MINERAL PRODUCTS. 
37 
GRAPHITE. 
Although the value of the graphite imported into the United 
States in 1913 was almost twice the domestic production, the cutting 
off of the foreign supply should seriously affect only the crucible 
industry. There is an ample supply of graphite in this country 
suited for stove polish, foundry facings, and paint pigments, and 
large deposits of amorphous graphite in northern Mexico, now com 
paratively peaceful, are controlled by American firms and can be 
depended upon for supplies of graphite for pencils, lubricating 
material, and many other uses. Moreover, graphite is now being 
manufactured in the electric furnaces at Niagara Falls in amounts 
far in excess of the domestic production from natural sources, and 
this graphite is well adapted for most of the uses to which graphite 
is applied except crucible making. 
The graphite for which we depend mainly on foreign sources is 
that used in the manufacture of crucibles and other refractory prod 
ucts, but as these uses probably consume over half of the graphite 
used in this country, such dependence is a matter of no small impor 
tance. Moreover, the manufacture of crucible steel requires graphite 
crucibles. The graphite used in crucible making has been brought 
largely from the British island of Ceylon, although within the last 
few years some has been brought from the French island of Mada 
gascar. This graphite is flaky or fibrous and for this reason is emi 
nently adapted to crucible making. For this use it has never met 
with serious competition from domestic graphite. The earthy amor 
phous graphite mined in this country and the graphite manufac 
tured at Niagara Falls are not adapted to this use, and as a rule the 
expense of concentrating domestic flake graphite has been pro 
hibitive. Nevertheless it is to the domestic supplies of flake graphite 
that this country must look in the event of foreign supplies being 
cut off. Practically inexhaustible supplies of this material are 
known to occur in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North 
Carolina, Alabama, Texas, and some other States. Similar deposits 
are abundant in Canada. The graphite in these deposits occurs as 
small flakes in rocks composed mainly of quartz, feldspar, and mica, 
the graphite constituting 5 to 10 per cent by weight. 
Several plants are now engaged in working such deposits, and 
many others now idle could be put on a producing basis in a short 
time and at little expense. Although the product might not be equal 
to the Ceylon graphite in all respects for crucible making there is 
Ro question that it would be adequate, for similar graphite has for 
years been successfully used in Germany. 
Another American resource is the graphite deposit near Dillon, 
Mont. The graphite there is very similar to that from Ceylon and