m ^ .^^1^< IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 bills 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 = IIIIM 6" <^ V] / % ^ J^ >/ 0» W PhpiDgreiDhic Sciences Corporation XJ ^mTCs; mAtr: 3: rest WEBSTfR.N.Y. 145S0 (716) 872-4503 ''ixon Crucible Co. at Ticonderoga. N.Y. In a report by Albert Williains, Jr., of the United Slates Geological Survey on the Mineral IJesources of tho United States, it is slated that the deposit now being exploited is a bed of graphitic schists fifteen feet thick, carrying from 8 to 15 per cent, of gi-aphito. This is treated by a wet process, wherein the ordinary practice is reversed ; the " heads " being the refuse and tho " tails " being the valuable graphite. The average output is piaced at 600,000 lbs. valued at an average of 8 cents per lb. at the woiks. Apart from this Company's output tho North American trade is supplied almost entirely from {the amorphous earthy deposit near Passau in Bavaria, and the large veins of giaphite in the Laurentian gneiss near Travancoro in Ceylon. But tho finest pencil load comes from tho mines in Irkutsk, Siberia. Some interesting notes on tho geology of Ceylon wore pub- lished as fur buck as 181S by Dr. John Davy, who says: "Graph- ite is pretty commonly dissominatod in minute scales through gneiss. It is worthy of mmark that graphite is genei'aily found in com])any with gems. I have had so otton occasion to make tho obseivation that now I novor see the former without suspect- ing tho presence of the latter." The Ceylon graphite is extracted from large fissure veins in the gneiss, which ai'o completely filled by the graphite. It requires to be merely cobbed and sized before going to market. Il is known as " dust," " chip" and "lump." Du.st sells at 2i cents per lb. in New York, chip at 3J cents and lump at 5J cents. It is used foi-all iiurposes except pencil making. Tho German black lead is far more impure, containing only 35 to 40 per cent, of carbon, the bahmce being of the composition of clay. But it is suitable for use in |)oncil-niaking. Very refractory crucibles are made by mixing 2 to 3 parts of this impure plum- bago with ono part of elay. Such cruoiblos will undergo 70 to 80 I meltinfru in brass foundries, about 50 meltings with bronze or 8 to 10 meltings with steel. The American and Canadian graphite is used for all purposes of the trade and excels all others as a lubricant. Many tests have proved this conclusively. As graphite or plumbago is found almost exclusively in rocks of Laurentian ago and there is a greater development of these rocks in Canada than anywhere else, we should naturally expect to find many deposits of graphite in this country, it is nearly half a century since two of Canada's most distinguished citizens called attention to the laige deposits of graphite in the Lau- rentian formation both north and south of the Ottawa River, and pointed out the po.ssibility of their profitable exploitation fiu- shipment to the British market. Since the date of this first rejiort by Sir Wm. Logan and Dr. T. Stcrry Hunt, the marvellous growth of the American nation has developed a de- mand for thif. material on our own continent such as they hardly anticipated. And it is not creditable to the enterprise and skill of our Canadian capitalists and miners that this market is sup- plied from similar deposits in Bavaria and fa''-distant Ceylon, while our own lie idle and almost unknown. In Canada the graphite is usually found in close relation to some of the large bands of massive irystalline Laurentian lime- stone that can bo traced through Burgess and Elmsley (near the Eideau)and re-appear in Hull, Templeton, Buckingham, Lochaber and Grenville. This mineral generally occurs disseminated in scales in beds of limestone, sandstone or pyroxenite ; or else in veins from a few inches to several ieot thick. These beds are often interrupted, pioducing lenticular masses which are some- times pui-e and sometimes mixed with .carbonate of lime, pj'roxene and other minerals. At times it is so finely disseminated thi^-ugb the limestone as to give it a blueish grey color, which serves to mark the stratification of the rock. In one locality at Grenville spheno, zircon, pyroxene and tabular spar have been founil as- sociated with it, reminding us of Dr." Davy's observations about the precious stones in Ceylon. No