110 
DEPOSITS OF PHOSPHATE OF LIME. 
[BULL. 46. 
Tbe principal phosphate raining districts are the canton Grand Pre, in 
Ardennes, and the cantons Clermont, Louppy-le-Chateau, and Villotte, 
in Meuse. The nodules of the Lower Greensand have been more ex- 
tensively mined than the other beds, having been worked in seventy 
communes; while the Upper Greensand nodules are worked in twelve, 
and the Marnes Crayeuses in only one commune (at Sainte Marie, near 
Vauziers). The nodules at the base of the Graie Blanche have not been 
profitably worked in either Ardennes or Meuse. 
The production of phosphate of lime from the north of France in 1875 
was 66,000 tons, of which 41,000 came from Meuse and 25,000 from 
Ardennes, and 1,500 workmen were employed in washing and mining. 
Following is a table 1 showing the cost of mining and shipping one 
cubic meter of nodules from the Lower Greensand, allowing 1,500 
kilograms to the cubic meter. Also a table showing the expense of 
treating in the same way one cubic meter of Upper Greensand nodules, 
allowing in this case a weight of 1,600 kilograms to the cubic meter. 
Cost of mining and shipping phosphates of northern France. 
Items of expense. 
Cost for right to dig 
Extraction 
Transportation to washers and from them to mill. 
Washing 
Grinding and putting in bags 
Shipping (expedition) 
Extra costs (traisgeneraux) 
Total for a cubic meter 
Total for a ton 
a 
o 
Si 
(-> « 
ft 
Francs. 
Francs. 
4.00 
10.00 
15.75 
31.00 
4.00 
4.00 
2.50 
5.00 
9.00 
10.40 
1.75 
2.50 
5.00 
5.00 
42.00 
67.90 
28.00 
42.45 
Analyses of amorphous nodular rock phosphates of northern France. 
[I. Grand Pre nodules, Upper Greensand, by Nivoit.] 
Loss by calcination , 
Clay, sand, and greensand 
Phosphoric acid 
Lime 
Oxide of iron. 
8 
42 
20 
27 
[II. Nodules from base of Craie Blanche by Nivoit.] 
Loss by calcination 25. 10 
Clay and sand 1.C5 
Phosphoric acid 21. 10 
Chlorine 0. 14 
Lime 50.89 
Oxide of iron 1. 20 
100. 08 
1 Nivoit: Assoc, franc, avanc. sci., 1875. 
(584) 
