rpentine, proceeding
inward from the cracks. In Quebec the chrysotile asbestos (which is
partly of spinning and partly of non-spinning grade) forms irregular
veins of this nature in serpentine, the fiber making up 2 to 6 per cent
of the rock.

In Georgia the asbestos, which is anthophyllite, occurs in lenticular
masses in peridotite associated with gneiss. It is supposed to have
formed by the alteration of olivine and pyroxene in the igneous rocks.
In Arizona chrysotile is found in veins in cherty limestone, associated
with diabase intrusives. Here it is believed to be an alteration product
of diopside (lime-magnesia pyroxene) in a contact-metamorphic silicated
zone.

Crocidolite is mined on a commercial scale only in Cape Colony, South
Africa. The deposits occur in thin sedimentary layers interbedded with
jaspers and ironstones. Their origin has not been worked out in detail.

The deposits of Russia, the Transvaal, Rhodesia, and Australia are of
high-grade chrysotile, probably similar in origin to the Quebec
deposits. The asbestos of Italy and Cyprus is anthophyllite, more like
the Georgia material.

BARITE (BARYTES)

ECONOMIC FEATURES

Barite is used chiefly as a material for paints. For this purpose it is
employed both in the ground form and in the manufacture of lithopone, a
widely used white paint consisting of barium sulphate and zinc sulphide.
Ground barite is also used in certain kinds of rubber goods and in the
making of heavy glazed paper. Lesser amounts go into the manufacture of
barium chemicals, which are used in the preparation of hydrogen
peroxide, in softening water, in tanning leather, and in a wide variety
of other applications.

Germany is the world's principal producer of barite and has large
reserves of high grade. Great Britain also has extensive deposits and
produces perhaps one-fourth as much as Germany. France, Italy, Belgium,
Austria-Hungary, and Spain produce smaller but significant amounts.

Before the war the United States imported from Germany nearly half the
barite consumed in this country, and produced the remainder. Under the
necessities of war times, adequate domestic supplies were developed and
took care of nearly all the greatly increased demands. Production has
come from fourteen states, the large producers being Georgia, Missouri,
and Tennessee. During the war, also, an important movement of
barite-consuming industries to the middle west took place, in order to
utiliz