisible on paper, but if heated it loses water and turns blue in color, and is perfectly visible.
Cobalt is another of the metals, of which the United States does not have an adequate supply. Sweden, Norway and India were the chief sources of supply until cobalt was found near the town of Cobalt in Ontario, Canada, and now this district furnishes 90% of the world’s supply.
Usually crystalline in cubes, pyritohedrons or octahedrons; hardness 5.5; specific gravity 6.1; color reddish silver-white; streak grayish-black; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
In color cobaltite may appear very like arsenopyrite, especially if the reddish tinge is not strong, in which case the mineral can be definitely determined by putting a piece in nitric acid. If it is cobaltite the solution will be colored rose-red, if arsenopyrite there will be no change of color. The forms of the crystals are the same as those of pyrite, but the color will easily distinguish cobaltite from pyrite. This pink color is characteristically present either in or about cobalt minerals, being sometimes called “cobalt bloom.” It is a cobalt-arsenic-oxide with water of crystallization (Co₃As₂O₈·8H₂O), which results from the exposure of cobalt and arsenic minerals to air and moisture. It is the pink color on the figures of both cobaltite and smaltite. In Sweden, Norway and India, this is the chief ore for cobalt, but in the United States it is rather rare, but is found in Oregon, and at Cobalt, Canada.
Usually occurs in masses; hardness 5.5; specific gravity 6.2; color tin-white to steel-gray; streak grayish-black; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
While very like cobaltite, smaltite is almost never found in crystals, but when crystals are found, they are cubes. The color is tin-white but there is usually a pink tinge visible due to the presence of small amounts of “cobalt bloom.” If in any doubt about the determination of this mineral, put a piece in nitric acid. If it colors the acid rose-pink, and is non-crystalline it is pretty surely smaltite; if the acid is not affected it is arsenopyrite.
Smaltite is found in Kentucky, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho, California, and at Cobalt in Canada.
This metal gets its name in recognition of the many colors (chroma “color”), in which its compounds appear. Chromic oxide is a vivid green, used to color porcelains, pottery, tiles, etc., and also as a substitute for the arsenical greens formerly used in wall-paper. The chromate of lead is the pigment, well known to artists as “chrome yellow,” and the bichromate of potassium is bright red. The metal is obtained in at least two different forms; one hard, brittle and so resistant to heat as to be infusible at temperatures which would volatilize platinum; the other as a powder which burns brightly if heated in air. While used in paints, dyes, etc., its greatest importance is for the making of ferro-chrome steel, which is used where resistance to sudden shock is required, as in armor plate, automobile springs, ball bearings, etc. With tungsten and cobalt it makes the alloy, stellite, as noted above.
Chromium was used in relatively small quantities before the first world war, and we imported our supplies from Turkey, India, New Caledonia, and Rhodesia. During the last war we started a large-scale development of low-grade ores in Montana, and can now supply all of our needs from this source.
Occurs in grains, masses, or isometric octahedrons; hardness 5.5; specific gravity 4.4; color black; streak dark-brown; luster submetallic; opaque on thin edges.
In form, color and streak chromite resembles magnetite and franklinite. From the magnetite it is distinguished by being non-magnetic; from the franklinite, by being insoluble in hydrochloric acid, while the franklinite is soluble. Chromite furnishes practically all the chromium used in the arts and manufactures. It is a mineral associated with high temperatures, and therefore found in dark lavas, serpentine, and olivine. It occurs in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, and California.
This element is obtained either as a heavy dark-gray metal, which is very hard and difficult to fuse, or as a dark-gray powder. It is used as an alloy with iron, one part of tungsten to nine of steel, to make the ferrotungsten, which has extraordinary hardness, and is used mostly for high-speed tools. Tungsten is also one of the three metals (cobalt, chromium and tungsten) which are alloyed together to make stellite. Some of the tungsten supply is also used to make the films in incandescent lamps, and in some of the chemical industries. It has but one important ore, wolframite, and this is found in the United States in but small quantities; so that we ordinarily have to import the greater part of what we use. During the last war, under the stimulus of high prices and the urge of necessity, we did find and produce substantial quantities of tungsten. China is the world’s largest producer of tungsten ore with Burma second, and the United States a poor third.
