I find it perplexing that over one thousand Canadian nurses and doctors are working in Detroit hospitals and commuting daily from Windsor. Why are we permitting Canadians to travel to a COVID-19 hotspot and return daily to infect Canadians? Has no one learned anything from the mistakes that we made in January, February and March? In those months we allowed people returning from China and other countries to self isolate. It didn’t work. Self isolation resulted in the community spread of the disease. Permitting Canadian nurses and doctors to work in Detroit hospitals, and to commute daily from Windsor, can only result in the spread of the disease in Canada.
I don’t believe that anyone can question that the USA is a COVID-19 hotspot and Michigan is a COVID-19 hotspot. The USA now leads the world in COVID-19 cases, and by next week will likely overtake Spain and Italy in the deaths column. In the USA only the states of New York and New Jersey have more confirmed cases and more deaths than Michigan. As of April 8 the state of Michigan had reported 20,346 cases, 959 deaths, 5 recoveries and 3,856 in hospitals. A majority of the cases in Michigan are in Metro Detroit, with the City of Detroit accounting for 5824 cases and 251 deaths. Regrettably, the cases and deaths in Detroit and in Michigan will only go up as they are adding over 1,000 confirmed cases each day.
It is worth noting that the United States evacuated its citizens from China, and that Canada evacuated Canadians from China, when there were similar total cases and total deaths to those now in Michigan. The United States would never have sent nurses and doctors to Wuhan and allowed them to return home weekly to the USA without isolating them for 14 days each time they returned. Canada would never have sent our nurses and doctors to Wuhan and allowed them to return home weekly to Canada. Why then are our nurses and doctors being allowed to commute daily to Michigan?
It is also worth noting that on January 31st President Trump imposed travel restrictions preventing foreign nationals from entering the U.S. if they had been in China within the previous two weeks. There were about half as many confirmed cases in China (11,821) and about a third as many deaths in China (259) at that point in time than there are now in Michigan. The comparison is even more stark when you factor in that Detroit has a population of under 700,000, greater Detroit has a population of 4 million and Michigan has a population of 10 million, while Wuhan has a population of 11 million and Hubei province has a population of 58.5 million. Visiting Michigan today is six times more dangerous than it was to visit Wuhan, China at the end of January.
I am not objecting to Canadian health professionals working in the USA. Canada should be proud that we can help our neighbour to the south in its time of need.. What I am objecting to is Canadian doctors and nurses failing to observe the requirement that they self isolate for fourteen days each time that they return to Canada. If every other Canadian is required to self isolate, why aren’t people returning from the most infected country in the world required to self isolate? Further, why are they permitted to return day after day from a COVID-19 hotspot, each day increasing their risk of contacting the disease and bringing it back to Canada?
A real concern is that nurses and doctors cannot live in Canada without coming into contact with Canadians. Many of the health professionals that commute daily to the USA will be living in apartment buildings in Canada, in condominiums in Canada, in duplexes in Canada and in row housing in Canada. Those that live in apartment buildings and in condominium towers will be sharing the elevators with other residents of those buildings. The health professionals will also be buying gasoline for their cars in Canada, shopping for groceries in Canada, shopping for wine and beer in Canada, going to the drug stores in Canada, ordering in meals in Canada and going for walks in Canada in their time off. Those that smoke or vape will also be going to convenience stores in Canada to buy cigarettes and vaping products. They have to come in contact with Canadians. Do you really want to be the next person pumping gas after a nurse has filled her or his car with gas. Do you want to be in grocery store with a person who has been working in a COVID-19 hotspot even where the nurse or doctor is standing six feet away?
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic there were conflicting reports in the press as to whether those not showing symptoms were contagious. We now know that asymptomatic spreading is the norm, with at least one study showing that it is possible that more people have been infected by those that do not show symptoms than have been infected by those that show symptoms. We also now know that a significant number of those who are infected (anywhere from 18 to 30 percent) do not show symptoms. Why then do we permit nurses and doctors who appear to be healthy to commute daily to and from the USA. They are not being tested on a daily basis in the USA and many could be asymptomatic. Do we not care about our border officers? Do we not care about the Canadians that the health professionals will come into contact with?
Another concern is that we now know that health professionals are among the groups most likely to become infected with COVID-19. In Ottawa, there are over 400 confirmed cases, of which one in ten is a health professional. In Windsor roughly one-third of COVID-19 cases are health-care workers, with a number of those infected having worked at U.S. hospitals. Do we really want our hospitals to be inundated with health professionals who contacted the disease in the US and will want to be treated in Canada?
The simple solution is that those that work in the USA should be housed in the USA (at the expense of U.S. hospitals) for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. Further, Canadian nurses and doctors working at U.S. hospitals should not be allowed to return to Canada until they self isolate in the USA for a fourteen day period, and can provide a recent test for COVID-19 showing that they are not infected.
Christopher Brett
Thursday 9 April 2020
Wednesday 12 February 2020
The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Problems with Statistics
That there have been over forty-three thousand confirmed cases of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and over 1,000 deaths is both tragic and troubling.
A number of people have questioned the statistics surrounding the outbreak. My main concern with the statistics being provided is the estimate that the mortality rate is 2% of confirmed cases. I am not suggesting that when reported deaths are compared with confirmed cases the death rate does not appear to be 2 percent. However, that calculation never took into account the confirmed cases where the person had neither died nor recovered, and that many of those patients will die. The simplest way of explaining this is that on February 11th there were 43,103 total cases worldwide, 1,116 deaths and 5,127 recoveries. This leaves 36868 confirmed cases being treated. It is reasonable to expect that many of those will die, particularly as WHO reports 7333 severe cases in China. If one applies WHO’s estimate of two percent, then we can expect about 700 of those additional confirmed cases to die, which paradoxically results in a mortality rate of about four percent.
A second problem with fixating on 2 percent when comparing deaths with confirmed cases is that the death rate is increasing. This can be seen from the following:
- As of February 5 there were 24363 confirmed cases in China and 491 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.01 % .
- As of February 7 there were 31 211 confirmed cases in China and 637 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.04 %
- As of February 8 there were 34 598 confirmed cases in China and 723 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.09 %
- As of February 9 there were 37 251 confirmed cases in China and 812 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.18%.
- As of February 10 there were 40 235 confirmed cases in China and 909 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.25 %.
- As of February 11 there were 42 708 confirmed cases in China and 1017 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.38 % .
The mortality rate is going up because deaths continue to increase while the increase in the number of confirmed cases has slowed down. It is reasonable to assume that the mortality rate will keep increasing for at least the next two weeks. This is because China’s efforts to quarantine the disease will become even more successful and the number of additional confirmed cases will drop off. As additional cases drop off, deaths will start to catch up with cases, and the mortality rate will increase.
An additional reason to question that the mortality rate will be close to two percent is that China and the World Health Organization are releasing figures for severe cases and recoveries
WHO’s Novel Coronavirus (2019nCoV) Situation Report –21 which provides data reported as of February 10th lists 6484 severe cases in China. WHO’s Situation Report -22 which provides data reported as of February 11th lists 7333 severe cases in China If one assumes that all of the Severe cases result in death, then the mortality rate for Coronavirus for February 10th is 18 percent [= 100 (909 + 6484)/ 40 235] and for February 11th is 19.5 percent [= 100 (1017 + 7333)/ 42708]. However, as WHO defines a Severe illness according to any of the following criteria: (1) shortness of breath ; (2) respiratory rate more than 30 bpm; (3) hypoxemia; (4) chest X-ray with multilobar infiltrates or pulmonary infiltration progressed more than 50% within 24 - 48 hours, not all with severe coronavirus will die. Conversely, not all confirmed cases have yet had time to develop into severe cases, and one would expect many recent cases to become severe.
A recent study of 138 patients with confirmed coronavirus admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from January 1 to January 28, 2020 provides some guidance on the mortality rate for severe cases. As of February 3 (the closing date for the study), Dr. Dawei Wang and the additional authors found that 36 of the patients (26%) required admission to the intensive care unit, 6 had died (4.3%), 85 patients (61.6%) were still hospitalized, and 47 patients (34.1%) had been discharged. Of the 36 patients admitted to the ICU, 11 were still in the ICU, 9 had been discharged to home, 10 had been transferred to the general wards, and 6 had died. Of the 11 patients who remained in the ICU, 6 received invasive ventilation and 5 noninvasive.
If one splits the 36 ICU patients into two groups [Dead plus invasive ventilation ] and [ discharged, plus transferred to general ward, plus noninvasive] this suggests a mortality rate of 33% [= 12/36 x 100] for severe cases. If one compares only those who died with the total of those who had been discharged from ICU and those transferred to general ward, this suggests a mortality rate of 24 % [= 100x 6/(6+9+10)]
If one then recalculates the death rate for Situation report 21 (February 10th) assuming 33% of severe cases are considered likely to die, then the mortality rate is 7.6% [= 100 (909 + .33 x 6484) / 40235] resulting from 3048 actual and estimated deaths. If one recalculates the death rate for Situation report 21 assuming 24% of severe cases are considered likely to die, then the mortality rate is 6% [= 100 (909 + .24 x 6484) / 40235] resulting from 2465 actual and estimated deaths.
