Asbestos:
The Wonder Mineral

Like all minerals, asbestos is a product of
nature. Its qualities are unique in that it will neither
burn nor decay. About 95 percent of the commercial
asbestos mined in the world is called Chrysotile
the type mined at Cassiar. It accounts for 97 percent
of all the asbestos used in Canada and the United
States.

Technically, the term “asbestos” is the generic

name given to a group of hydrated silicate minerals
that can be separated into relatiy ely soft silky fibres
which have great tensile strength. In fact, the term
“asbestos” can be said to apply to all minerals that
can be separated from their parent rock in the form
of fibre.

There are six major groups of asbestos which
are classified under two headings — Serpentine and
Amphibole. Cassiar Chrysotile is designated as
white asbestos and is the lone member of the
Serpentine class. The remaining five principal
groups are recognized as members of the Amphobile
class of asbestos, none of which are mined
commercially in Canada.

The Greeks knew about asbestos four hundred
years before the birth of Christ. They wove it into
wicks for their temple lamps because it would not
burn, thus providing an “everlasting light.” Marco
Polo was astounded when China’s Emperor tossed a

piece of asbestos cloth into a fire and removed it
unharmed. Ben Franklin acquired a purse made of
asbestos cloth in 1725 which he described in a letter
to a friend as a “purse of stone.” In 1800 Prince
Eugene, Viceroy of Italy, gave his lady a priceless
necklace as a symbol of his love. As a mark of her
own enduring affection, she presented the prince
with a pair of asbestos gloves which she had woven
for him with her own hands, thus attesting to the
value of asbestos in the early part of the 19th
century.

It was not until 1873 that science and industry
began to seriously examine the unique properties of
asbestos and apply its virtues to the service of
mankind. Today, it is estimated that as many as
3,000 different products in use throughout the
world contain a portion of asbestos.

Indeed, the uses of asbestos throughout the
spectrum of human activity seem almost endless. It
can be spun into thread and woven into cloth. Some
grades can be made into paper. It can stand high

temperatures and heavy pressures. It resists
weather, corrosion, vermin and fungi. It insulates
and filtres, binds and fills. Its universal application
has saved countless lives and has prevented billions

a dollars of property damage. T hat is why asbestos
called “

The Wonder Mineral”.