Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 618
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618 TEXAS ALMANAC 1992-1993
tableware, specialty glasses, optics and fiber optics. Ceri-
um oxide has growing use as a polishing compound for
glass, gem-stones, cathode-ray tube faceplates, and other
polishing. Rare earths are alloyed with various metals to
produce materials used in the aeronautic, space and elec-
tronics industries. Addition of rare-earth elements may
improve resistance to metal fatigue at high temperatures,
reduce potential for corrosion, and selectively increase
conductivity and magnetism of the metal.
Various members of this group, including thorium,
have anomalous concentrations in the rhyolitic and related
igneous rocks of the Quitman Mountains and the Sierra
Blanca area of Trans-Pecos.
SALT (SODIUM CHLORIDE) (see also BRINES)- Salt re-
sources of Texas are virtually inexhaustible. Enormous de-
posits occur in the subsurface Permian Basin of West
Texas and in the salt domes of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Salt
also is found in the alkali playa lakes of the High Plains,
the alkali flats or salt lakes in the Salt Basin of Culberson
and Hudspeth counties and along some of the bays and la-
goons of the South Texas Gulf Coast.
Texas is one of the leading salt-producing states. Rock
salt is obtained from underground mines in salt domes at
Grand Saline in Van Zandt County. Approximately one-
third of the salt produced in the state is from r ock salt;
most of the salt is produced by solution mining as brines
from wells drilled into the underground salt deposits.
SAND, INDUSTRIAL - Sands used for special purposes,
due to high silica content or to unique physical properties,
command higher prices than common sand. Industrial
sands in Texas occur mainly in the Central Gulf Coastal
Plain and in North Central Texas. They include abrasive,
blast, chemical, engine, filtration, foundry, glass, hydraul-
ic-fracturing (propant), molding and pottery sands. Re-
cent production of industrial sands has been from
Atascosa, Colorado, Hardin, Harris, Liberty, Limestone,
McCulloch, Newton, Smith, Somervell and Upshur
counties.
SAND AND GRAVEL (CONSTRUCTION) - Sand and
gravel are among the most extensively utilized resources
in Texas. Principal occurrence is along the major streams
and in stream terraces. Sand and gravel are important
bulk construction materials, used as railroad ballast, base
materials and for other purposes.
SANDSTONE - Sandstones of a variety of colors and
textures are widely distributed in a number of geologic
formations in Texas. Some of the sandstones have been
quarried for use as dimension stone in El Paso, Parker,
Terrell, Ward and other counties. Crushed sandstone is
produced in Freestone, Gaines, Jasper, McMullen, Motley
and other counties for use as road-building material, ter-
razzo stone and aggregate.
SERPENTINITE - Several masses of serpentinite, which
formed from the alteration of basic igneous rocks, are
associated with other Precambrian metamorphic rocks of
the Llano Uplift. The largest deposit is the Coal Creek ser-
pentinite mass in northern Blanco and Gillespie counties
from which terrazzo chips have been produced. Other de-
posits are present in Gillespie and Llano counties. (The
features thatare associated with surface and subsurface
Cretaceous rocks in several counties in or near the Bal-
cones Fault Zone and that are commonly known as "ser-
pentine plugs" are not serpentine at all, but are altered
igneous volcanic necks and pipes and mounds of altered
volcanic ash - palagonite - that accumulated around the
former submarine volcanic pipes.)
SHELL - Oyster shells and other shells in shallow coast-
al waters and in deposits along the Texas Gulf Coast have
been produced in the past chiefly by dredging. They were
used to a limited extent as raw material in the manufac-
ture of cement, as concrete aggregate and road base, and
for other purposes. No shell has been produced in Texas
since 1981.
SILVER - During the period 1885-1952, the production of
silver in Texas, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Mines,
totaled about 33 million troy ounces. For about 70 years,
silver was the most consistently produced metal in Texas,
although always in moderate quantities. All of the produc-
tion came from the Trans-Pecos country of West Texas,
where the silver was mined in Brewster County (Altuda
Mountain), Culberson and Hudspeth counties (Van Horn
Mountains and Van Horn-Allamoore district), Hudspeth
County (Quitman Mountains and Eagle Mountains) and
Presidio County (Chinati Mountains area, Loma Plata mine
and Shafter district). Chief producer was the Presidio mine
in the Shatter district, which began operations in the late
1800s, and, through September 1942, produced more than 30
million ounces of silver - more than 92 percent of Texas'
total silver production. Water in the lower mine levels,
lean ores and low price of silver resulted in the closing of
the mine in 1942. Another important silver producer was
the Hazel copper-silver mine in the Van Horn-Allamoore dis-
trict in Culberson County, which accounted for more than 2
million ounces.
An increase in the price of silver in the late 1970s stim-
ulated prospecting for new reserves, and exploration be-
gan near the old Presidio mine, near the old Plata Verde
mine in the Van Horn Mountains district, at the Bonanza
mine in the Quitman Mountains district and at the old Hazelmine. A decline in the price of silver in the early 1980s, how-
ever, resulted in reduction of exploration and mine devel-
opment in the region. There is no current exploration in
these areas.
