Mineral Facts and Problems: 1960 Edition Page: 446
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MINERAL FACTS AND PROBLEMS, ANNIVERSARY EDITION
producing peat for agricultural and horticul-
tural purposes began to emerge around 1904.
There were only about a dozen firms, and an-
nual production was only a few thousand tons.
The American Peat Society was organized at
the National Exposition at Jamestown, Va., on
October 23, 1907. This organization was de-
voted to research and to the dissemination of
information concerning the origin, metamor-
phosis, geographic distribution, physical and
chemical properties, and uses of peat and muck
and represented the peat industry until it went
out of existence in 1927.
SIZE, ORGANIZATION, AND GEOGRAPHIC
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDUSTRY
LIGNITE
North Dakota is now the leading lignite-pro-
ducing State. Although before 1921, Texas was
the principal lignite producer, by 1950 produc-
tion had fallen to less than 20,000 tons annually.
However, Texas production has probably in-
creased materially in recent years to supply new
lignite-powered electric power generation
facilities.
PEAT
The peat industry in 1958 consisted of about
80 establishments primarily engaged in extract-
ing or excavating moss peat, reed-sedge peat,
and peat humus, and in shredding, grinding,
screening, kiln-drying, or otherwise preparing
peat for market. Many of these establishments
are small, so that the owner of the peat deposit
operates his business alone, hiring no employees.
In 1958 approximately 50 percent of the com-
mercial peat-producing companies had fewer
than 3 employees and only 1 had more than 100.
Total employment was about 500 men.
The 1954 Census of Minerals Industries by
the Federal Bureau of the Census showed that
total wages and salaries of the domestic peat
industry in 1954 amounted to $912,000. The
combined horsepower rating of equipment was
23,000, and total capital expenditures for the
industry, including development work, con-
struction, machinery, and equipment, amounted
to $194,000.
In 1958 producers in Michigan organized the
Michigan Peat Producers Association, and pro-
ducers in several other principal peat-produc-
ing States were endeavoring to form associa-
tions with the primary objective of improving
the peat industries of the respective States by
standardization of weights, packaging, market-
ing, and advertising.
The peat industry is widely scattered over
the United States, with deposits in 26 States.
Commercial production was reported from 21
States in 1958. Approximately 45 percent ofthe total output was supplied by the North
Central States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michi-
gan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), 22 percent by
four Western States (California, Colorado,
Idaho, and Washington), 18 percent by the Mid-
dle Atlantic States (New Jersey, New York, and
Pennsylvania) and Ohio, 14 percent by the
Southeastern States (Florida, Georgia, and
South Carolina), and the remainder, or about
1 percent, by the New England States (Con-
necticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New
Hampshire). In order of importance, the four
leading producers were: Michigan, Florida,
Washington, and California.
In 1958, peat was distributed in 44 States,
the District of Columbia, and Canada. About
two-thirds of the total output was used within
the producing State concerned.
In addition to domestically produced peat,
a total equal to 82 percent of domestic produc-
tion was imported. Major sources of imported
peat are Canada and West Germany. Statistics
on the geographic distribution of imported
peat are not available, but principal customs
districts through which peat enters the United
States are Washington, New York, Michigan,
Buffalo, and Philadelphia. Inland shipments
from these points are not known.
DEFINITION OF TERMS, GRADES, AND
SPECIFICATIONS
Peat and coals are classified according to
their nature and chemical composition; these
in turn depend on the kind of original plant
material, its partial decay in the peat swamp,
and its subsequent metamorphism by geological
processes throughout the ages. A brief descrip-
tion of the origin and nature of peat and coal
is presented in the chapter on Bituminous Coal.
The rank or degree of coalification of the
higher rank coals is determined by the amount
of fixed carbon in the coal, as indicated by
proximate analysis. For the lower rank coals,
heating value and caking and weathering prop-
erties determine rank. The rank of coal in-
creases as the amount of fixed carbon increases
and the amounts of moisture and volatile mat-
ter decrease. There is great variation in the
composition of coals, as can be seen from the
following analyses, on an ash-free basis, of a
typical lignite, the lowest rank of coal, and an
anthracite, the highest:
Lignite Anthracite
(Percent) (Percent)
Fixed carbon ----------- 33 92
Volatile matter.-. ------------ -26 5
Moisture----------- 41 3
Total -_-----------------.---1 00 100
Peat is extremely varied in nature and com-
position due to climatic conditions and differ-446
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United States. Bureau of Mines. Mineral Facts and Problems: 1960 Edition, report, 1960; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38790/m1/454/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.