Item talk:Q126286

Asbestos in the United States, exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii

The asbestos deposits in the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii) are shown on the accompanying map. The principal mineralogic types of asbestos (chrysotile and amphibole) are indicated by the shape of symbols, and the relative importance of the deposit is indicated by the size of symbols.

The text lists localities by State by numbers that are keyed to the map. Localities are distinguished by name of mine, prospect, or geographic area; their coordinates are given to the nearest minute of latitude and longitude. Geologic relations of each occurrence, if known, are characterized briefly. The text and map were compiled from published and unpublished information, and at least one reference is given for each locality if reports on it have been published.

Chrysotile asbestos, a variety of serpentine, occurs chiefly in serpentinized peridotite and is distributed in the United States in two principal belts, the eastern extending from Maine to Alabama, and the western extending from Washington to California, where numerous masses of ultramafic rocks were intruded in Paleozoic and Mesozoic time, respectively. Domestic production from deposits of this type has not been large compared with that of Canada from the extensively developed deposits in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. The principal mine in the United States is located at Belvidere Mountain, Vt. Minor amounts of asbestos have been produced from other deposits in these belts and from scattered occurrences of chrysotile elsewhe,re in a number of States between them. Increased exploration and development activity for short-fiber chrysotile has recently been reported in California.

Chrysotile also occurs in bedded limestone, metamorphosed close to intrusions of diabase. The principal occurrences of this type are in Arizona, where small quantities of long-fiber, low-iron chrysotile have been mined from numerous small deposits.

Several species of amphibole occur in fibrous forms; in the United States only anthophyllite and tremolite are known to have commercial importance. As both the anthophyllite and tremolite occur in ultramafic rocks, associated greenstone, and amphibolite, the overall distribution of amphibole asbestos in the United States is like that of chrysotile. The deposits are generally small and erratic in distribution.