Tar Heel History
By Faye Lewellen
» «
The Meaning Of Mica
The production of mica in the North Carolina mountains
was critical to helping the Allies win WWII.
This early demand lor ini< a was met
by “jitney" "shirttair mining in
which prospectors worked waste piles
or old pits, slopping when they reached
the waiet line. The mica unearthed was
taken to market in back and saddle
packs. The invention of the electric
motor in 1878 bv Mininas l.clisnn ush¬
ered in the modern era ol mic a use.
By the late 1930s mica was extensive¬
ly used in electrical device's and as ther-
Germany's Adolf Hitler and
other Axis leaders probably did¬
n't have the foggiest notion that
distant mines in North Carolina helped
bring about their downfall in World
War II.
That's because western North
Carolina provided most of a prod¬
uct necessary for lighting every
battle in that war. Without this
product, the Asheville Citizen-
Times reported in 1939. “modern
war cannot go on."
The product was mica, a com¬
mon shiny mineral with a crys¬
talline structure that allowed it to
be split or peeled into thin,
tough, transparent sheets. Small
pieces could be punched into
washers and discs while scraps
were ground into powders of vari¬
ous grade's. When imports ol mica
from India and South America
were cut off due to the war. west¬
ern North Carolina became the
United States’ center of mining
and processing of this "most need¬
ed strategic material."
“Every big bomber that wings
on a lethal mission across aggres¬
sor countries has about Slot)
worth of mica in its engines, and
without it. small as it seems, the
mechanical bird would be
grounded." said North Carolina's
state geologist. Dr. James I..
Stuckey in 1943. “Without (mica)
the vitally important army signal
corps would Ik* paralyzed."
Airplanes, tanks, ships, submarines
and any equipment involving motors or
electricity required mica. Mica’s voltage
and heat resistance made it the Ix-st
non-conductor known. Its feather-light
weight and flexibility, as well as its insu¬
lating qualities, made it vital in the con¬
densers and tubes of radios and mag¬
nets. in airplane spark plugs and as
mal and sound insulation in houses, air¬
planes and refrigerators. It was used in
auto mufflers, toasters and water cool¬
ers. In powdered form it was used in
rubber goods, bricks, paints and lubri¬
cants and to waterproof military tents.
When the call came in 1941
to increase mica output, the
task seemed impossible. There
was little modern mining equip-
meni in the Blue Ridge
Mountains and few people who
knew Imw to process mica. As
the demand and prices for mica
grew, entrepreneurs began min¬
ing operations, but more out¬
put was still needed. Federal
and state officials encouraged
everyone to become a prospec¬
tor: “Since mica is so important
to the war effort, it is the duty of
every fanner . . . who has a
prospect on his property to gel
it opened up even il he has to
do il himself by lantern light."
In July 1942. there were II
active mica mines in North
(Vatolina; by January 1943 there
were 300 mines employing
1.000 men. Although produc¬
tion figures were considered a
military secret, sheet-mica pro¬
duction increased from a half-
million pounds in 1935 to more
than two million in 1943. Mica
miners were deferred from the
draft and experienced miners
were returned from the army.
The federal government set up the
Colonial Mica Com pa in to rent equip¬
ment to miners, who would then buy.
grade and process mica, and resell it to
private industries. North Carolina min¬
ers and sheeters were sent by the- Wat
Manpower Commission to teach their
skills and inc t ease productions .it mines
in Canada. Georgia, New Hampshire.
South Dakota and New Mexico.
shields protecting machine parts. Mica
was the perfect flat insulation between
copper segments of electric commuta¬
tors. one the Germans found difficult
to duplicate when their foreign sources
were unavailable.
North Carolina's mica had been in
demand for a very long lime. As early as
100 B.C.. Toe River mica was being
transported to Ohio, where ancient
Native Americans cut sheets into deli¬
cate silhouettes for religious and orna¬
mental use. Prior to World War I. mica,
often called Muscovy glass or isinglass,
was used in windowpanes, lanterns and
stove-door windows.
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The SlalcAScpccmbct 1995
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