THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I9T3 37 



The tabulation of statistics of the industry is attended with some 

 difficulty, owing to the various stages of preparation which the 

 gypsum undergoes before entering the market. Some companies 

 sell the lump rock just as it comes from the mines, in which case 

 the material is crushed, ground or further treated by other com- 

 panies before it is consumed. The mines or quarries in Onondaga 

 county supply lump rock which is ground for agricultural plaster in 

 local mills, or which is shipped to other points for manufacture. 

 One quarry in that county furnishes rock for a local portland cement 

 plant. In the western district some of the rock is shipped in crushed 

 condition to portland cement manufacturers, but the larger portion 

 is calcined at the mines and either sold as stucco or is further 

 manufactured into various materials like wall plaster, finishing 

 plaster, plaster board and hollow partition blocks. 



The statistics for the present report show the production of 

 crude rock and some of the first-hand products. The output of 

 lump gypsum is the fundamental factor, of course, in estimating 

 the mining activity. The first-hand products include lump and 

 crushed gypsum sold by the mines for use in portland cement, or for 

 manufacture into plaster of paris by plants outside the district. 

 The greater part, as given under the second item of the table, 

 represents the gypsum sold to portland cement plants. There is 

 also a small quantity of gypsum sold in finely ground form for 

 use in agriculture and known as land plaster. The third class of 

 products that is reported by the mining companies includes stucco 

 and prepared wall plasters, but it does not embrace any materials 

 of further manufacture like board or blocks. 



The conditions in the industry last year were fairly prosperous, 

 considering the general state of business which on the whole was 

 rather quiet. The sales to . portland cement plants were slightly 

 larger than in the preceding years, and were made at somewhat 

 higher prices. The prices received for crushed gypsum have ruled 

 very low owing to competition, some of the product having been 

 sold as low as $1.30 a ton at the mines which can hardly yield a 

 fair profit to the companies. An increase in the production of 

 calcined plasters reflected a good demand for the various structural 

 materials of gypsum, although the building trade generally was not 

 very active. An increasing proportion of the product is being used 

 by the producing companies in the manufacture of plaster board 

 and partition blocks. 



