Texas Almanac, 1945-1946 Page: 253
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MINERAL RESOURCES. 253
Falls County Milford, Ellis County, and
Thorndale, Williamson County.
MAGNESITE.-Magnesite occurs at a num-
ber of places in Llano and Mason Counties
and there is production at several points.
Magnesite is used as a soil conditioner and
fertilizer. Development in Texas has come
as a result of investigations by the Univer-
sity of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.
SODIUM CO M POUNDS.-A unique industry
is the production of sodium sulfate and other
sodium compounds from deposits in Ward,
Terry, Lynn and one or two other West
Texas counties. First production several
years ago was from surface brines in a shal-
low lake that led to the discovery of the min-
eral. More recently underground resources
have been discovered and utilized. Sodium
sulfate is used in paper and glass manufac-
ture and some other chemical industries. (See
production-value table, p. 236.)
OYSTER SHELLS.-Oyster and clam shells
occur in great quantity in the bays and la-
goons along the Gulf Coast and, to some ex-
tent, as sedimentary deposits in the Coastal
Plain. There is extensive production by
dredging in the shallow water of Aransas,
Calhoun, Chambers, Jefferson, Matagorda and
Nueces Counties. The shell is used in the
making of Portland cement by the Houston
plants, in the production of lime, fertilizer,
poultry feed and, as a crushed material, for
road surfacing.
PEAT.-There is some production of peat
for fertilizer from bogs in Lee and Milam
Counties. Bogs of possible commercial value
are found in a number of places on the Coast-
al Plain.
RARE EARTH MINERALS.-Beryllium,
cerium erbium, thorium, uranium, yttrium
and other elements rarely found as primary
constituents of minerals occur in the Burnet-
Llano area. The principal deposit, containing
some minerals of radioactive character, was at
Barringer Hill in Llano County, which was
flooded some years ago by the impounding
of Lake Buchanan.
SOAPSTONE.-Deposits occur in the Llano
region, particularly in Gillesple County, in
apparently commercial quality and quantity.
Some attempts have been made to develop it.
STRONTIUM MINERALS.-Celestite and
strontianite are found in Nolan, Polk, Fisher,
Brown and other counties. The war has
stimulated a demand for celestite and there
have been a few small shipments for this
purpose and, in greater quantity, for drilling
fluids.
BROMINE.-There is production in large
but unreported quantities from sea water at
the Freeport plant, Brazoria County, of the
Dow Chemical Company, in the process of
metal magnesium production.
FELDSPAR.-Deposits accur in consider-
able quantity near Buchanan Lake and Kings-
land in Llano County, at points in Burnet
County and in the Van Horn Mountains of
Culberson County. Microline feldspar is pro-
duced from the Llano County deposits.
FLUORSPAR.-Fluorspar, or fluorite, is
found in the Burnet-Llano area and in Eagle
and Quitman Mountains of Hudspeth County,
the Chifti Mountains in Presidio County
and the Franklin Mountains of El Paso
County. Because of the wartime demand for
this material, used in the production of
steel, aluminum and high-octane gasoline,
there has been increased production through-out the United States and small amounts
have been shipped from recently developed
deposits in the Trans-Pecos. There is pros-
pect for future development, especially in the
Eagle Mountain district, according to a bul-
letin of the University of Texas Bureau of
Economic Geology.
MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE. - Magnesium
chloride occurs in Borden and Pecos Coun-
ties. It is produced in large but unreported
uantity from sea water at the plant of the
Dow Chemical Company at Freeport.
MAGNESIUM SULFATE.-Magneslum sul-
fate is found in subsurface brines and in the
shallow surface lakes of the High Plains re-
gion. There is production from a deposit in
southern Lynn County.
MISCELLANEOUS MINERALS.-It has
been the history of the past that the un-
noticed mineral of today has become the pro-
ducer of wealth tomorrow. This will be true
to even greater extent in view of the rapid
development of the chemical industries and
their demand for a wide range of rare min-
erals as well as their wholesale utilization of
such common minerals as salt and limestone.
In view of these developments, the great di-
versity of undeveloped and now unknown
minerals of Texas possess great potential
value.
Possibly .valuable deposits of barite are
found in Llano, Gillespie. Val Verde, Hud-
sYeth, Culberson, Brewster, Kinney, Live
ak, Baylor and Taylor Counties. There
has been experimental production. Bismuth
is found in Llano County, but there is no
production. Caliche is widely distributed
over the arid and subhumid parts of the state
and is produced in quantity for road con-
struction.
Chalcedony, translucent quartz, in its vari-
ous forms of agate, onyx, carnelian and oth-
ers, is found in considerable quantities in
Coastal and High Plains. There is no com-
mercial production. Diatomite occurs on the
High Plains. Greensand is found in several
places, notably in Bexar County, where small
quantities have been produced.
Grinding pebbles, used in grinding mill
processes, are found in the coastal area and
there is production in Fayette, Bastrop, Colo-
rado, Frio and Gonzales Counties. Guano is
found in caves in the Edwards limestone re-
gion in Edwards, Medin . Real and other
counties. There has been limited commercial
production from the Devil's Sink Hole in
Edwards County and from a few other caves.
Molding sands are found in many places in
the coastal area.
Nitrates occur in several places in the
Trans-Pecos, notably .n Presidio County, but
quantity and quality have not been deter-
mined. Novacuhte, a fine-grained siliceous
rock used for whetstones, is found in the
Marathon area of Brewster. Oil shale occurs
in Lampasas, McCulloch and San Saba Coun-
ties but there has been no production. Opal
is found in association with chalcedony in
Coastal and High Plains areas.
Residual ironstone pebbles are found in
quantity in East Texas and have been wide-
ly used in highway building. This material
is known locally as "iron ore gravel." Rhyo-
lite, a volcanic rock, is found in the Trans-
Pecos and is produced on considerable scale
in Hudspeth County for ballast. Rice sand, a
coarse-grained siliceous sand, occurs on the
Gulf Coastal Plains. Serpentine is found inF R NATIONAL BANK
IN DALLAS
FMEMBER F. D.I.C.-
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Texas Almanac, 1945-1946, book, 1945; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117166/m1/255/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.