As of February 11th there were 1018 deaths worldwide and 5,127 recoveries worldwide. Assuming that those still undergoing treatment will show the same ratio between deaths and recovery, those numbers equate to a mortality rate of 16.5%.
On a positive note, the mortality rate based on that calculation appears to be dropping.
Another reason to question that the death rate is two percent is that deaths always trail new cases. By this I mean that it takes weeks for a person infected with the disease to either recover or die. A tragic example of this is the recent death of doctor Li Wenliang, the person who first raised the alarm. It is reasonable to assume that he was infected in December or the first two weeks of January. He died on February 7th. He may not have shown symptoms until about ten to fourteen days after infection. If so then his treatment lasted about two to three weeks.
At this point in time there is no way of calculating the average length of time that it takes for those who are confirmed with Coronavirus to die (or recover). In their paper Dr. Dawei Wang and the other medical doctors report the time from onset to dyspnea was 5 days and 8 days to ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome ). For the purpose of an example, I will assume that on average it takes on average ten days for those who are confirmed with Coronavirus to die (or recover). On February 1st there were 11821 confirmed cases in China. If one assumes that the total deaths in China as of February 11 mainly result from those that were reported cases on February 1st, then the mortality rate is 5.9%. [= 100 x 1017/ 11831].
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral disease caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) ] is a viral infection caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). For SARS there were 774 deaths out of 8,096 reported cases for a mortality rate of 9.6 percent. Over 2,000 cases of MERS were reported with about 600 deaths, with a mortality rate of about 30%. A mortality rate of from 6% to 16.5% for the current coronavirus outbreak accords with the mortality rates for SARS and MERS.
Perplexingly, my calculations are only applicable to confirmed coronavirus cases in China. The mortality rate outside China appears to be less than one percent.
Sincerely,
Christopher Brett
Ottawa
Dawei Wang, MD ; Bo Hu, MD ; Chang Hu, MD ; Fangfang Zhu, MD ; Xing Liu, MD; Jing Zhang, MD ; Binbin Wang, MD; Hui Xiang, MD; Zhenshun Cheng, MD; Yong Xiong, MD; Yan Zhao, MD; Yirong Li, MD; Xinghuan Wang, MD; Zhiyong Peng, MD, 2020
Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China | Critical Care Medicine | JAMA |
JAMA. Published online February 7, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.1585
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2761044
World Health Organization
SITUATION REPORT - 5 ; 25 JANUARY 2020
Severe illness: According to any of the following criteria: (1) shortness of breath ; (2) respiratory rate more than 30 bpm; (3) hypoxemia; (4) chest X-ray with multilobar infiltrates or pulmonary infiltration progressed more than 50% within 24 - 48 hours.
A number of people have questioned the statistics surrounding the outbreak. My main concern with the statistics being provided is the estimate that the mortality rate is 2% of confirmed cases. I am not suggesting that when reported deaths are compared with confirmed cases the death rate does not appear to be 2 percent. However, that calculation never took into account the confirmed cases where the person had neither died nor recovered, and that many of those patients will die. The simplest way of explaining this is that on February 11th there were 43,103 total cases worldwide, 1,116 deaths and 5,127 recoveries. This leaves 36868 confirmed cases being treated. It is reasonable to expect that many of those will die, particularly as WHO reports 7333 severe cases in China. If one applies WHO’s estimate of two percent, then we can expect about 700 of those additional confirmed cases to die, which paradoxically results in a mortality rate of about four percent.
The Mortality Rate has Increased
A second problem with fixating on 2 percent when comparing deaths with confirmed cases is that the death rate is increasing. This can be seen from the following:
- As of February 5 there were 24363 confirmed cases in China and 491 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.01 % .
- As of February 7 there were 31 211 confirmed cases in China and 637 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.04 %
- As of February 8 there were 34 598 confirmed cases in China and 723 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.09 %
- As of February 9 there were 37 251 confirmed cases in China and 812 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.18%.
- As of February 10 there were 40 235 confirmed cases in China and 909 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.25 %.
- As of February 11 there were 42 708 confirmed cases in China and 1017 deaths in China, which is a death rate of 2.38 % .
The mortality rate is going up because deaths continue to increase while the increase in the number of confirmed cases has slowed down. It is reasonable to assume that the mortality rate will keep increasing for at least the next two weeks. This is because China’s efforts to quarantine the disease will become even more successful and the number of additional confirmed cases will drop off. As additional cases drop off, deaths will start to catch up with cases, and the mortality rate will increase.
Severe Cases
An additional reason to question that the mortality rate will be close to two percent is that China and the World Health Organization are releasing figures for severe cases and recoveries
WHO’s Novel Coronavirus (2019nCoV) Situation Report –21 which provides data reported as of February 10th lists 6484 severe cases in China. WHO’s Situation Report -22 which provides data reported as of February 11th lists 7333 severe cases in China If one assumes that all of the Severe cases result in death, then the mortality rate for Coronavirus for February 10th is 18 percent [= 100 (909 + 6484)/ 40 235] and for February 11th is 19.5 percent [= 100 (1017 + 7333)/ 42708]. However, as WHO defines a Severe illness according to any of the following criteria: (1) shortness of breath ; (2) respiratory rate more than 30 bpm; (3) hypoxemia; (4) chest X-ray with multilobar infiltrates or pulmonary infiltration progressed more than 50% within 24 - 48 hours, not all with severe coronavirus will die. Conversely, not all confirmed cases have yet had time to develop into severe cases, and one would expect many recent cases to become severe.
A recent study of 138 patients with confirmed coronavirus admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from January 1 to January 28, 2020 provides some guidance on the mortality rate for severe cases. As of February 3 (the closing date for the study), Dr. Dawei Wang and the additional authors found that 36 of the patients (26%) required admission to the intensive care unit, 6 had died (4.3%), 85 patients (61.6%) were still hospitalized, and 47 patients (34.1%) had been discharged. Of the 36 patients admitted to the ICU, 11 were still in the ICU, 9 had been discharged to home, 10 had been transferred to the general wards, and 6 had died. Of the 11 patients who remained in the ICU, 6 received invasive ventilation and 5 noninvasive.
If one splits the 36 ICU patients into two groups [Dead plus invasive ventilation ] and [ discharged, plus transferred to general ward, plus noninvasive] this suggests a mortality rate of 33% [= 12/36 x 100] for severe cases. If one compares only those who died with the total of those who had been discharged from ICU and those transferred to general ward, this suggests a mortality rate of 24 % [= 100x 6/(6+9+10)]
If one then recalculates the death rate for Situation report 21 (February 10th) assuming 33% of severe cases are considered likely to die, then the mortality rate is 7.6% [= 100 (909 + .33 x 6484) / 40235] resulting from 3048 actual and estimated deaths. If one recalculates the death rate for Situation report 21 assuming 24% of severe cases are considered likely to die, then the mortality rate is 6% [= 100 (909 + .24 x 6484) / 40235] resulting from 2465 actual and estimated deaths.
Recoveries
As of February 11th there were 1018 deaths worldwide and 5,127 recoveries worldwide. Assuming that those still undergoing treatment will show the same ratio between deaths and recovery, those numbers equate to a mortality rate of 16.5%.
On a positive note, the mortality rate based on that calculation appears to be dropping.
Deaths Trail New Cases
Another reason to question that the death rate is two percent is that deaths always trail new cases. By this I mean that it takes weeks for a person infected with the disease to either recover or die. A tragic example of this is the recent death of doctor Li Wenliang, the person who first raised the alarm. It is reasonable to assume that he was infected in December or the first two weeks of January. He died on February 7th. He may not have shown symptoms until about ten to fourteen days after infection. If so then his treatment lasted about two to three weeks.
At this point in time there is no way of calculating the average length of time that it takes for those who are confirmed with Coronavirus to die (or recover). In their paper Dr. Dawei Wang and the other medical doctors report the time from onset to dyspnea was 5 days and 8 days to ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome ). For the purpose of an example, I will assume that on average it takes on average ten days for those who are confirmed with Coronavirus to die (or recover). On February 1st there were 11821 confirmed cases in China. If one assumes that the total deaths in China as of February 11 mainly result from those that were reported cases on February 1st, then the mortality rate is 5.9%. [= 100 x 1017/ 11831].
Comparison with SARS and MERS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral disease caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) ] is a viral infection caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). For SARS there were 774 deaths out of 8,096 reported cases for a mortality rate of 9.6 percent. Over 2,000 cases of MERS were reported with about 600 deaths, with a mortality rate of about 30%. A mortality rate of from 6% to 16.5% for the current coronavirus outbreak accords with the mortality rates for SARS and MERS.
Perplexingly, my calculations are only applicable to confirmed coronavirus cases in China. The mortality rate outside China appears to be less than one percent.