veins of graphite, however, have been found yet in Canada of sufficient size and extent for profitable exploitation. All attempts at plumbago mining in Canada have been confined to the limestone beds of disseminated graphite in Buckingham, Locbaber and Grenville townships as well as some rich masses where a number of small veins are seen to intersect; and to a sandstone bed near Oliver's Ferry on the Eideau Lake, which is richly impregnated with graphite. Some ten years ago it was my duty in connection with the Geological Survey of Canada to examine some of the principal deposits of ])lumbago in Ottawa County of this Province, and en- quire the reasons why they lay idle. My report was published in the volume for 1882-83-84. Bui these reports are so little seen by our members that 1 may be jjermitted a few quo- tations : — An American manufacturer wrote me that his company tried a great deal of the Canadian graphite some years previously, but were obliged to give it up because it did wA run uniform. Some of the crucibles made from it were as good as any, but others would crack or melt. They gave it a thorough test and used a great many barrels of it. It contained sul])liur and other impuiities. Surely this statement is an anijile explanation of the idleness and decay of the Caniidiiin plumbago works. But I did not hesitate to assert then and itiieat most emphatically bore that "as long as the price of dressed phunbago does not fall below forty dollars per ton, many of our Canadian deposits could be profitably worked, always provided that they are worked by competent mining engineers. But no mining company need hojie to succeed in Canada or any other place unless the manager has had a careful technical training or the ore is of ])henomenal richness." The relative value of our tJanadian deposits depends not only upon the freedom from lime and iron, m we'l as their richnes.s and extent, but also upon tlieir silualion with regard to easy ex- ploitation, cheap labour and sujijilies, low rates of freight, etc. On nearly all these counts I am iiclined to rank the deposit once 2 worked near Oliver's Ferry on the Ridojiu Lake as far superior to any in this Province. This deposit occui's in a five foot bed of sandstone which has been opened on the crown of u flat anticlinal. A sample lot shipped from here this nutuinn and dressed by S. R. Krom's pneumatic jigs yielded ten per cent, of dressed graphite. Men with Fonie experience in phosphate mining can be hired here for $1.25 ])er day: plenty of diy tamarac can bo bought for $1.50 to Sl.! (irapliitd 13% Foundry facings 10% Graphite greases 8'/i> Pencil leads 3% Graphite packinu; 3% Piilisliini; shot and powder 2'/ri Paint J ; electrotyping and miscellaneous f, 1% But it is altogether likely that this comparative statement will be radically moditied, us a result of the gene d introduction of the wonderful now lubricating compo.sition nivcnted by Mr. Phili]) JI. Holmes of Gardinei', Maine, known as flbre-gi'aphito. M}' attention was first called to it about twelve motiths ago by a letter fiom Ml'. J.T. Taj-lor, M.K., the Mechanical Superintendent for Messrs. W. & J. Sloane, who had been professionally investi- gating its merits. His claims for this matei'ial were almost too strong to be readily believed. But subsequent invo'^tigationa by Pi'of Henry T. Bovey, Messrs. Frank Redpath, R. F. Ogiivy and myself have fullj' confirmed the immense value of this new anti-friction material. Piof Bovey was ]iermitted to bring back two boxes bushed witli this niatoi'ial, which he set up in the Workman workshojis at McGill University la>t June. They have been running ever since and giving perfect satisfaction without any oiling or s])ecial attention. This fil)re-grapliil(" is sim))ly an intimate mechanical mixture of find}- divided iiluniliano and mechanical .vood pulp in varying ))roportions according to the purposes ot the special bearing. These maiorials are mixed in wafer and |)umiiod with a hand- pump into the moulds, which aie made ol bra^s with grooves on the outside and small holes possibly -['f. inch in diameter spaced about § inch apurt. Ivich mould is incloscil in a heavy ease made of a steel casting. The mass is compressed by hydraulic prossuio to alioiil .