172 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 



According to J. D. Dana, the amorphous brick red mineral 

 metastibnite, Sb 2 S 3 , occurs with cinnabar deposited upon siliceous 

 sinter at Steamboat Springs, Nevada. 



The oxysulphide results directly from a partial oxidation of 

 stibnite. Valentinite and senarmontite are oxidation products of 

 other ores of antimony. Valentinite crystallizes from solu- 

 tions above 100 C. and senarmontite solidifies at the lower 

 temperatures. 



Character of the Ore Bodies. Antimony ores occur most 

 abundantly in fissure veins traversing both the igneous and the 

 sedimentary rocks. They occur also in flats, pitches, and as im- 

 pregnation deposits. The gangue minerals in the order of their 

 importance are quartz, calcite, and barite. The associated 

 minerals are the gold and silver ores, cinnabar, galenite and 

 sphalerite. 



Geographical Distribution. In the United States small quan- 

 tities of antimony ores are found in the Appalachian belt but none 

 of the occurrences appear to be of commercial significance. 

 These small deposits may be observed at Soldier's Delight, Mary- 

 land ; Lyme, New Hampshire. ; and Carmel, Maine. In southeast- 

 ern Arkansas stibnite occurs in bedded veins traversing Carbonifer- 

 ous limestones and shales. In Idaho auriferous antimony ores oc- 

 cur in flats and pitches near Burke, Shoshone County. The gold 

 content is reported as $20 per ton of ore. In Nevada, which has 

 been an important producer, exceptionally pure stibnite occurs 

 with little gangue mineral near Austin in well-defined contact 

 fissures between shale which forms the foot wall and calcareous 

 sandstones and lime porphyries. In Utah it is disseminated 

 through conglomerates and sandstone along the planes of strati- 

 fication. In California stibnite occurs in well-defined fissure veins 

 with a quartz gangue. 



In York County, New Brunswick, auriferous and argentiferous 

 native antimony and stibnite are found in fissure veins with quartz 

 and calcite gangues traversing black slates. 



According to Thomas and MacAlister, the Algerian deposits 

 occur in the Province of Constantine in the neighborhood of Jebel 

 Hammamet. The ore, which exists chiefly as oxide, is found in 

 irregular layers running parallel to the beds of black limestone of 

 Lower Carboniferous age with which it is associated. These ores 

 were at one time considered as simple sedimentaries, deposited 

 contemporaneously with the enclosing limestones. It appears, 