Sincerely,
Christopher Brett
Ottawa
References
Dawei Wang, MD ; Bo Hu, MD ; Chang Hu, MD ; Fangfang Zhu, MD ; Xing Liu, MD; Jing Zhang, MD ; Binbin Wang, MD; Hui Xiang, MD; Zhenshun Cheng, MD; Yong Xiong, MD; Yan Zhao, MD; Yirong Li, MD; Xinghuan Wang, MD; Zhiyong Peng, MD, 2020
Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China | Critical Care Medicine | JAMA |
JAMA. Published online February 7, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.1585
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2761044
World Health Organization
SITUATION REPORT - 5 ; 25 JANUARY 2020
Severe illness: According to any of the following criteria: (1) shortness of breath ; (2) respiratory rate more than 30 bpm; (3) hypoxemia; (4) chest X-ray with multilobar infiltrates or pulmonary infiltration progressed more than 50% within 24 - 48 hours.
Tuesday 22 October 2019
Tubular Structures in the Ediacaran Drummond Sequence in Lanark County, Ontario
In my March blog postings I reported finding the Ediacaran fossil Aspidella together with Ediacaran fronds and various microbial mat structures, in sedimentary rocks northeast of Perth, Ontario that I designated the Drummond Sequence. Below are two of the more convincing photographs.
As noted in earlier posts, I believe that there is at most a thin veneer of lower Ordovician March Formation at the top of the Drummond Sequence and that most of the rocks in the sequence are Ediacaran in age.
I looked through my collection of photographs from the Drummond Sequence for slabs with a similar style of preservation to that shown in the first of the above two photographs. Below is one such photograph showing tubular structures together with an enlarged extract from the photo.
I believe that the photographs shows an Ediacaran tubular fossil rather than stalks, but this is not clear.
Below are two photos of another slab displaying the same style of preservation.
Again it is not clear whether the tubular structures represent tubular fossils or stalks.
Similar tubes are shown below in a different mode of preservation:
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
As noted in earlier posts, I believe that there is at most a thin veneer of lower Ordovician March Formation at the top of the Drummond Sequence and that most of the rocks in the sequence are Ediacaran in age.
I looked through my collection of photographs from the Drummond Sequence for slabs with a similar style of preservation to that shown in the first of the above two photographs. Below is one such photograph showing tubular structures together with an enlarged extract from the photo.
I believe that the photographs shows an Ediacaran tubular fossil rather than stalks, but this is not clear.
Below are two photos of another slab displaying the same style of preservation.
Similar tubes are shown below in a different mode of preservation:
Christopher Brett
Perth, Ontario
A Concentric Circular Structure in Rocks of the Ottawa Embayment that are Mapped as the Ordovician Gull River Formation
In various blog postings dated from 2014 to 2016 I mentioned and included photographs of cylindrical dewatering structures in the Cambrian Potsdam sandstone of Eastern Ontario.
Below are photographs of a circular structure observed in a slab of rock at a quarry in the United County of Leeds and Grenville, Ontario that has been mapped as the Ordovician Gull River Formation by the Ontario Geological Survey.
The outermost of the light coloured inner concentric rings is about five inches in diameter. The darker spiral ring is about a foot in diameter.
My initial guess for this structure was that it is more likely to be a cross-section of a dewatering structure or a cross-section of a concretion, than an Ordovician fossil. However, the specimen bears more that a passing similarity to some photographs of Eldonids including Eldonia ludwigi from the Cambrian Burgess Shale (Walcott, 1914, Figure 5 at page 47, and Plates 9-12; Caron et al., 2010, Figure 1; MacGabhann, 2012, volume 2, Figure 4.02 - 4.18), Eldonia berbera (Alessandrello and Bracchi, 2003) and Eldonia eumorpha (Chen et al., 1995; Anonymous, 20??), all Cambrian or Ordovician in age . If it is a fossil Eldonid then the dark gray spiral structure is probably a digestive organ, while the light patches and light grey ribbons outside of the dark spiral are part of the outer ring.
An alternate interpretation is that this represents a concentric microbial discoid structure similar to microbial-related biogenic structures from the Middle Ordovician slates of northern Portugal reported by Neto de Carvalho, Couto, Figueiredo and Baucon (2016)
The part and counterpart of the slab were available for collecting, but both were too heavy for me to lift. The slabs are at the edge of a blast pile at the quarry. I did not ask when the pile is slated to be crushed, but it will likely be before next spring.
Despite an hour searching, no other fossils were found in these beds.
These rocks have been mapped as the Gull River Formation by the Ontario Geological Survey. Williams (1991) notes that “Brachiopods, bryozoa, corals, crinoids, ostracods, gastropods, pelecypods, cephalopods, trilobites, and stromatolites are abundant” in the Gull River formation. I
found no indication of any of those fossils at this location. An individual who has looked at these beds told me prior to my search that there are no fossils at this location. However, the OGS reports an ostracod in shale from this location that had earlier been reported from this formation in Aylmer, Quebec (just across the river from Ottawa) by Raymond (1911, p.190) and described and figured by Jones (1891, page 65, plate 11, figures 7 and 8). One figured specimen from Aylmer is 4.1 mm in length with a height of 2.5 mm. It could easily have been overlooked by me.
I did find a small trace fossil in an outcrop of an overlying chalky bed that may or may not to be part of the sequence mapped by the Ontario Geological Survey as the Gull River Formation. Below is a photograph of this trace fossil. The numbers on the ruler record centimeters.
The part and counterpart of the slab were available for collecting, but both were too heavy for me to lift. The slabs are at the edge of a blast pile at the quarry. I did not ask when the pile is slated to be crushed, but it will likely be before next spring.
Despite an hour searching, no other fossils were found in these beds.
These rocks have been mapped as the Gull River Formation by the Ontario Geological Survey. Williams (1991) notes that “Brachiopods, bryozoa, corals, crinoids, ostracods, gastropods, pelecypods, cephalopods, trilobites, and stromatolites are abundant” in the Gull River formation. I
found no indication of any of those fossils at this location. An individual who has looked at these beds told me prior to my search that there are no fossils at this location. However, the OGS reports an ostracod in shale from this location that had earlier been reported from this formation in Aylmer, Quebec (just across the river from Ottawa) by Raymond (1911, p.190) and described and figured by Jones (1891, page 65, plate 11, figures 7 and 8). One figured specimen from Aylmer is 4.1 mm in length with a height of 2.5 mm. It could easily have been overlooked by me.
I did find a small trace fossil in an outcrop of an overlying chalky bed that may or may not to be part of the sequence mapped by the Ontario Geological Survey as the Gull River Formation. Below is a photograph of this trace fossil. The numbers on the ruler record centimeters.
This specimen was found in a bed on an upper bench at the quarry that is scheduled for blasting next spring.
Christopher Brett
Ottawa
Addendum, July 14, 2022: My interpretation of the photographs of this circular structure has been bothering me since my initial posting. Accordingly, I've changed the emphasis of the paragraph under the first three photographs. I have not been back to the quarry to look for the specimens.
Referenced, And Suggested Reading
Alessandrello, Anna and Bracchi, Giacomo , 2003
Eldonia berbera n. sp., a new species of the enigmatic genus Eldonia Walcott, 1911 from the Rawtheyan (Upper Ordovician) of Anti-Atlas (Erfoud, Tafilalt, Morocco). Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Milano, Vol. 144, pages 337-358
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/324891
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/58420660#page/341/mode/1up
Anonymous, 20??
Eldonia eumorpha Enigmatic Taxon from Chengjiang.
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Sites/Chengjiang/Eldonia-eumorpha/Eldonia.htm
January 29, 2014 - Cylindrical Structures in Potsdam Group Sandstone in Eastern Ontario
August 27, 2015 - Cylindrical Structures in Potsdam Group Sandstone in Eastern Ontario - Part 2
September 28, 2015 - A Map Showing the Location of Cylindrical and Conical Structures in Potsdam (Group) Sandstone of Ontario and New York
October 22, 2015 - Cylindrical structures in Sandstone: A Type of Soft-Sediment Deformation Sometimes Linked to Seismic Activity
December 23, 2015 - Dewatering Structures, Biofilm Structures, Glacial Striae and Chatter Marks in Potsdam Sandstone near Newboro, Eastern Ontario
September 22, 2016 - Frothed Sandstone and Cylindrical Structures Found in Potsdam Sandstone
Fossilslanark.blogspot.ca
Brett, Christopher, 2019a
Concentric Structures in the Sedimentary Rocks of Lanark County, Ontario that are identical to the Ediacaran Holdfast Aspidella. http://fossilslanark.blogspot.com/2019/03/holdfasts-in-lower-ordovician-march.html
Brett, Christopher, 2019b
If the Ediacaran discoid holdfast Aspidella, why not Ediacaran Stalks, Spindles and Fronds in Lanark County?
http://fossilslanark.blogspot.com/2019/03/if-ediacaran-discoid-holdfast-aspidella.html
Chen Jun-yuan, Zhu Mao-yan, & Zhou Gui-qing. 1995.
