KNOWN TO ANCIENT GREECE

The Greeks had a word
for it = it meant unquen-
chable, Today we call it
asbestos. Back in the days
when Herodutus and Plut-
arch were entering this
material in the pages of
history two general applic~

“ations were noted, One was
for cremation clothes in
which the distinguished
dead were wrapped; the
other was in lamp wicks
which provided night vis-
ion to the living. If, in-
deed, these were the two
applications of asbestos
by the ancients, the uses
of asbestos have expanded
at least 1,500 times, be-
cause there are now more
than 3,000 uses for asbes-
tos and the number contin-
ues to rise.

Resistant to fire, heat,
friction and corrosion, its
fibres form a tough inter-
locking web when combined
with many materials. Famil-
iar as it is in fireproof
clothing, draperies, wrap-
ings and other textile prod-

ucts, the largest proportion

of asbestos exists unseen,
but effective, in a vast
range of materials. The
major users are the constr-
uction and transportation
industries, although general
industry consumes vast
tonnages each year. The
silky asbestos fibres feel
at first touch soft and
weak, but they are incred-
ibly tough, When twisted
together they have the ten-
-sile strength of steel, One
result of this characteris~—

tic is the growing trend jin
Canada and the U.S. to
specify asbestos as an add-
itive to asphalt. This com:
bination results in a tough
yet resilient paving that
resists the hammering of
heavy axle-loads as well as
the contraction and expan-
sion caused by sharp temp-
erature changes.

MOST VALUABLE SINCE 1876

Asbestos became a commer-
cial mineral in Canada in
1876, and now, in effect

Canada produces about 40% of

the world's asbestos.

While Canada plays a dom
inant role in the production
of asbestos in the western

world, it is by no means the

only producer. In addition

‘to Russia, asbestos is mined

in Australia, China, Cyprus,
Finland, France, Italy,

Japan, Rhodesia, South Africa,

the U.S.A. and a few other
countries.

Outside of Quebec, the
leading Canadian producer is

Cassiar Asbestos Corporation,

with shipments in the neigh-

borhood of 190,000 tons from

its mines at Cassiar, B.C.
and Clinton Creek, Yukon,
New Canadian producers are
looming on the horizon but |
most of these are in Quebec
which, for the foreseeable
future, will be the leading
producer in Canada.

The significance-of this
seqr of the industry to
Canus can be measured in

several ways. AS Canada con-
sumes less than 5% of all the

asbestos produced here, the

‘balance is sold abroad and
returns a tidy packet of for-

eign exchange = a commodity
highly regarded by govern-
ments seeking a balance of

trade to help maintain Canad-
ian standards of living, Last

year it amounted to approx
imately $175,000,000,

Substantial communities in
Canada have emerged'‘around
the asbestos operations, com-
munities that would either
not have existed at all or,
except for asbestos, remain~«
ed obscure hamlets. And, in
common with all the mining
industry, the asbestos op-
erations are huge consumers
of machinery, materials,
supplies and services and
this consumption pumps mill-
ions of dollars annually into
the economic bloodstream of
these suppliers all across
Canada.

* x % %

SAVE THAT
HUNTING
LICENCE

Under the new licencina
regulations which will come
into effect April Ist,
1972, any person 19 years
of age or older: who has not
previously held a B.C.
hunting licence will be re-
quired to pass an examinat-
ion before being issued with
a new licence,

Dr. J. Hatter, director
of the Fish and Wildlife
Branch, stated that a min-
imum of inconvenience wil}
be experienced by present
licence holders if they
will keep their expired
licence for presentation
when applying for a new
licence this year.

A person who is unable
to produce a previous lic-
ence will be required to
provide proof in the form
of a sworn declaration
stating that he was a forr
er licence holder,