THE ADIRONDACK GRAPHITE DEPOSITS IO9 



extraordinarily long diabase dikes running from the north-northeast 

 to the south-southwest. Five hundred feet west of the concentra- 

 tion mill is another one that evidently was not observed when the 

 mapping of the quadrangle was in progress. The width of this dike 

 is 36 feet. This has an important bearing upon the mining condi- 

 tions, both in the mine and in the quarry. At the time of our visit 

 the west end of the drifts was about 90 feet away and headed for it. 

 A test pit on the strike to the west of the dike shows that there is 

 very little or no displacement associated with the dike. Thus it 

 would seem that the drifts will eventually cut through the diabase 

 and the miners will find that the ore continues on the farther side. 

 Likewise the further extension of the quarry will be hampered by 

 the same dike. A much smaller one located just across the road 

 from the finishing mill is parallel to the other but is only 10 inches 

 wide. 



The ore. This is the normal schist, similar to the American, 

 Hague, Flake and Hooper ores, but the pegmatite stringers have 

 caused some variation in the composition, including the graphite 

 content. For the exact composition, see the tabulated microscopic 

 analyses. " The outcrop is badly weathered and softened through 

 oxidation of the contained pyrite, which is rather plentiful in the 

 unweathered rock." 1 The material from the bottom of the inclines 

 along the drifts is apparently better, where about 20 feet of rock is 

 shown. The expense of operating the mine by the underground 

 methods has led the company to exploit the quarry much more ex- 

 tensively at the present time than the mine. The schist now being 

 worked " contains less mica than the more easterly ledges and with 

 the coarser size of the flake affords better material for mill 

 treatment." 2 



Mining practice. The quarry is a recent venture and the 

 methods in use are in an experimental stage. The ore is hauled up 

 an inclined track by a donkey engine and dumped into wagons. The 

 teams follow the road to the east end of the mine and the ore is 

 dumped down a chute into the mine cars on the upper drift level, 

 which carry it directly into the concentration mill. It is the plan, 

 if the quarry holds out, to provide a better and more permanent 

 system. 



The mine is being worked only in a small way at the present time. 



1 Newland, D. H., N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 190, p. 31 



2 Ibid. 