The Early Cambrian medusiform metazoan Eldonia from the Chengjiang Lagerstatte. Acta Paleontologica Polonica 40, 3, 213-244.
https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app40/app40-213.pdf
Caron, J.; Conway Morris, S.; Shu, D.; Soares, D., 2010.
In Soares, Daphne (ed.). "Tentaculate fossils from the Cambrian of Canada (British Columbia) and China (Yunnan) interpreted as primitive deuterostomes". PLOS ONE. 5 (3): e9586. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...5.9586C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009586. PMC 2833208. PMID 20221405.
6. BEYRICHIA CLAVIGERA (sp. nov.), 7. BEYRICHIA CLAVIGERA (sp. nov.) Var. CLAVIFRACTA (nov.)., in Contributions to Canadian Micro-Palaeontology. Part III. Geological Survey of Canada, (pages numbered 59-99 ; plus plates), at page 65, and plate 11, figures 7 and 8
https://doi.org/10.4095/106564
MacGabhann, Breandán Anraoi, 2012
A Solution to Darwin's Dilemma: Differential Taphonomy of Ediacaran and Palaeozoic Non-Mineralised Discoidal Fossils. Ph.D. Thesis. National University of Ireland, Galway . Volume 1 - Text and References (1.104Mb) Volume 2 - Figures and Tables (27.43Mb). http://hdl.handle.net/10379/3406 Collections: NUI Galway Theses (PhD Theses)
Microbial-related biogenic structures from the Middle Ordovician slates of Canelas (northern Portugal). Comunicações Geológicas (2016) 103, Especial I, 23-38
https://www.academia.edu/30274936/Microbial-related_biogenic_structures_from_the_Middle_Ordovician_slates_of_Canelas_northern_Portugal_?auto=download
Raymond, P. E, 1911
Preliminary Notes on the "Chazy" Formation in the Vicinity of Ottawa. The Ottawa Naturalist, Volume 24, Number 11, p.189-197,
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/94742#page/201/mode/1up
Williams, D.A., 1991.
Paleozoic Geology of the Ottawa-St. Lawrence Lowland, Southern Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 5770, 292p.
Walcott, Charles D., 1914.
No. 3 Middle Cambrian Holothurians and Medusae, pp. 41 -68, pls 8-13, in Cambrian geology and paleontology, II. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Volume 57
https://archive.org/details/smithsonianmisce571914smit/page/n166/mode/1up?view=theater
Friday 16 August 2019
The K-Bentonite Occurrence at Tenth Line Rd. and St. Joseph Blvd, Ottawa and Historical References to Bentonite Clay
Since my July 28, 2019 and August 7, 2019 blog postings I’ve continued to find articles referring to K-Bentonite (altered volcanic ash) in Eastern Ontario. For example:
- Kolata, Huff and Bergström (1996) briefly described an Ordovician K-bentonite bed at a quarry near Aylmer, Quebec (just across the river from Ottawa) noting that this bed is as much as 17 cm thick.
- Salad Hersi (1998) reported on a Bentonite layer in a roadcut at the intersection of Tenth Line Rd. and St. Joseph Blvd. in Orleans, Ontario (now part of Ottawa), within the Hull Formation about 1 meter below the base of the Verulam Formation.
- Kierman (1999) analyzed those two K-Bentonites from the Ottawa Embayment: one at the Klock Quarry in Aylmer, Quebec, and the second near the intersection of St. Joseph Blvd. and Tenth Line Rd. in Orleans, Ontario about 1 m below the base of the Verulam Formation.
- Dix and Jolicoeur ( 2011) discuss bentonite layers in the Ordovician Billings Formation and Carlsbad Formation, Eastern Ontario.
- Oruche, Dix and Kamob (2018) report on the Millbrig K-bentonite volcanic ash bed and the bentonite bed in the Hull Formation in the Ottawa embayment, tracing both across Eastern Ontario.
- Carrier (2018) reports on two bentonite layers in the Ordovician limestone at the Clark Quarry in Stittsville in the west end of Ottawa.
On August 16, 2019 I visited the outcrop at the southeast corner of the intersection of Tenth Line Road and St. Joseph Boulevard in Orleans. The K-bentonite bed is about two centimeters thick, is concordant with the underlying and overlying strata, is a chalky white colour, is recessive, has both a gritty and soapy feel, and extends over the length of the outcrop (at least 30 meters). No visible crystals are present. Many articles report that often a K-bentonite bed can be found because plants preferentially grow in the K-bentonite, and this feature was observed at this outcrop. I took the following photographs of the K-bentonite bed at that location.
Many early references to what we now call bentonite clay refer to it as soap clay, mineral soap, edible clay or edible earth. Selwyn (1874), for an occurrence near Edmonton mentions “Immediately above the coal seam is a layer of a brown greasy clay six or eight inches thick. This clay works into a lather like soap, and Dr. Hector says it was used by the women at the fort for washing blankets. A sample of it, analysed by Mr. Hoffmann in the Survey laboratory, shews it to be a hydrous silicate of alumina*... * For analysis of this soap-clay see Appendix.”. McConnell (1889) in a report on the Yukon and MacKenzie Basins mentions “The most interesting part of this section was under water at the time of my visit, and can only be examined in the autumn. ... The edible clay bed ... was just visible below the surface of the water, and a specimen was dug up with the paddle. This clay is of a light yellowish color, and is highly plastic. It is used for whitewashing purposes, and in former times served the Indians as a substitute for soap.” Allan and Sanderson (1945) identify Selwyn’s and McConnell’s reports as the earliest references to bentonite in Western Canada.
Condra (1908) was the first to link bentonite with volcanic ash commenting “ Professor Todd has noted the existence of a thin but very persistent layer of clay closely resembling bentonite near the middle of the Carlile formation. It varies from 1 1/2 to 3 inches thick. .. . It is suggested that it may originally have been a thin stratum of volcanic ash.” Others to make the connection were Hewitt (1917) and Wherry (1917). Keele (1920) might have been the first in Canada to write that bentonite formed from weathered volcanic rocks commenting "The clay is deposited in a flat at the base of outcrops of volcanic rocks and is evidently composed of the weathered products of these rocks" and "volcanic rocks are the source for that gelatinous clay known as bentonite."
Over the course of three papers, Professor W. C. Knight of the University of Wyoming identified novel clay deposits in Wyoming and named the clay Bentonite. In the first paper, Knight (1893) reported on large beds of ‘fire clay’ in Wyoming, specifically mentioning localities at Rock Creek station on the railroad line (from which several carloads of clay had been shipped to New York) and at Crook County where “a bank of clay has been discovered in Cretaceous rocks which has been called mineral soap or Saponite. The clay when moistened has an unctuous feeling resembling soap; but in chemical constituents it could not be classed as a mineral soap.” He also provided chemical analyses of the two clays. In the second paper, Knight (1897a) mentions that “Since the year 1888 Mr. William Taylor of Rock Creek Station,... has shipped to various parts of the United States occasional carloads of a peculiar clay , which, for convenience, may be hereafter known as “Taylorite”. ... The present quarry operated by Mr. Taylor is a quarter mile north of the railroad, but at a point further to the eastward the railroad cuts through the bed. ... When taken from the quarry it has an unctuous feeling, and when water is added , it forms an emulsion . ... Inappropriately this clay has been called ‘mineral soap’ on account of its soapy feeling in water.” In an abstract of Knight’s second paper, Spencer (1898) noted that the proposed name taylorite is “a name already in use.” In his third paper, Knight (1898) mentions that he had learned that “the name Taylorite is preoccupied; consequently it will henceforth be known as Bentonite.” and provided four analyses of Bentonite.
Interestingly, Knight’s (1893) paper has been largely overlooked. Keele (1920) is the only paper that I found referring to Knight’s first paper.
Knechtel (1952), and Hosterman and Patterson (1992,) credit Engelmann (1858) with being the first to describe the clay that we now call bentonite. This is Engelmann’s (1858, p. 511) description of clay in the Cretaceous age strata in Carbon County, Wyoming:
“Between Medicine-Bon creek and Pass creek, south of the butte, was an exposure of sandy, argillaceous slate, and above it a layer of a yellow unctuous matter, covered on the surface with an efflorescence of salts, which seemed to be a product of the decomposition of the igneous rocks. It readily imbibes water, and thereby increases much in volume and becomes plastic. An analysis of a piece which had lost most of its soluble parts gave--
Water, 18 per cent.; silica, 51 per cent. ; alumnia, 30 per cent. ; calcia, traces.
Nearer to camp 42 were similar layers; some, also, yellowish, some green, with a talcose structure. The specimens of this variety separated in the water into a light yellow stuff like the other, and in dark colored heavier particles. Analysis gave:
Water, 14 per cent.; silica, 55.5 per cent. ; alumina, 30.5 per cent.; calcia, traces.
It is, therefore, a mineral similar in its composition and properties to the bole and pimelithe. Many crystals of gypsum were disseminated through these strata, and efflorescences of salt on the surface tasted like potash or soda.”