Occurs in monoclinic crystals or in crystalline masses; hardness 5.5; specific gravity 7.4; color dark-brown to black; streak nearly black; luster submetallic; opaque on thin edges.
If in crystals the form will serve to distinguish this mineral from cassiterite and ilmenite, the two which it most resembles; but if it is massive the only sure way to decide is to put a piece in strong sulphuric acid; if it dissolves and throws down a yellow precipitate (tungstic acid) it is wolframite.
Like the two other minerals mentioned above it occurs in veins in igneous rocks, being associated with high temperatures. As it is almost insoluble in water, like cassiterite and ilmenite, it is likely to occur with them in the sands which are the result of the disintegration of the rocks which carried the minerals; and so a large part of the supply today comes from placer deposits.
It is found in Connecticut, North Carolina, Missouri, Colorado, and California.
These three metals are all rare and occur together. Radium, discovered in 1898, is a heavy metal which has proved very useful because of its radio-activity, that is, its power of giving off or radiating tiny particles of matter known as X-rays, part of which are charged with positive electricity, and part of them with negative electricity. The ability of these rays to pass through other substances has made possible photographing the denser substances within those less dense, as the bones within the flesh, or metal within leather or wood, etc. The rays have proved of great value medicinally, and are also used to make objects luminous in the dark. These X-rays are also used in the study of the ultimate structure of matter, as it can be thus obtained in such small units.
Uranium is another element which is radio-active and can be used for many of the same purposes as radium.
Vanadium, the third of these associated metals, and the commonest of the group, is not radio-active. It is a silvery-white metal, mostly used as an alloy with steel to give it great hardness.
Occurs in earthy masses; color yellow.
This mineral is included here, not because it is common, but because it is of such great interest. It is the chief source of supply in the United States of radium, uranium and vanadium. It is a lemon-yellow earth or powder, which looks a little like orpiment. It is however found in a sandstone, instead of where hot waters have deposed minerals. From a ton of this ore about 10 pounds of uranium oxide, 55 pounds of vanadium and ¹/₁₀₀₀th of a gram of radium are obtained. Carnotite is found in south-west Colorado and south-east Utah, and on Carrizo Mountain on the line between Arizona and New Mexico.
Mercury, or quicksilver, is the only metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures. It is silvery-white in color, with a striking metallic luster, and at the low temperature of 662° F., boils and changes to a colorless vapor. Mercury alloys with certain metals, these alloys being known as amalgams. In this way it is especially useful for the recovery of gold and silver, the mercury being added to crushed ore, the gold or silver uniting with the mercury in a liquid amalgam, which is then drawn off and heated to a temperature above 662° F., at which temperature the mercury volatilizes and is recovered, while the gold or silver remains behind. Mercury also forms a solid amalgam with tin which is used to coat glass, the high metallic luster making the most effective looking glass. It is also used in medicines (calomel, corrosive sublimate, etc.), for scientific instruments (thermometers, barometers, etc.), in cosmetics, in paints for ship bottoms, etc.
Though there are some 25 minerals of mercury, only one is common or important as a source of the metal, cinnabar. The United States is self-sufficient as far as mercury is concerned, producing just about as much as it uses. The leading producers are Spain, Austria, Italy, and the United States. Commercially mercury is quoted as quicksilver, and in flasks of 75 pounds each.
Occurs in massive or earthy form, or in minute crystals in cavities; hardness 2.5; specific gravity 8; color scarlet to dark red; streak vermilion; luster adamantine; translucent on thin edges.