SOAPSTONE (see Talc and Soapstone).
SODIUM SULFATE (SALT CAKE) - Sodium sulfate min-
erals occur in salt beds and brines of the alkali playa lakes
of the High Plains in West Texas. In some lakes, the sodium
sulfate minerals are present in deposits a few feet beneath
the lakebeds. Sodium sulfate also is found in underground
brines in the Permian Basin. Current production is from
brines and dry salt beds at alkali lakes in Gaines and Terry
counties. Past production was reported in Lynn and Ward
counties. Sodium sulfate is used chiefly by the detergent
and paper and pulp industries. Other uses are in the prepa-
ration of glass and other products.
STONE (see Building Stone; Crushed Stone).
STRONTIUM - Deposits of the mineral celestite (stron-
tium sulfate) have been found in a number of places, in-
cluding localities in Brown, Coke, Comanche, Fisher,
Lampasas, Mills, Nolan, Real, Taylor, Travis and William-
son counties. Most of the occurrences are very minor, and
none is currently produced in the state.
SULFUR - Texas is one of the world's principal sulfur-
producing areas. The sulfur is mined from deposits of na-
tive sulfur, and it is extracted from sour (sulfur-bearing)
natural gas and petroleum. Recovered sulfur is a growing
industry and accounted for approximately 60 percent of all
1987 sulfur production in the United States, but only
approximately 40 percent of Texas production. Native sul-
fur is found in large deposits in the caprock of some of the
salt domes along the Texas Gulf Coast and in some of the
surface and subsurface Permian strata of West Texas, no-
tably in Culberson and Pecos counties. Native sulfur
obtained from the underground deposits is known as
Frasch sulfur, so-called because of Herman Frasch, the
chemist who devised the method of drilling wells into the
deposits, melting the sulfur with superheated water and
forcing the molten sulfur to the surface. Most of the pro-
duction now goes to the users in molten form.
Frasch sulfur is produced from only one Gulf Coast
salt dome in Wharton County and from West Texas under-
ground Permian strata in Culberson County. Operations at
several Gulf Coast domes have been closed in recent
years. During the 1940s, acidic sulfur earth was produced
in the Rustler Springs district in Culberson County for use as
a fertilizer and soil conditioner. Sulfur is recovered from
sour natural gas and petroleum at plants in numerous Tex-
as counties. Sulfur is usedC in the preparation of fertilizers
and organic and inorganic chemicals, in petroleum refin-
ing and for many other purposes.
TALC AND SOAPSTONE - Deposits of talc are found in
the Precambrian metamorphic rocks of the Allamoore area
of eastern Hudspeth and western Culberson counties.
Soapstone, containing talc, occurs in the Precambrian
metamorphic rocks of the Llano Uplift area, notably in
Blanco, Gillespie and Llano counties. Current production
is from surface mines in the Allamoore area. Talc is used
in ceramic, roofing, paint, paper, plastic, synthetic rubber
and other products.
TIN - Tin minerals have been found in El Paso and
Mason Counties. Small quantities were produced during
the early 1900s in the Franklin Mountains north of El Paso.
Cassiterite (tin dioxide) occurrences in Mason County are
believed to be very minor. The only tin smelter in the Unit-
ed States, built at Texas City by the federal government
during World War II and later sold to a private company,
processes tin concentrates from ores mined outside of
Texas, tin residues and secondary tin-bearing materials.
TITANIUM - The titanium mineral rutile has been
found in small amounts at the Mueller prospect in Jeff Da-
vis County. Another titanium mineral, ilmenite, occurs in
sandstones in Burleson, Fayette, Lee, Starr and several
other counties. Deposits that would be considered com-
mercial under present conditions have not been found.
TRAP ROCK (see Basalt).
TUNGSTEN - The tungsten mineral scheelite has been
found in small deposits in Gillespie and Llano counties and
in the Quitman Mountains in Hudspeth County. Small de-
posits of other tungsten minerals have been prospected in
the Cave Peak area north of Van Horn in Culberson Coun-
ty.
URANIUM - Uranium deposits were discovered in the
Texas Coastal Plain in 1954 when abnormal radioactivity
was detected in the Karnes County area. A number of
uranium deposits have since been discovered within a belt
of strata extending more than 250 miles from the middle
Coastal Plain southwestward to the Rio Grande.
Various uranium minerals also have been found in
other areas of Texas, including the Trans-Pecos, the Llano
Uplift and the High Plains. With the exception of small
shipments from the High Plains during the 1950s, all the
uranium production in Texas has been from the Coastal
Plain. Uranium has been obtained from surface mines ex-
tending from northern Live Oak County, southeastern Ata-
scosa County, across northern Karnes County and into
southern Gonzales County. All mines are now reclaimed.618
TEXAS ALMANAC 1992-1993
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1992-1993, book, 1991; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth279642/m1/622/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.