THE ADIRONDACK GRAPHITE DEPOSITS 55 



while the record gave 48 feet of hardpan and gravel and a succes- 

 sion of rocks which is quite different from the expected stratigraphy. 

 The writer interprets this in the light that drillers encountered a 

 crush zone — the North Pond fault. The tally sheet of hole 5 is 

 valueless for the purpose of identifying the horizons, as it states 

 284 feet and 6 inches of " rock." It makes a big difference whether 

 it is the Swede Pond quartzite (a rock above the ore) or the Trum- 

 bull gneiss (a rock beneath the ore). In the vertical section (A-B) 

 it is thought that the latter condition is the more correct one in view 

 of the occurrence of the Trumbull gneiss at the bridge over the 

 outlet of North pond and hence no ore can be expected to the east 

 of the North Pond fault in line with the section, but there is the 

 possibility of some south of this, as has been suggested when 

 describing the Dixon property. 



The American Graphite Company has in the Summer pit the most 

 feasible approach to the ore. It would be less expedient to tap the 

 ore on the Wheeler lot by a shaft because that would entail hoisting 

 and pumping. 



There is no question but that the ore on the Wheeler lot is of 

 high grade. Bastin 1 describes it as follows : " Under the microscope 

 quartz in irregular interlocking grains is seen to be the most abund- 

 ant mineral. Feldspar, in part plagioclase and in part microcline, 

 also occurs, but has suffered considerable alteration. Brown biotite 

 in small quantities, as are also small rounded prisms of apatite. 

 Graphite occurs in plates averaging about 0.45 millimeters in length 

 and about 0.075 millimeters in thickness." 



The natural surroundings are favorable for mining and milling 

 operations. Access to the Faxon bed may be had on the line of 

 outcrop or by vertical shafts below the surface exposures. The 

 depth to which these would have to be sunk would not exceed more 

 than 300 feet until the less available reserves were sought. 



Access to the deposit on the W 7 heeler lot can be had only through 

 a shaft, as the outcrop is on the Dixon land. The new state road, 

 now nearing completion, places this lot within easy reach. 



An abundance of water can be had from the ponds, but if exten- 

 sive excavations are made underground Faxon and North ponds 

 will probably be drained. It is expected that mill water can be 

 had from Swede pond by constructing a syphon over the low divide, 

 piping it to the mill, where the wet process of concentration will 

 probably be used. 



1 Bastin, E. S., Mineral Resources, U. S. G. S., 1908, 2:724-25. 