The bright-red color and the streak are usually enough to identify this mineral at once, but some of the darker varieties resemble hematite or zincite in appearance, but both these have much greater hardness. When in crystals they are tiny hexagonal prisms with pyramids on the end. Cinnabar is usually found in or near metamorphic or igneous rocks, either in veins leading from the igneous rocks, or in metamorphic rocks, or it may occur disseminated through metamorphic rocks. It is associated with quartz or calcite, and may occur with other sulphides like pyrite, galena, argentite, etc. It is most abundant in California, but is also found in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Montana.
Tin has been known since early Roman times, and the mines at Cornwall, England, were worked from that time all through down to the present, but now they are becoming of minor importance as they approach exhaustion. The metal is silvery-white, does not easily tarnish, is malleable, but has little ductility and little tensile strength. Tin is mostly used in making tin plate, a thin sheet of steel covered with tin, the tin being only 1 to 2% of the total weight. This tin plate is mostly made into tin cans, and used as containers for food. Some tin is used in making solder, tin-foil, tubes for paste, vaseline, etc., and around 1000 tons per year for weighting silk. This “weighting” makes the silk heavier by about 25% and gives it a “rustle,” which, while much in evidence, is really indicative that the silk is not pure. The United States produces very little tin, most of the world’s supply coming from the Malay Peninsula, Dutch East Indies, China, and Bolivia, with small amounts from several other countries.
Occurs in tetragonal crystals, massive, or in grains and pebbles; hardness 6.5; specific gravity 7; color black or dark-brown; streak gray; luster adamantine; translucent on thin edges.
The crystals are short prisms with pyramidal ends. Twinning is common. Cassiterite also occurs in fibrous masses, and when it is weathered from its original location, is so insoluble and hard, that it remains as grains and pebbles, making placer-deposits, from which today three quarters of the supply is obtained. If pure, the crystals would be colorless, but impurities of iron and titanium give it the dark-brown to black color. Cassiterite may appear very like rutile, the crystalline forms being identical, but the reddish tinge of color in the rutile will separate the two.
Cassiterite is one of those minerals which result from deposition at very high temperatures, probably from vapors, and is found in the veins in igneous rocks, such as light-colored granites, gneisses, syenites, etc. While not mined in this country it is found in small quantities in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia, Alabama, Wyoming, Montana, and California.
Titanium, as a metal, is a heavy, gray, iron-like powder, which is chiefly useful as an alloy with iron, giving it toughness, and preventing bubbles and cracks in casting. It is not as rare as some other metals which have found a wider use.
Occurs in tetragonal crystals, and in grains; hardness 6.5; specific gravity 4.2; color red to reddish-brown; streak yellowish-brown; luster metallic to adamantine; translucent on thin edges.
Rutile usually occurs in crystals, which are either short and stout, or in needle-like crystals. Twinning is common. In form and general appearance it resembles cassiterite, but the reddish color, and the yellowish-brown streak will distinguish the rutile. It is found in similar rocks, granites, gneisses, syenites, and mica-schists, the two minerals cassiterite and rutile often occurring together. This is also true of the grains, which have been weathered out and are found in sands and gravels of placer deposits. It is found in small quantities in all the New England States, New York, and all down the Appalachian Mountains, especially at Graves Mountain, Ga., and in Arkansas and Alaska.
Occurs in granular masses, as black sand, or as tabular hexagonal crystals; hardness 5-6; specific gravity 4.7; color black; streak brownish-red to black; luster metallic; opaque on thin edges.
When ilmenite occurs in crystals they are tabular and resemble hematite in its darker varieties, but the streak readily distinguishes the two. In masses it looks like magnetite, but the lack of magnetism serves to distinguish these two minerals. It is very likely to be associated with cassiterite, rutile, or magnetite in grains which have weathered out of the original rock, and have resisted solution and wear. Sands with a large amount of the above mentioned minerals are termed “black sands,” some of which are important for one or another of these minerals.
Ilmenite is a mineral formed at high temperatures, and probably often deposited from hot vapors. It is found in granites, syenites, and gneisses. Among the better known localities are Orange, N. Y., Litchfield, Conn., Florida, California, etc.
