The Economic Aspect of GeologyLeith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)
Science
The Economic Aspect of Geology
Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)
Geology, Economic
Marble is limestone which has been coarsely recrystallized by
metamorphism. The marble of commerce includes a small quantity of
serpentine as quarried and sold in Massachusetts, California, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, and Vermont, and also a small amount of so-called onyx
marble or travertine obtained from caves and other deposits in Kentucky
and other states. The principal uses of marble are for building and
monumental stones. Of the twenty-two states producing marble, the
leaders are Vermont, Georgia, and Tennessee.
A small amount of marble of special beauty, adapted to ornamental
purposes, is imported from European countries, especially from Italy.
Marble imports from Italy constitute about two-thirds, both in tonnage
and value, of all stone imported into the United States.
SAND, SANDSTONE, QUARTZITE (AND QUARTZ)
Sand is composed mainly of particles of quartz or silica, though
sometimes feldspar and other minerals are present. Sandstones are
partially cemented sands. Quartzites are completely cemented sands. To
some extent these substances are used interchangeably for the same
purposes.
The principal uses of sand in order of commercial totals are for
building purposes--for mortar, concrete, sand-lime brick, etc.,--as
molding sand in foundries, as a constituent of glass, in grinding and
polishing, in paving, as engine sand, as fire or furnace sand, in the
manufacture of ferrosilicon (a steel alloy), and in filters. Reference
is made to sand as an abrasive and in the manufacture of steel in
Chapters XIII and IX. Almost every state produces some sand, but for
some of the more specialized uses, such as glass sand, molding sand, and
fire or furnace sand, the distribution is more or less limited. The
United States Geological Survey has collected information concerning the
distribution of various kinds of sand and gravel, and serves a very
useful function in furnishing data as to supplies of material for
particular purposes. Fine molding sands have been imported from France,
but during the war domestic sources in New York and Ohio were developed
sufficiently to meet any requirements.
The sandstone of commerce includes the quartzites of Minnesota, South
Dakota, and Wisconsin, and the fine-grained sandstones of New York,
Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, known to the trade as "bluestone." In
Kentucky most of the sandstone quarried is known locally as "freestone."
The principal uses of sandstone are for building stone, crushed stone,
and ganister (for silica brick and furnace-linings). Other uses are for
paving blocks, curbing, flagging, riprap, rubble, grindstones,
whetstones, and pulpstones (see also Chapter XIII). Sandstone is
sometimes crushed into sand and is used in the manufacture of glass and
as molding-sand. Most of the states of the union produce sandstone, the
principal producers being Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York.
"SAND AND GRAVEL"
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