404  NORTH CAROLINA—19921988, when a diamond was found in a gold
placer
mine. In 1992, rubies and 
sapphires were recovered at pan-for-fee operations in Cowee Valley and emeralds

were found near Hiddenite and Little 
Switzerland. 
 
Lithium.—North Carolina continued to 
lead the Nation in the production of lithium compounds. The only other domestic
lithium production was from geothermal brine deposits in Nevada. The lithium
in North Carolina was 
produced from the mineral spodumene, a lithium aluminum silicate that occurs
in pegmatites in the Kings Mountain area. Two companies, FMC Corp.-Lithium
Div. and Cyprus Foote Mineral Co., mined spodumene and processed it for lithium
carbonate. FMC produces a full range of downstream lithium compounds at a
nearby plant in Bessemer City. Cyprus Foote continued to operate on a scaled-down
basis in 1992. FMC processes the spodumene concentrate at a plant in Cherryville
and produces a full line of lithium chemicals and compounds at its main processing
facility in Bessemer City. The company also operated a butyllithium plant
in Bay City, TX. Lithium carbonate produced by Cyprus Foote at Kings Mountain
is shipped primarily to a sister plant in New Johnsonville, TN, where a full
range of lithium chemicals and compounds are produced. 
 In mid-February, FMC signed a contract to develop substantial lithium reserves
in the Salar de Uyuni near Potosi in southern Bolivia. The agreement was
signed by the President of Bolivia and ratified, with amendments, by the
Bolivian Congress. On December 31, 1992, FMC informed the Bolivian 
Government that the amendments were 
unacceptable, but agreed to extend the deadline for making the contract effective
for an additional 30 days. The amendments focused on taxation determination,
terms of exploitation, and the mechanism by which the prices would be fixed
for the end products. An earlier attempt by FMC to develop the deposit ended
in May 1990 when the Bolivian President withdrew a similar lithium 
feasibility study and development 
agreement that he had submitted to the Bolivian Congress. 
 FMC had planned to extend the life of its Bessemer City operations by processing
lithium carbonate from the 
~ Bolivian deposit at the North Carolina 
~ facility. The company was continuing to 
~ explore potential lithium deposits in 
~ northern Argentina and Chile. 
 
Mica.—Scrap mica production 
~ continued to decrease as it has every year 
~ since 1987, when 91,000 metric tons 
~ valued at $5.6 million was produced. In 1992, mica production and its attendant
value decreased approximately 20.5% from 64,000 metric tons valued at $3,747,000
in 1991 to 51,000 tons valued at $2,967,000 in 1992. Mica was produced by
six companies in 1992. Cyprus Foote Minerals Co. recovered mica as a byproduct
of its lithium operations in Cleveland County. The Feldspar Corp. recovered
mica from three pits in Mitchell County. FMC Corp.-Lithium Div. recovered
mica from spodumene pegmatites in Gaston County. K-T Feldspar Corp., a subsidiary
of Hecla Mining Co. , mined mica from one pit in Mitchell County. KGM Minerals
recovered mica from pegmatites in Cleveland County. Unimin produced mica
from quarries in Avery and Mitchell Counties. The mica produced by the Feldspar
Corp., K-T Feldspar, and Unimin in the Spruce Pine area was recovered from
alaskite deposits. 
Alaskite is a generally coarse-grained granitic rock that is relatively free
of iron-bearing minerals. Typically, it is composed of 45 % plagioclase feldspar,
20 % microcline feldspar, 15 % quartz, and 10% muscovite mica. Feldspar and
high-purity quartz sand are usually recovered along with the mica. Kaolin
also may be recovered from deeply weathered alaskite bodies. 
 Cyprus Foote, FMC, and KGM recovered mica from pegmatites in the Kings Mountain-Bessemer
City area of Cleveland and Gaston Counties. 
Feldspar, kaolin, lithium, and industrial sand were recovered in addition
to the mica. 
The dry-ground plants ofDeneen Mica 
Co. at Micaville in Yancey County and J. 
M. Huber at Kings Mountain and Spruce Pine remained inactive during the year.
Huber discontinued mining operations and offered its operations for sale
on April 1, 1990; as of yearend 1992, the operation was still for sale. In
March 1992, DEHNR ordered J. M. Huber to correct deficiencies and reclaim
all affected acreage at the inactive Huber No. 1 Mine near Grover, Cleveland
County. 
 Cleveland County Commissioners, on July 20, unanimously approved a zoning
ordinance that willpreclude the expansion of mica mining activities along
a 6-mile 
corridor between Grover and Kings 
Mountain. The only operation to be immediately impacted by the ordinance
is a recently permitted 10-acre tract owned by Rednour Mining Co. Rednour,
which 
had not yet begun mining on the tract, had applied to increase the permitted

acreage by an additional 113 acres. The 
corridor currently contains 2,060 
permitted acres that can be mined without 
rezoning. 
 Junaluska Mica Co. processed scrap mica in Andrews, Cherokee County, for

use in the backing material of roofing 
shingles. 
 
 Olivine.—.North Carolina remained the 
leading producer of olivine in the United States, although both the quantity
produced and its value declined as it has each year since 1984. In past years,
most of the decrease resulted from increased imports from Norway. Much of
the decline in olivine production in the past 3 years resulted from a decline
in steel production, which is the largest user of olivine in the United States.
Olivine acts as a flux and a slag conditioner, improving the performance
of sinter and reducing coke consumption. 
 Applied Industrial Minerals Corp. 
(AIMCOR), headquartered in Deerfield, IL, operated the Day Book Mine in 
Yancey County and remained North Carolina's sole olivine producer. 
AIMCOR's mine in Avery County was worked on a limited basis, but fmal reclamation
was completed on its Jackson County mine, which was closed in 1987.