This metal is steel-gray in color, very malleable and ductile, almost infusible and resists the action of acids. It is one of the “noble” metals, much rarer than gold, and so has become popular for jewelry. It is also used in the manufacture of sulphuric-acid, in nitrogen-fixation plants, for chemical utensils, in the electrical industries, and in dentistry. Platinum in its occurrence is associated with the certain other equally rare elements, like iridium, palladium and osmium. Its use has increased rapidly of late, but the supply has not kept up with the demand, so that, whereas in 1906 platinum and gold were about equally valuable, now the platinum brings about five times as much as the gold.
Occurs in grains or nuggets; hardness 4.5; specific gravity 19 (21 if pure); color steel-gray; luster metallic; opaque.
This rare metal is mostly found in placer-deposits, often with gold. It comes originally from dark igneous rocks, like peridotite, pyroxenite, etc., and platinum is found to be associated with the nickel ores of Sudbury, Canada. While formerly 90% of the world’s supply of platinum came from placer mines in the Ural Mountains, today more than half is produced in Canada and about a fifth in Russia. In the United States it is found in California, Oregon, Nevada, and Alaska.
Magnesium is a silvery-white metal, easily tarnished by exposure to moist air. Because of its light weight, less than twice the weight of water, and strength, it is being substituted for aluminum, especially in airplanes, where the question of weight is crucial. It is also used in automobile and ship production and other machine industries, and in the manufacture of flares and incendiary bombs. Magnesium is obtained chiefly from magnesite, dolomite, and in the United States as a result of a recently developed process, from sea water. Magnesium has a considerable number of minerals, of which three are taken up here and several more under the head of silicates, where both magnesium and silicon are combined in a mineral.
Occurs mostly as isometric octahedrons; hardness 8; specific gravity 3.5; color, red, yellow, green, or black; streak white; luster vitreous; transparent on thin edges.
This is a rather rare mineral, but, when in clear crystals is considered one of the gems. It was early confused with corundum, and the red variety called ruby, as it was found in the same gem-bearing sands in Ceylon, Burma, and Siam. However the form of the isometric octahedron as compared with the hexagonal prism of the corundum, together with the lesser hardness are sufficient to distinguish the two easily. The crystals are usually octahedrons, but may have the corners cut or the edges beveled. Twins are not uncommon.
The standard color is a clear deep-red, and such a spinel is known in the gem trade as a spinel-ruby. If the color is rose-red, it is a Balas ruby; if orange, it is rubicelle, if of a violet tinge, almandine. When small quantities of other elements replace the magnesium, the color is greatly changed. For example a little iron present gives the crystals a dark-green to black color, and the spinel is known as ceylonite. If there is both iron and chromium present, the color becomes yellowish or greenish-brown, and this variety is picotite. When the impurities are iron and copper, the color becomes grass-green, and it is called chlorospinel. A form, in which the magnesium is completely replaced by iron, is black in color and termed hercynite, and occurs fairly abundantly in Westchester Co., N. Y. From Amity, N. Y., to Andover, N. J., there is a belt of granular limestone in which spinel of all colors is found. St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., is also a rich locality. Bolton, Mass., Newton, Sterling, and Sparta, N. J., North Carolina, Alabama, and California all yield spinel.
Occurs in cleavable or compact porcelain-like masses; hardness 4; specific gravity 3.1; color white to gray; luster vitreous; translucent on thin edges.
Magnesite is white and brittle, and cleaves perfectly parallel to the faces of the rhombohedron, but it seldom occurs in crystals. It will effervesce in warm hydrochloric acid and has some resemblance to calcite, but can be distinguished by the greater hardness. It is still more like dolomite, both having the same color and cleavage, both effervescing in warm hydrochloric acid; but the magnesite has half a point greater hardness and the porcelainous appearance. Magnesite is used in toilet preparations, paper making, and mixed with asbestos, as a covering for heating pipes.
Magnesite is found in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, and in large deposits in California and Washington.