Knechtel (1952) comments that “Engelmann's citations of bole and pimelite for comparison seem appropriate enough, in view of the stage of development of mineralogic thought in his time. In the contemporary edition of Dana’s System of Mineralogy (1854, pp. 252, 503) bole is defined as material closely resembling halloysite both in appearance an in its large content of water; “. Halloysite is an aluminosilicate clay mineral. Pimelite is a light green, somewhat greasy or waxy, smectite clay.
Intriguingly, there are many earlier papers on Fuller’s Earth, edible clay and other clays that refer to a clay that we would now call Bentonite. Not all reports of Fuller’s earth are bentonite, but many are. For example, Sir Roderick Murchison (1839) reported on layers of saponaceous clay/Fuller’s earth in the Upper Silurian rocks of Herefordshire that are now identified as bentonite (Huff, Morgan, Rundle, 1996 ). This is Sir Roderick Murchison’s (1839) report: “these flagstones are separated from the overlying Aymestry limestone, by courses of a saponaceous clay (in many instances a complete fuller's-earth) , of a yellowish white and grey colour, which is commonly known throughout Herefordshire and the adjacent counties under the name of “Walker's earth, or soap," and is sometimes used by the country people for cleansing purposes. Beds of this " Walker's earth" are not infrequent in other parts of the Upper Silurian Rocks, particularly in the Wenlock shale; and it will afterwards appear, that from their saponaceous qualities the surfaces of these beds have frequently aided the slipping of superincumbent masses of rock.” In addition, Fitton (1847) described a Fuller’s earth bed from the Isle of Wight that has now been identified as Bentonite by Ruffell et al. (2002). As well, Fitton (1836) had earlier identified a number of Fuller’s earth beds in the southeast of England that are likely bentonite (see Hallam & Sellwood, 1968; Goldring, 1999).
One of the more interesting papers that I found was by Wynne (1878), who in a report on the geology of the Salt Range in the Punjab mentions a clay-ash/decomposed rock found with volcanic rock used as soap, commenting: “Lavender Clay. The lavender clay-ash or decomposed rock found with the volcanic rock of Nilawán, &c., is used by the natives as soap or to assist in washing.” Ball’s (1881) and Watt’s (1889) comments on the fire clays, fuller’s earth and edible clays of India are also intriguing, particularly Watt’s comment (at page 362) on the “The sabún mití or soap-earth of Colgong in the Bhagalpur Division”, Bengal. Kirwan (1794) devotes pages 174 to 206 of this very early text on mineralogy to clays and earths, a few of which might be worth following up on to determine whether they can be linked to bentonite, particularly one that ‘imbibed water strongly’ and "is often of pseudo- volcanic origin, ... and perhaps also sometimes really volcanic; but it also frequently arises from the decomposition, or disintegration, of other stones." Muir's (1878) paper on an edible clay eaten by sheep in New Zealand is interesting because it contains an analysis of the clay (and not just because the sheep were eating clay), and if the clay is Bentonite would be an early British analysis of Bentonite.
A number of authors have investigated the references to Fuller’s earth and other earths used in ancient Greece, by the Roman Empire and in the Middle Ages. For example, the Cimolian earth mentioned by Pliny the Elder (AD 79) in Naturalis Historia is said to be bentonite (Beneke and Lagaly, 2002, page 64; Williams, 2013, page 254; Pabst and Koøánová, 2009, page 89) while the gray earth at Kaaden mentioned by Agricola (1546) “is the bentonite of the Rokle deposit type, the major Czech bentonite deposit of today” (Pabst and Koøánová, 2009, page 94). Robertson (1949) mentions that Pliny the Elder recorded in Book xxxv of his Natural History that the earth saxum has the property of increasing in bulk when soaked in water, and states that “the suggestion that saxum is really the first record of bentonite is strengthened by the fact that bentonite has been worked commercially in Italy on Ponza Island near Naples since 1935.” Pittinger (1975) reviewed the mineral products of the Greek island of Melos in antiquity, and concludes that alumen of Pliny the Elder “is the bentonited mined today” on Melos, while the Melian earth of Theophrastus (c. 372-322 B.C.) “could describe certain bentonitic deposits of high silica content, extensive on Melos.” Koutsopoulou , Christidis and Marantos (2016) mention that the bentonites from the Greek Island of Samos – Samian Earth – has been utilized since ancient times, but that the bentonites are mined now only at a local scale. Christidis and Scott (1993) note that “Greek bentonites have been exploited since ancient times and the clays on the island of Milos and Kimolos are mentioned by Theophrastus in his work ‘About Stones’.” However, Caley and Richards (1956, 208-9) had different interpretations for Theophrastus’ Melian earth, Kimolian earth and Samian earth.
Christopher Brett
Ottawa
References and Suggested Reading
Agricola, Georgius, 1546
De natura fossilium. Froben, Basel. [ 1955, De Natura Fossilium - Textbook of
Mineralogy . English translation by M.C. Bandy and J.A. Bandy for the Mineralogical Society of America, Special Paper 63), Geological Society of America, New York.
http://farlang.com/books/agricola-bandy-de-natura-fossilium ]
Anonymous, 1898
Mineral Soap. American Soap Journal and Perfume Gazette, volume VIII, No. 12, page 412
Anonymous, 1922
The mineral "bentonite": its occurrence and uses. Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. 20, pages 344-349
https://archive.org/details/bulletinofimperi20commuoft/page/344
https://books.google.com/books/about/Bulletin.html?id=xCQzAQAAMAAJ
Anonymous, 2019a
Loxter Ashbed Quarry. Upper Ludlow Shales over massive Aymestrey Limestone with thin bentonite horizons displaying an open anticline plunging S. [Photographs of bentonite layers.]
http://www.buildingstones.org.uk/search/nprn/quarry594
Anonymous, 2019b
Whitman’s Hill Quarry - Herefordshire & Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust. [Photographs of bentonite layers.]
http://www.earthheritagetrust.org/pub/learning-discovery/aggregates/aggregates-of-herefordshire/site-examples-hfds/whitmans-hill-quarry/
Allan, John. A. And Sanderson, J.O.G., 1945
Geology of Red Deer and Rosebud Sheets, Alberta. Res Council Alberta Report 13, 51 pages
Bentonite at pages 49-51; clay at 52
https://ags.aer.ca/publications/REP_13.html
https://ags.aer.ca/document/REP/REP_13.pdf
Beneke, Klaus and Lagaly, Gerhard, 2002
From Fuller’s Earth to Bleaching Earth: A Historical Note. ECGA (European Clay Group Association) Newsletter No.5, July 2002, page 57-78
http://www.uni-kiel.de/anorg/lagaly/group/klausSchiver/bleachingearth.pdf
Ball, V., 1881
A Manual of the Geology of India: Part III. Economic geology . Calcutta: Office of the Geological Survey of India. London: Trübner & Co. 663 pages. clay at pages 561- 571
https://books.google.ca/books?id=1pvscyOHjQcC
Caley, E.R. and J.C. Richards, 1956,
Theophrastus on Stones, Columbus: Ohio State University.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6aea/1f77da14667d90a6f6464afe4f2fdde8a6f5.pdf
Carretero, M.Isabel, 2002
Clay minerals and their beneficial effects upon human health. Applied Clay Science, Volume 21, Issues 3–4, June 2002, Pages 155-163
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-1317(01)00085-0
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169131701000850
Carrier, Maureen, 2018
Geology of the Ottawa Region with Dr. Wouter Bleeker, October 13,2018 – Macnamara Field Naturalists' Club
https://mfnc.ca/geology-of-the-ottawa-region-with-dr-wouter-bleeker-october-132018/
Christidis, George and Scott, Peter W., 1993
Laboratory evaluation of bentonites. Industrial Minerals, August 1993, pages 51-57
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/GE_Christidis/publication/284127401_Laboratory_evaluation_of_bentonites/links/5671513508ae0d8b0cc2ebf0/Laboratory-evaluation-of-bentonites.pdf
Condra, G. E., 1908,
Geology and water resources of a portion of the Missouri River valley in Northeaster Nebraska: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 215, 59 pages
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wsp215
https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/0215/report.pdf
Eisenhour, Don D. And Brown, Richard K., 2009
Bentonite and Its Impact on Modern Life. Elements (2009) 5 (2): 83-88.
https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.5.2.83
Engelmann, Henry, 1858,
Report of a geological exploration from Fort Leavenworth to Bryan's Pass, made in connection with the survey of a road from Fort Riley to Bridger’s Pass, under command of Lieutenant F.T. Bryan, topographic engineer, 1856, in Report of the Secretary of War, 1857: U.S. Congress, 35th, 1st session, p. 489-517.
https://books.google.ca/books?id=0YMsAAAAIAAJ
https://books.google.ca/books?id=BlBDAQAAMAAJ
Fisher, C. A., 1905
The bentonite deposits of Wyoming. In Bulletin 260 United States Geological Survey, 1905, pp 559-563
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc944632/m1/572/?q=bentonite
Fitton, William Henry, 1824
Inquiries respecting the Geological Relations of the Beds between the Chalk and the Purbeck Limestone in the Southeast of England. [Thomson's] Annals of Philosophy for 1824, New Series, vol. viii, 365-383
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/53939#page/5/mode/1up
Fitton, William Henry, 1836
Observations on some of the Strata between the Chalk and the Oxford Oolite, in the South-east of England. [Read June 15, 1827.] Transactions of the Geological Society, 2nd Series, vol. iv. p. 103- 388 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/111668#page/121/mode/1up
Isle of Wight starts 182
Fitton , W.H. 1847.
