3 
permeated with the asphaltum Throughout the country rock for distances up to 
1,000 feet away from the ‘asphaltum vein/ small specks of asphaltum were noted. It is 
quite apparent that this mineral (asphaltum) came in after the rock was formed .... 
(and) that the phosphate mineral was deposited .... after the volcanic rock cooled, 
as it is undoubtedly a mineral formed from precipitation from a , . . . solution. 
The phosphorite nodules are not uniform in size. Their diameter 
varies from 2 to 8 inches. They consist of a botryoidal mass of phosphates 
in concentric layers, with an outer coating of black asphalt, and, in most 
cases, enclosing an angular fragment of andesite (See Plate I and Figure 1). 
It is evident that the andesite had cooled and had been fractured before the 
phosphates crystallized. In nearly all specimens where the asphalt has 
been removed, well-terminated quartz crystals, a few millimetres in length, 
may be observed encrusted on the outer surface of the phosphate. Of the 
vein material the asphalt was formed last. 
Asphalt 
The asphalt is the most abundant mineral of the deposit. It was 
submitted to the late Mr. H, Kohl, chemist of the Fuels and Fuel Testing 
Division of the Mines Branch, and the results of his investigations are given 
below. 
The sample submitted consisted of a single lump of black, bituminous matter with 
considerable adhering mineral matter. A careful separation of this foreign matter from 
the bituminous material was made to obtain: 
Sample No. 2478A; 51 grammes with ash content of 0-7 per cent 
2478B; 39 “ “ 22-9 
Analysis of Sample No. 2478A 
Colour.. Black 
Fracture Gonchoidal 
Lustre .Vitreous 
Streak Brown 
Specific gravity 1-06 
Melting point (Ball and ring test) 86° C. (187° F.) 
Ash content 0-7 per cent 
Fixed carbon 21*5 per cent 
Solubility in petroleum ether. 56-57 per cent 
“ carbon tetrachloride 99-100 per cent 
u carbon disulphide. 99-100 per cent 
According to the above analysis the bituminous material of this 
sample is an asphaltic pyrobitumen. According to Abraham 1 it falls with 
the narrow sub-class of wurtzilite asphalt as well as in the broader class 
of native asphalt (containing less than 10 per cent mineral matter). The 
origin of these asphaltic pyrobitumens is given as derived from the meta- 
morphosis of petroleum. 
Phosphorites 
A few years ago Professor A. Lacroix described the phosphorites of 
France and its colonies 2 . These descriptions were presented so clearly 
that Dr. W. T. Schaller 3 published a brief r6sum£ of Lacroix’s results for 
J Abraham, Herbert: “Asphalts and Allied Products,” p. 480. 
•Lacroix, A,: Sui la constitution mineralogique dee phosphorites francaises; Compt. Rend., vol. 150, 1910, 
p. 1218; Mineralogie de la France, vol. 4, second part, 1910, p. 855. 
•Schaller, W. T.: XJ.S. Geol. Surv., Bull. 509, Mineralogical Notes, ser. 2, pp. 89-100. 
