THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY 



155 



The mines now under operation lie within an area 7 or 8 miles 

 long and about 1 mile wide, running northeast from Sylvia lake, 

 town of Fowler, to near Edwards, 15 miles east of Gouverneur. 

 The talc deposits range from a few feet up to 50 feet or more in 

 thickness. They are inclined at different angles from the horizontal, 

 the dip being westward. Various grades of talc may be produced 

 from the same deposit, though the general run of the mine is usually 

 uniform. Foliated or leafy talc is particularly abundant in the 

 western mines. The fibrous and massive varieties are most used. 

 The beds are sometimes separated by inclusions of tremolite schist, 

 and this mineral as well as quartz occurs to a limited extent in the 

 product. 



The deposits are worked by inclines carried down on the foot wall. 

 From the inclines drifts are run at intervals of about 50 feet and 

 the talc removed between adjacent levels, leaving large pillars to 

 support the roof. The rock is transported from the stopes by 

 tramways. Both machine drills and hand drills are employed for 

 breaking down the talc. The former have little advantage over 

 hand drills for economy, as work must be frequently interrupted 

 to clean the holes, or else the drill rods will bind in the soft but 

 tough rock. 



All of the companies engaged in mining operate mills for crush- 

 ing and grinding the talc. Most of the mills are situated along the 

 Oswegatchie river between Gouverneur and Edwards and are driven 

 by water power. Milling is a tedious and expensive operation. 

 The final grinding is done in a tube mill, consisting of a horizontal 

 cylinder, 6 feet in diameter and 8 feet long, lined with enameled 

 brick. Three tons of flint pebbles are used in the cylinders, and 

 the charge is about 1 ton of talc. The grinding continues for a 

 period of from four to five hours. The rock is prepared for the 

 cylinders by passing through Blake crushers and Griffin mills. 

 The latter have superseded buhr stones, which were formerly used 

 almost exclusively. 



The talc is marketed mostly among paper manufacturers. Its 

 fibrous character, pliability and color are qualities which combine 

 to give it an advantage over other materials that are used for filling 

 paper. It is said that a much larger proportion of fibrous talc can 

 be incorporated in paper stock than is possible with clay or other 

 amorphous substance, while at the same time the paper is strength- 

 ened by its addition. Among the leading consumers are makers of 

 book, writing and wall paper. The mills making newspaper use 

 relatively smaller quantities than is generally supposed. The 



