THE ALABAMA OPPORTUNITY. 173 



noted it is very commonly mistaken for gold, hence the popular 

 name of fools' gold applied to it. 



Mica. — In the northwestern part of Randolph and the ad- 

 jacent parts of Cleburne and Clay, occur veins of coarse- 

 grained granite, technically known as pegmatite, in which 

 the constituents of granite, viz., quartz, mica and feldspar, 

 usually in small grains here assume gigantic proportions, 

 often making masses a foot or more in dimensions. From 

 the mica bowlders, as they are termed, sheets of marketable 

 size and quality may be obtained. Mr. J. M. Phillips and 

 others in the vicinity of Pinetucky, and at Pinetucky itself, 

 have pretty thoroughly tested these veins, but the want df rail- 

 road facilities will for some time act as a bar to the profitable 

 mmmg: of this mineral. At many other places from Pinetucky 

 towards the southwest as far as Chilton county, these coarse- 

 grained granite veins have been tested and are known to con- 

 tain mica of good quality. 



Kaolin. — In these coarse-grained granite veins, the feldspar, 

 especially above the water level, is generally far progressed 

 towards disintegration and decay, and in many places convert- 

 ed into kaolin. Every locality in which the mica occurs might 

 also be cited as a locality for kaolin, but nowhere has' this ma- 

 terial been actually mined for commercial purposes, although 

 when the region is traversed by railroads its development will 

 certainly follow. The northwestern part of Randolph county 

 and adjacent parts of Clay and Cleburne are particularly rich 

 in kaolin deposits. 



Corimdiiiii and asbestus. — Some of the rocks of this region 

 yield upon exposure to atmospheric agencies, as decomposi- 

 tion products, both asbestus and corundum, but in no place 

 as yet have either of these minerals been found in Alabama in 

 deposits of commercial value, nor does there seem to be any 

 good reason for thinking that such deposits will be found. 



Graphite. — This substance is very generally distributed 

 among the metamorphic or crystalline rocks, and it occurs in 

 two modes. In the feeble crystalline schists or slates which we 

 have called the Tallackga, and which in part, at least are pale- 

 ozoic sediments, of as late age as the Coal Measures, the graph- 

 ite is very 'often found as a sort of black graphitic clay free 

 from grit and is frequently used as a lubricant. In this condi- 

 tion, the graphite is very difficult to separate from the other 



