lOlJf] Certain Mineral Resources 107 



Southern States has practically ceased. In 1905 there was 1,- 

 350,000 pounds of monazite produced in the Carolinas, but in 

 the past few years it has dropped to hardly 10,000 pounds. 



ZIRCON 



Zircon is coniinonly found sparingly in the crystalline rocks, 

 especially gneisses, syenites, gTanites, in granular limestones, 

 and in chloritic and other schists. Occasionally it is found as- 

 sociated with somfe of the iron ores. Occurrences of this miner- 

 al in quantity are not common, and there is but one locality in 

 the United States where it has thus far been found in commer- 

 cial quantity and that is in the vicinity of Zirconia, Hender- 

 son County, North Carolina. The zircons occur in a pegmatitic 

 dike which is about 100 feet wide and has a strike of iST. 50"^ 

 E. It cuts up through the pre-iCambrian gneisses, and can be 

 traced for a distance of about 1 1-2 miles. The upper portions 

 of the pegmatitic dikes are badly decomposed and kaoliuized 

 to a depth of 40 feet or more. The zircons occurring in these 

 dikes are of a grayish color and well crystallized, prismatic 

 crystals terminated by the unit pyramid predomiinating. They 

 occur for the most part in the feldspar, and where this is kao- 

 liuized it permits of an easy separation of the zircon crystals 

 by hydraulic processes. As the feldspar becomes more solid 

 and unaltered, the separation of the zircon is more difficult. 

 In crushing the feldspar, however, the zircons readily free 

 themselves from the gangue. 



There are two deposits of these zircon crystals that have been 

 worked ; one near the southwestern end of the dike, which is 

 known as the Freeman mine, and the other near the northeast 

 end, which is known as the Jones mine. Owing to the slight 

 denmnd for this mineral, there has been but little systematic 

 mining carried on. Men and children are paid a certain price 

 per pound for the zircon crystals, some of which they wash out 

 of the soil, others out of the kaoliuized gang-ue, and still others 

 they break out by hand from the harder feldspar. The result- 

 ant product contains practically 100 per cent, of zircon. 



The discovery of this commercial deposit, which was later 

 developed as the Jones and Freeman mines, located near Zir- 