A stratigraphical account of the section from Atherfield to Rocken-End, in the Isle of Wight.
Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 3, 289-328.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/113687#page/427/mode/1up
Goldring, R. 1999.
Sedimentological aspects and preservation of Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) bentonites (fuller's earth) in southern England. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie, 214, 3-24.
DOI: 10.1127/njgpa/214/1999/3
Hallam, A. & Sellwood, B.W. 1968.
Origin of fuller's earth in the Mesozoic in southern England. Nature, 220, 1193-1195.
Hewitt, D. F., 1917
The origin of bentonite and the geologic range of related materials in Bighorn, Wyoming. Journal fo the Washington. Academy of Sciences, volume 7, 196-198
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18415#page/202/mode/1up
Hosterman, John W. and Patterson, Sam H., 1992
Bentonite and Fuller’s Earth Resources of the United States. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1522. 45 pages
https://books.google.com/books/about/U_S_Geological_Survey_Professional_Paper.html?id=bTdSAQAAMAAJ
Huff, W.D.; Morgan, D.J.; Rundle, C.C.. 1996
Silurian K-bentonites of the Welsh Borderlands : geochemistry, mineralogy and K-ar ages of illitization . Nottingham, UK, British Geological Survey. (WG/96/045) (Unpublished)
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/709
Jameson, Robert, 1820
A System of Mineralogy, in which Minerals are Arranged According to the Natural History Method, Third Edition, Volume 2. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable & Co. London: Hurst, Robinson & Co. 632 pages. Fuller’s Earth at pages 300-304 https://books.google.com/books/about/A_System_of_Mineralogy_in_which_Minerals.html?id=Bc5aEjAY5dQC
Keele, J., 1915
Clay and Shale deposits of the western provinces, part 5; Keele, J. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir no. 66, 1915, 74 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/101562
http://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/publications/ess_sst/101/101562/me_066_en.pdf
Keele, J., 1920
Ceramic Division, 153-, in Summary Report of the Mines Branch for the Calendar Year Ending December 31, 1918.
Kirwan, Richard, 1794
Elements of Mineralogy, 2nd Edition, Volume 1,
Argillaceous Genus174-206, Fuller’s Earth p. 184
https://archive.org/details/elementsmineral01kirwgoog/page/n237
Knechtel, Maxwell M., 1952
Early Ideas on Origin of Bentonite. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Volume 36, Issues 1-6, pages 884–886
https://books.google.ca/books?id=ASv0AAAAMAAJ
Knight, W. C., 1893
Geology of the Wyoming Experiment Farms, and Notes on the Mineral Resources of the State.
Bulletin No. 14 by University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, October, 1893, pages 103-211; Fire Clays at 193-4
https://repository.uwyo.edu/ag_exp_sta_bulletins/31/
Knight, W. C., 1897a
“Mineral Soap”. Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume LXIII, June 12, 1897, 600-601
https://books.google.com/books/about/Engineering_and_Mining_Journal.html?id=y3VJAQAAMAAJ
Knight, W. C., 1897b
That “Mineral Soap.” American Soap Journal and Perfume Gazette, volume VIII, No 4, page 125, July 1, 1897
Knight, W. C. , 1898
Bentonite. Engineering and Mining Journal, vol 66, October 22, 1898, p. 491
https://books.google.ca/books?id=9Jg-AQAAMAAJ
Koutsopoulou, E. ; G.E. Christidis; and I. Marantos 2016
Mineralogy, geochemistry and physical properties of bentonites from the Western Thrace Region and the islands of Samos and Chios, East Aegean, Greece. Clay Minerals (2016) 51 (4): 563-588. https://doi.org/10.1180/claymin.2016.051.4.03
Mackenzie, R.C., 1979
Clay Mineralogy - Whence and Whither? Developments in Sedimentology, Volume 27, 1979, Pages 1-14 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0070-4571(08)70696-4
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0070457108706964
McConnell, R.G., 1889
Report On An Exploration in the Yukon and MacKenzie Basins, N.W.T., 1D-161D, in Geological Survey of Canada Report of Progress 1888-89, clay at page 99D
https://archive.org/details/vol188889reporto00geol/page/n5
https://archive.org/details/vol188889reporto00geol/page/n254
Muir, M. M. Pattison, 1878
Note on an Edible Clay from New Zealand. Proceedings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, volume 17, pages 6-7
https://books.google.ca/books?id=oZ1GAQAAMAAJ
Murchison, Roderick Impey, 1839
The Silurian System. Part 1. London: John Murray. 576 pages
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Silurian_System.html?id=jxBfAAAAcAAJ
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/165541#page/252/mode/1up
Walker’s Earth, Walker’s soap at pages 204, 249
O'Shaughnessy, W. B., 1841
Report and Correspondence on the Manufacture of an Improved Pottery from Indian Clays. The Bengal Dispensoatory and Pharmacopoeia. 18 pages
https://books.google.com/books/about/Report_and_Correspondence_on_the_Manufac.html?id=PY9eAAAAcAAJ
Pabst, Willi and Koøánová, Renata, 2009
Prehistory of clay mineralogy – from ancient times to Agricola. Acta Geodyn. Geomater., Vol. 6, No. 1 (153), 87–100, 2009
https://www.irsm.cas.cz › materialy › acta_content › 6_Pabst
Pittinger, Jill, 1975
The Mineral Products of Melos in Antiquity and Their Identification. The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 70 (1975), pp. 191-197 https://www.jstor.org/stable/30103322
Pliny the Elder, written before AD 79, printed 1469
Naturalis Historia, [The Natural History, Book XXXV. An account of paintings and colours. As translated by John Bostock.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:phi,0978,001:35 ]
Also: http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=PerseusLatinTexts&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2035.56
Ries, H; and Keele, J. 1913
Report on the clay and shale deposits of the western provinces, part II. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir no. 25, 1913, 136 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/100499
Robertson, Robert H. S., 1949
The Fuller's Earths of the Elder Pliny. The Classical Review, Volume 63, Issue 2, September 1949 , pp. 51-52 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X00094749
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-review/article/fullers-earths-of-the-elder-pliny/65D3CB6974EF87AADCC08EAE9DFAE543
Robertson, R. H. S., 1958.
The earths of Theophrastus. Classical Rev., 8: 222-223.
Ruffell, A.H., Hesselbo, S.P., Wach, G.D., Simpson, M.I. and D.S.Wray, 2002
Fuller's earth (bentonite) in the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Aptian) of Shanklin (Isle of Wight, southern England). Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, Volume 113, Issue 4, 2002, Pages 281-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(02)80034-7
Selwyn, A.R.C., 1874
Observations in the North West Territory on a Journey Across the Plains from Fort Garry to Rocky Mountain House Returning by the Saskatchewan River & Lake Winnepeg. Pages 17-62, in Geological Survey of Canada Report of Progress 1873-74,
http://archive.org/stream/annualreportgeo13canagoog#page/n6/mode/2up
Spence, H. S., 1924
Bentonite. Canada Mines Branch, Publication 626, 1924, 45 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/307808
Spencer, L.J.., 1898
[Abstract of] “Mineral Soap” By Wilbur C. Knight. Journal of the Chemical Society, London, Volume 74, Part 2, page 610
https://books.google.com/books/about/Journal_Chemical_Society_London.html?id=96MxAAAAYAAJ
Sutherland, Wayne M., 2014
Wyoming Bentonite. Summary Report. Wyoming Geological Survey. 4 pages.
https://www.wsgs.wyo.gov/products/wsgs-2014-bentonite-summary.pdf
Theophrastus, [before] 287 BC
Περὶ λίθων [Translation: on Stones], [see Caley, E.R. and J.C. Richards, 1956, Theophrastus on Stones,Columbus: Ohio State University
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6aea/1f77da14667d90a6f6464afe4f2fdde8a6f5.pdf].
Watt, George, 1889
A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India - Volume 2. Calcutta, Government Printing Office, 689 pages. Clay at pages 360-367
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.31092/page/n367
Wherry, Edgar. T., 1917
Clay Derived from volcanic dust in the Pierre in South Dakota. Journal of the Washington. Academy of Sciences, volume 7, 576-583
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18415#page/582/mode/1up
Williams, Cheryll, 2013
Medicinal Plants in Australia Volume 4: An Antipodean Apothecary . New South Wales, Australia: Rosenberg Publishing, 552 pages. Page 254 Cimolian earth probably bentonite
https://books.google.com/books/about/Medicinal_Plants_in_Australia_Volume_4.html?id=7eVUAQAAQBAJ
Winer, A. A., 1954
Acid Activation Of Saskatchewan Bentonites. Saskatchewan Department of Mineral Resources. Industrial Minerals Research Branch. Report of Investigations No. 4.
