Asbestos

The asbestos mined at the Cassiar Mine is a natural
occurring mineral fibre, technically named ‘Chrysotile’, a
hydrous magnesium silicate. Individual fibrils of asbestos
average about one two-thousandths the diameter of a
human hair and have a tensile strength comparable to such
materials as nylon and cotton, and in some instances,
steel. All told there are in excess of three. thousand cur-
rent uses for the Chrysotile asbestos as produced at the
Cassiar Mine.

. It is impressed on all employees that foreign materials
of any kind is harmful to asbestos ore and to finished
milled fibre. When customers find any such materials in
their fibre, they complain and may even cancel outstand-
ing orders. This can affect all of us as, if we cannot sell
our fibre, curtailment of operation with consequent reduc-
tion of payroll becomes inevitable.

In our operation the commonest offending materials
are:—
(a) Wood in any form, but especially wood chips and
matches.
(b) Nails, nuts, bolts, blasting wire, scrap metal, etc.
(c) Fuse, wiping rags, and lunch scraps such as bread,
orange peel, etc.

Wood chips and metal scraps damage carding machines
in spinning plants.

Steel splinters, wire or other conductive materials
ruin fibre for elecrical insulation.

Large pieces of iron or steel may jam or even break
our crushing equipment.

Any foreign materials affects the value of our fibre,
and we must be careful to keep it out of all our circuits.

In established Eastern mines, no wood is used and it
is a dischargeable offence to use matches in the mine or
mill. Due to the excessive cost of steel, we use wood in
many places, and we have not yet seen fit to prohibit the
use of matches on the job. However, if you smoke, make
it a point to deposit waste matches in containers where
provided, keep them in your pocket or in the box and
dispose of them clear of the ore or fibre.

If you see foreign material in or near the ore or fibre,
REMOVE IT.

If we each and all do our share, we can defeat this
problem and all be better off.

THERE’S A SAFE PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
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