February 1953 page 7

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[image: Zonolite plant]

ZONOLITE built this
plant at Travelers Rest
to process vermicu-
lite, a form of mica.

Zonolite + Vermiculite.....it adds up to success

[right column]
TUCKED away in the foothills near
Travelers Rest, S. C., there is a
strange mining operation that few
people know about. What's more not
many have even heard of the substance
that is being mined.

The Zonolite Company has built up
a substantial plant there for processing
vermiculite, a mineral whose commer-
cial uses have expanded sensationally
in the past few years. The section sur-
rounding Travelers Rest contains large
deposits of this little known material.

Vermiculite is a strange form of mica
which, when heated suddenly to 2000
degrees, opens up like an accordion.
Each granule is composed of microscop-
ic layers of mica, between which are
molecules of water. When heated the
water bursts into steam, prdoucing
voids between the layers.

This expanded vermiculite is ex-
tremely light and because of the hund-

[left column]
reds of voids in it, is an exellent, heat-
resisting insulating material. The
greatest use for the material is as an
aggregate to replace sand in building
materials such as plaster and concrete.
The advantage is that a bag containing
four cubic feet of vermiculite, which
you can lift with one hand, will replace
400 pounds of sand, thus resulting in
much lighter construction materials.
By using vermiculite there is consid-
erable saving in the dead weight of
buildings, resulting in a saving of steel
or other structural supports.

Vermiculite has a variety of uses in
the home and in industry. For instance:
It is an excellent, fireproof insulating
material for attics and walls; it can be
used to insulate cold storage lockers;
it is a good concrete and plaster aggre-
gate; it can be used for insulating heat-
ing systems; it makes a good accousti-
cal plaster; and it even works in tile.

8 SEMAPHORE

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