8792-RPI-4_Acid_Acitvation_Of_Sask_Bentonites.pdf
Wynne, A.B., 1878
Geology of the Salt Range in the Punjab. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, volume 14, 313 pages, at page 300
https://books.google.ca/books?id=x2-OcwxiS74C&dq
The additional references are provided at the end of my July 28, 2019 blog posting.
- Kolata, Huff and Bergström (1996) briefly described an Ordovician K-bentonite bed at a quarry near Aylmer, Quebec (just across the river from Ottawa) noting that this bed is as much as 17 cm thick.
- Salad Hersi (1998) reported on a Bentonite layer in a roadcut at the intersection of Tenth Line Rd. and St. Joseph Blvd. in Orleans, Ontario (now part of Ottawa), within the Hull Formation about 1 meter below the base of the Verulam Formation.
- Kierman (1999) analyzed those two K-Bentonites from the Ottawa Embayment: one at the Klock Quarry in Aylmer, Quebec, and the second near the intersection of St. Joseph Blvd. and Tenth Line Rd. in Orleans, Ontario about 1 m below the base of the Verulam Formation.
- Dix and Jolicoeur ( 2011) discuss bentonite layers in the Ordovician Billings Formation and Carlsbad Formation, Eastern Ontario.
- Oruche, Dix and Kamob (2018) report on the Millbrig K-bentonite volcanic ash bed and the bentonite bed in the Hull Formation in the Ottawa embayment, tracing both across Eastern Ontario.
- Carrier (2018) reports on two bentonite layers in the Ordovician limestone at the Clark Quarry in Stittsville in the west end of Ottawa.
On August 16, 2019 I visited the outcrop at the southeast corner of the intersection of Tenth Line Road and St. Joseph Boulevard in Orleans. The K-bentonite bed is about two centimeters thick, is concordant with the underlying and overlying strata, is a chalky white colour, is recessive, has both a gritty and soapy feel, and extends over the length of the outcrop (at least 30 meters). No visible crystals are present. Many articles report that often a K-bentonite bed can be found because plants preferentially grow in the K-bentonite, and this feature was observed at this outcrop. I took the following photographs of the K-bentonite bed at that location.
Historical References to Bentonite Clay
Many early references to what we now call bentonite clay refer to it as soap clay, mineral soap, edible clay or edible earth. Selwyn (1874), for an occurrence near Edmonton mentions “Immediately above the coal seam is a layer of a brown greasy clay six or eight inches thick. This clay works into a lather like soap, and Dr. Hector says it was used by the women at the fort for washing blankets. A sample of it, analysed by Mr. Hoffmann in the Survey laboratory, shews it to be a hydrous silicate of alumina*... * For analysis of this soap-clay see Appendix.”. McConnell (1889) in a report on the Yukon and MacKenzie Basins mentions “The most interesting part of this section was under water at the time of my visit, and can only be examined in the autumn. ... The edible clay bed ... was just visible below the surface of the water, and a specimen was dug up with the paddle. This clay is of a light yellowish color, and is highly plastic. It is used for whitewashing purposes, and in former times served the Indians as a substitute for soap.” Allan and Sanderson (1945) identify Selwyn’s and McConnell’s reports as the earliest references to bentonite in Western Canada.
Condra (1908) was the first to link bentonite with volcanic ash commenting “ Professor Todd has noted the existence of a thin but very persistent layer of clay closely resembling bentonite near the middle of the Carlile formation. It varies from 1 1/2 to 3 inches thick. .. . It is suggested that it may originally have been a thin stratum of volcanic ash.” Others to make the connection were Hewitt (1917) and Wherry (1917). Keele (1920) might have been the first in Canada to write that bentonite formed from weathered volcanic rocks commenting "The clay is deposited in a flat at the base of outcrops of volcanic rocks and is evidently composed of the weathered products of these rocks" and "volcanic rocks are the source for that gelatinous clay known as bentonite."
Over the course of three papers, Professor W. C. Knight of the University of Wyoming identified novel clay deposits in Wyoming and named the clay Bentonite. In the first paper, Knight (1893) reported on large beds of ‘fire clay’ in Wyoming, specifically mentioning localities at Rock Creek station on the railroad line (from which several carloads of clay had been shipped to New York) and at Crook County where “a bank of clay has been discovered in Cretaceous rocks which has been called mineral soap or Saponite. The clay when moistened has an unctuous feeling resembling soap; but in chemical constituents it could not be classed as a mineral soap.” He also provided chemical analyses of the two clays. In the second paper, Knight (1897a) mentions that “Since the year 1888 Mr. William Taylor of Rock Creek Station,... has shipped to various parts of the United States occasional carloads of a peculiar clay , which, for convenience, may be hereafter known as “Taylorite”. ... The present quarry operated by Mr. Taylor is a quarter mile north of the railroad, but at a point further to the eastward the railroad cuts through the bed. ... When taken from the quarry it has an unctuous feeling, and when water is added , it forms an emulsion . ... Inappropriately this clay has been called ‘mineral soap’ on account of its soapy feeling in water.” In an abstract of Knight’s second paper, Spencer (1898) noted that the proposed name taylorite is “a name already in use.” In his third paper, Knight (1898) mentions that he had learned that “the name Taylorite is preoccupied; consequently it will henceforth be known as Bentonite.” and provided four analyses of Bentonite.
Interestingly, Knight’s (1893) paper has been largely overlooked. Keele (1920) is the only paper that I found referring to Knight’s first paper.
Knechtel (1952), and Hosterman and Patterson (1992,) credit Engelmann (1858) with being the first to describe the clay that we now call bentonite. This is Engelmann’s (1858, p. 511) description of clay in the Cretaceous age strata in Carbon County, Wyoming:
“Between Medicine-Bon creek and Pass creek, south of the butte, was an exposure of sandy, argillaceous slate, and above it a layer of a yellow unctuous matter, covered on the surface with an efflorescence of salts, which seemed to be a product of the decomposition of the igneous rocks. It readily imbibes water, and thereby increases much in volume and becomes plastic. An analysis of a piece which had lost most of its soluble parts gave--
Water, 18 per cent.; silica, 51 per cent. ; alumnia, 30 per cent. ; calcia, traces.
Nearer to camp 42 were similar layers; some, also, yellowish, some green, with a talcose structure. The specimens of this variety separated in the water into a light yellow stuff like the other, and in dark colored heavier particles. Analysis gave:
Water, 14 per cent.; silica, 55.5 per cent. ; alumina, 30.5 per cent.; calcia, traces.
It is, therefore, a mineral similar in its composition and properties to the bole and pimelithe. Many crystals of gypsum were disseminated through these strata, and efflorescences of salt on the surface tasted like potash or soda.”
Knechtel (1952) comments that “Engelmann's citations of bole and pimelite for comparison seem appropriate enough, in view of the stage of development of mineralogic thought in his time. In the contemporary edition of Dana’s System of Mineralogy (1854, pp. 252, 503) bole is defined as material closely resembling halloysite both in appearance an in its large content of water; “. Halloysite is an aluminosilicate clay mineral. Pimelite is a light green, somewhat greasy or waxy, smectite clay.
Intriguingly, there are many earlier papers on Fuller’s Earth, edible clay and other clays that refer to a clay that we would now call Bentonite. Not all reports of Fuller’s earth are bentonite, but many are. For example, Sir Roderick Murchison (1839) reported on layers of saponaceous clay/Fuller’s earth in the Upper Silurian rocks of Herefordshire that are now identified as bentonite (Huff, Morgan, Rundle, 1996 ). This is Sir Roderick Murchison’s (1839) report: “these flagstones are separated from the overlying Aymestry limestone, by courses of a saponaceous clay (in many instances a complete fuller's-earth) , of a yellowish white and grey colour, which is commonly known throughout Herefordshire and the adjacent counties under the name of “Walker's earth, or soap," and is sometimes used by the country people for cleansing purposes. Beds of this " Walker's earth" are not infrequent in other parts of the Upper Silurian Rocks, particularly in the Wenlock shale; and it will afterwards appear, that from their saponaceous qualities the surfaces of these beds have frequently aided the slipping of superincumbent masses of rock.” In addition, Fitton (1847) described a Fuller’s earth bed from the Isle of Wight that has now been identified as Bentonite by Ruffell et al. (2002). As well, Fitton (1836) had earlier identified a number of Fuller’s earth beds in the southeast of England that are likely bentonite (see Hallam & Sellwood, 1968; Goldring, 1999).