^ its original bulk, while the water escapes through the hole and along the grooves. (The inventor con>idois this s^'stem of drainage ver^' im])oi'tanl, us the (low of water tends to arrange the vvoinl libie.s radially from the centre of the bcaiiiig.) After sutlicieni pressure the piece is removed from the mould and dried. It is then immersed in a Imlh ol hot linseed oil and tinall}' subjected to a slow baling in a gas oven. 3 This product can be cut and tooled with ease. Bat it takes and retains thu form of the mould so perfectly that any tooling is unneceBsary. In August, 1891, a committee of the Franklin InHtituto com- posed of H. R. Hi>yl, Chairman, and Messrs. J, Sellers Bancroft, Thos. P. Conard, Philip H. Fowler, Luther L. Cheney, Stockton Bates, H. W. Spargler and S. H. Vanclnin made a very exhaus- tive investigation of the merits of this invention, vhich re^ulted in the awaruo. the Elliot Crosson gold medal to Mr. Holmes. In tho award they slate that there is nothing in the Holmes com- pound that can be injured by any degree of heat that can arise from frictional causes, or can cause surroundii.g objects to ignite, therefore the fire risk due to tho over-heating of journals will disappear in direct proportion to the use of these graphite bear- ings." Thoy say : — " We find further that the ratio of friction with the Holmes' beatings is much less than with well oiled metal bearings, and greatly superior to the results obtained in common practice, thereby cttectingagrcat saving in power even in comparison with the most carefully attended metal bearings. The co-efHcient of friction of tho Holmes' beai'ing is practically constant, being no greater at starting than when running at any speed, * * * " The remarkable qualities of this bearing material are strik- ingly exhibited in its applicatioti to tho spinning frame, when tho spindles are run at very high velocities. In this direction your committee has taken special pains to verify, by personal tests, tho excellent results vouched for by others. Spindles running with unusually tight belts constantly for ton hours a day for three weeks, at a speed of 8,400 revolutions per minute, did not heat or show any perceptible wear either of tho spindles or the graphite bearings. Thus, '"irougb Mr. Holmes' invention, it has become practicable to run an entire spinning plant without using a single oiled bearing, which meanu in economy, cleanliness and freedom from fire risk, conditions of inestimable value. Your committee have also practically tested the bi'ushes made of this material for use upon dynamos, and found them practically in- destructible, that they do not wear the commutators, and give most satisfactory results in every way." The history of this invention was told to me v^ary simply by the inventor himself, who is also tho inventor and makerof oneof the most successful turb'ne water wh'icls in the Now England States. Mr. Holmes was experimenting with wooden steps for these wheels, when he reflected that plumbago was the best known lubricant for wooden cog wheels and that it would probably be the best for Ins wooden steps also, if he could devise some means of fixing it there. Suddenly the idea occurred to him that ho might incor- porate the plumbago in the step. A series of careful experiments with plumbago and wood pulp gradually led him to a more com- plete success than he could have hoped for. One of the facts cited in a paper by Mr. John H. Cooper, M.R,, on this subject load at a recent meeting of tho American Society of Mechanical Kngineers, shows howporfectly Mr. Holmes solved the problem of his water-wheel. Mr. Cooper says: — " When Used as a step beai'ing in water upo.n which a loaded vertical shaft runs, it is proven that 300 lbs may be supported in revolution of 470 turns per minute upon an obtuse angled cone 2 inches in diaracter,which is the equivalent of 100 lbs. per square inch of surface covered, in which case the tool marks were not all worn out nor any detrimental effect of submersion or abrasion observed after three months of running." In conclusion let mo add that, if ray lengthy presentation of this subject has not exhausted your interest in the matter, I hope next session to bo able to lay before you the record of some pi-actical experience in mining and |)reparing our f'unadian graphite for market, and also some observations on actual work done by tho Holmes' fibre-grai»hite bearings in Canadian indust- rial establishments.