Show asbestos 1 in n south aari africa ca rhodesian asbestos is of high quality and is much in demand by american consumers sli production in rhodesia was first reported in 1909 the production for this and each succeeding year is shown in the following table rhodesian anestos production tons 1909 2725 1910 1911 1912 none reported 1913 1914 1915 2010 1916 1917 1918 1919 37 the serious curtailment in production for the years 1912 and 1913 was occasioned by transportation difficulties in 1914 a railway was projected to victoria and thereafter production increased greatly up to 1916 asbestos was obtained from the victoria district only but thereafter the bul agwayo district became an important producer with minor quantities from gawelo in the Bula district the productive area is about two and one half miles long with the mine at the northwest end the nil Despe at the south end and the birthday claims between them the fibrous serpentine or chrysotile of commercial quality occurs in a zone varying in width from twenty to feet the best fiber is found near the contact of serpentine with a band of tale talc schist which lies beneath the serpentine and dips to the southwest thus forming the of the workings the workable deposits are probably of great depth immediately below the tale talc schist is a band of quartz which on account of its resistance to weathering stands out as a bold outcrop that can be traced for many miles it thus constitutes a valuable index to aid prospectors in tracing the zone of commercial fiber the deposits are developed as open pit quarries the ore is hand and mills have been built at the quarries for dressing and fi bering the asbestos the fibers are flexible easily separable and of high tensile strength they vary in length from 34 inch to 3 inches and are separated into three grades according to length quality and color the finished product is packed in bags of about pounds each and conveyed in ox wagons to Selu kwe the T nearest railway station about sixty miles distant rhodesian fiber is shipped to europe the united states and australia production of rhodesian asbestos during 1920 shows very remarkable advances in february tons were produced valued at april tons valued at and in june it reached tons valued at 9 from detailed figures it appears however that over half the value given for june production consists of adjustments from under declared production for the preceding year total production for the first six months of 1920 was tons valued at or nearly equal to the entire 1918 production it is evident therefore that rhodesia is becoming a more and more important factor in world production while the total tonnage is still small as compared with that of canada consideration must be given to the fact that owing to the heavy expense of transportation the low grade fibers which constitute the great bulk of canadian production can not be shipped from rhodesia and practically the entire output is of spinning grade asbestos production of considerable proportions is to be noted from other provinces in south africa complete figures for 1919 are not yet available but figures for 1917 and 1918 are shown in the following table asbestos production in south africa 1917 tons tons union of south africa 6 transvaal cape 2999 2738 natal 28 5 total the present condition of the industry is indicated by the following comparative table showing production for the first six months of 1920 as compared with the same period in 1919 janto janto june june 1919 1920 tons tons union of south africa 1762 transvaal 2352 other provan provinces Y the remarkable increase in the transvaal production is to be attributed to the rapid growth of the amorite asbestos industry in the Ly denburg district the asbestos of natal is not spinning fiber but a variety of it is mixed with tale talc and made into stove bricks boiler lagging and jointing |