NON-METALLIC MINERALS 329 



Asphalt. — Asphalt has been found in the Permian in Parana, bnt it 

 has not been worked. It is also said to exist in the Serra do Bufete in 

 Sao Panlo, where it impregnates sandstone (Enzebio Panlo de Oliveira 

 andl. C. White). 



Building stones. — The building stones most extensively nsed in Brazil 

 are the granites, which occnr over large areas, wherever the Brazilian 

 complex forms the surface rocks. The quarries of Eio de Janeiro are 

 famous for their beautiful granites and gneisses. 



Marble. — Marble occurs in great abundance in Bahia, Ceara, Espirito 

 Santo, Matto Grosso, Minas Geraes, Parahyba, Pernambuco, Eio de 

 Janeiro, Eio Grande do I^orte, Eio Grande do Sul, Sao Paulo, and Santa 

 Catharina. Stratigraphically, marbles extend from the Archean to the 

 Cretaceous. 



Limestone. — Limestones other than marbles are abundant in Para, 

 Ceara, Eio Grande do Norte, Parahyba, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Bahia, 

 Minas Geraes, Saa Paulo, Parana, Goyaz, and Matto Grosso. Strati- 

 graphically, they extend from the Archean to the Tertiary. At many 

 places they might readily be used for the manufacture of Portland 

 cement. 



Gypsum. — Wells reports a cliff of satin-spar 60 feet high on Eio Gra- 

 jahii, State of Maranhao, a few kilometers down stream from the port of 

 Chapada.^- 



Anhydrite. — Anhydrite is reported in Minas Geraes near Sahara (Liais, 

 Geologic, 139). 



Magnesite. — Magnesite is reported from Archean areas at Eio Pardo 

 and Eio Capivary, in Eio Grande do Sul, but it may be expected in Bahia 

 and Minas and in connection with the serpentines and dolomites, wher- 

 ever they occur in Brazil — usually in the Brazilian complex. Informa- 

 tion available about the magnesite of Eio Grande do Sul is very meager. 



Kaolin, clay, fullers earth. — Kaolin is found at many places where the 

 f eldspathic rocks of the Brazilian complex are deeply decomposed : Minas, 

 Espirito Santo, Eio de Janeiro, etcetera. There is an important ceramic 

 factory at Caethe, in Minas, where the local clays are used.^^ 



Glass sands. — Glass sands are abundant here and there along the coast 

 of Brazil from Espirito Santo northward to the mouth of the Amazon. 

 There are some noteworthy deposits near the mouth of Eio Formoso, 

 State of Pernambuco. These sands are usually Quaternary or Eecent. 



^- .T. W. Wells : Three thousand miles through Brazil, vol. ii. p. 268. 



^ Cypriano J. Carvalho : Ceramica Nacional fundada em Caethe, Estado de Minas. 

 pelo Dr. Joao Pinheiro. Revista Industrial de Minas. vol. iii. pp. 213-218. 15 de Agosto 

 e 15 de Setembro de 1800. 