One of the more interesting papers that I found was by Wynne (1878), who in a report on the geology of the Salt Range in the Punjab mentions a clay-ash/decomposed rock found with volcanic rock used as soap, commenting: “Lavender Clay. The lavender clay-ash or decomposed rock found with the volcanic rock of Nilawán, &c., is used by the natives as soap or to assist in washing.” Ball’s (1881) and Watt’s (1889) comments on the fire clays, fuller’s earth and edible clays of India are also intriguing, particularly Watt’s comment (at page 362) on the “The sabún mití or soap-earth of Colgong in the Bhagalpur Division”, Bengal. Kirwan (1794) devotes pages 174 to 206 of this very early text on mineralogy to clays and earths, a few of which might be worth following up on to determine whether they can be linked to bentonite, particularly one that ‘imbibed water strongly’ and "is often of pseudo- volcanic origin, ... and perhaps also sometimes really volcanic; but it also frequently arises from the decomposition, or disintegration, of other stones." Muir's (1878) paper on an edible clay eaten by sheep in New Zealand is interesting because it contains an analysis of the clay (and not just because the sheep were eating clay), and if the clay is Bentonite would be an early British analysis of Bentonite.
A number of authors have investigated the references to Fuller’s earth and other earths used in ancient Greece, by the Roman Empire and in the Middle Ages. For example, the Cimolian earth mentioned by Pliny the Elder (AD 79) in Naturalis Historia is said to be bentonite (Beneke and Lagaly, 2002, page 64; Williams, 2013, page 254; Pabst and Koøánová, 2009, page 89) while the gray earth at Kaaden mentioned by Agricola (1546) “is the bentonite of the Rokle deposit type, the major Czech bentonite deposit of today” (Pabst and Koøánová, 2009, page 94). Robertson (1949) mentions that Pliny the Elder recorded in Book xxxv of his Natural History that the earth saxum has the property of increasing in bulk when soaked in water, and states that “the suggestion that saxum is really the first record of bentonite is strengthened by the fact that bentonite has been worked commercially in Italy on Ponza Island near Naples since 1935.” Pittinger (1975) reviewed the mineral products of the Greek island of Melos in antiquity, and concludes that alumen of Pliny the Elder “is the bentonited mined today” on Melos, while the Melian earth of Theophrastus (c. 372-322 B.C.) “could describe certain bentonitic deposits of high silica content, extensive on Melos.” Koutsopoulou , Christidis and Marantos (2016) mention that the bentonites from the Greek Island of Samos – Samian Earth – has been utilized since ancient times, but that the bentonites are mined now only at a local scale. Christidis and Scott (1993) note that “Greek bentonites have been exploited since ancient times and the clays on the island of Milos and Kimolos are mentioned by Theophrastus in his work ‘About Stones’.” However, Caley and Richards (1956, 208-9) had different interpretations for Theophrastus’ Melian earth, Kimolian earth and Samian earth.
Christopher Brett
Ottawa
References and Suggested Reading
Agricola, Georgius, 1546
De natura fossilium. Froben, Basel. [ 1955, De Natura Fossilium - Textbook of
Mineralogy . English translation by M.C. Bandy and J.A. Bandy for the Mineralogical Society of America, Special Paper 63), Geological Society of America, New York.
http://farlang.com/books/agricola-bandy-de-natura-fossilium ]
Anonymous, 1898
Mineral Soap. American Soap Journal and Perfume Gazette, volume VIII, No. 12, page 412
Anonymous, 1922
The mineral "bentonite": its occurrence and uses. Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. 20, pages 344-349
https://archive.org/details/bulletinofimperi20commuoft/page/344
https://books.google.com/books/about/Bulletin.html?id=xCQzAQAAMAAJ
Anonymous, 2019a
Loxter Ashbed Quarry. Upper Ludlow Shales over massive Aymestrey Limestone with thin bentonite horizons displaying an open anticline plunging S. [Photographs of bentonite layers.]
http://www.buildingstones.org.uk/search/nprn/quarry594
Anonymous, 2019b
Whitman’s Hill Quarry - Herefordshire & Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust. [Photographs of bentonite layers.]
http://www.earthheritagetrust.org/pub/learning-discovery/aggregates/aggregates-of-herefordshire/site-examples-hfds/whitmans-hill-quarry/
Allan, John. A. And Sanderson, J.O.G., 1945
Geology of Red Deer and Rosebud Sheets, Alberta. Res Council Alberta Report 13, 51 pages
Bentonite at pages 49-51; clay at 52
https://ags.aer.ca/publications/REP_13.html
https://ags.aer.ca/document/REP/REP_13.pdf
Beneke, Klaus and Lagaly, Gerhard, 2002
From Fuller’s Earth to Bleaching Earth: A Historical Note. ECGA (European Clay Group Association) Newsletter No.5, July 2002, page 57-78
http://www.uni-kiel.de/anorg/lagaly/group/klausSchiver/bleachingearth.pdf
Ball, V., 1881
A Manual of the Geology of India: Part III. Economic geology . Calcutta: Office of the Geological Survey of India. London: Trübner & Co. 663 pages. clay at pages 561- 571
https://books.google.ca/books?id=1pvscyOHjQcC
Caley, E.R. and J.C. Richards, 1956,
Theophrastus on Stones, Columbus: Ohio State University.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6aea/1f77da14667d90a6f6464afe4f2fdde8a6f5.pdf
Carretero, M.Isabel, 2002
Clay minerals and their beneficial effects upon human health. Applied Clay Science, Volume 21, Issues 3–4, June 2002, Pages 155-163
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-1317(01)00085-0
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169131701000850
Carrier, Maureen, 2018
Geology of the Ottawa Region with Dr. Wouter Bleeker, October 13,2018 – Macnamara Field Naturalists' Club
https://mfnc.ca/geology-of-the-ottawa-region-with-dr-wouter-bleeker-october-132018/
Christidis, George and Scott, Peter W., 1993
Laboratory evaluation of bentonites. Industrial Minerals, August 1993, pages 51-57
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/GE_Christidis/publication/284127401_Laboratory_evaluation_of_bentonites/links/5671513508ae0d8b0cc2ebf0/Laboratory-evaluation-of-bentonites.pdf
Condra, G. E., 1908,
Geology and water resources of a portion of the Missouri River valley in Northeaster Nebraska: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 215, 59 pages
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wsp215
https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/0215/report.pdf
Eisenhour, Don D. And Brown, Richard K., 2009
Bentonite and Its Impact on Modern Life. Elements (2009) 5 (2): 83-88.
https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.5.2.83
Engelmann, Henry, 1858,
Report of a geological exploration from Fort Leavenworth to Bryan's Pass, made in connection with the survey of a road from Fort Riley to Bridger’s Pass, under command of Lieutenant F.T. Bryan, topographic engineer, 1856, in Report of the Secretary of War, 1857: U.S. Congress, 35th, 1st session, p. 489-517.
https://books.google.ca/books?id=0YMsAAAAIAAJ
https://books.google.ca/books?id=BlBDAQAAMAAJ
Fisher, C. A., 1905
The bentonite deposits of Wyoming. In Bulletin 260 United States Geological Survey, 1905, pp 559-563
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc944632/m1/572/?q=bentonite
Fitton, William Henry, 1824
Inquiries respecting the Geological Relations of the Beds between the Chalk and the Purbeck Limestone in the Southeast of England. [Thomson's] Annals of Philosophy for 1824, New Series, vol. viii, 365-383
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/53939#page/5/mode/1up
Fitton, William Henry, 1836
Observations on some of the Strata between the Chalk and the Oxford Oolite, in the South-east of England. [Read June 15, 1827.] Transactions of the Geological Society, 2nd Series, vol. iv. p. 103- 388 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/111668#page/121/mode/1up
Isle of Wight starts 182
Fitton , W.H. 1847.
A stratigraphical account of the section from Atherfield to Rocken-End, in the Isle of Wight.
Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 3, 289-328.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/113687#page/427/mode/1up
Goldring, R. 1999.
Sedimentological aspects and preservation of Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) bentonites (fuller's earth) in southern England. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie, 214, 3-24.
DOI: 10.1127/njgpa/214/1999/3
Hallam, A. & Sellwood, B.W. 1968.
Origin of fuller's earth in the Mesozoic in southern England. Nature, 220, 1193-1195.
Hewitt, D. F., 1917
The origin of bentonite and the geologic range of related materials in Bighorn, Wyoming. Journal fo the Washington. Academy of Sciences, volume 7, 196-198
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18415#page/202/mode/1up
Hosterman, John W. and Patterson, Sam H., 1992
Bentonite and Fuller’s Earth Resources of the United States. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1522. 45 pages
https://books.google.com/books/about/U_S_Geological_Survey_Professional_Paper.html?id=bTdSAQAAMAAJ
Huff, W.D.; Morgan, D.J.; Rundle, C.C.. 1996
Silurian K-bentonites of the Welsh Borderlands : geochemistry, mineralogy and K-ar ages of illitization . Nottingham, UK, British Geological Survey. (WG/96/045) (Unpublished)
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/709
Jameson, Robert, 1820
A System of Mineralogy, in which Minerals are Arranged According to the Natural History Method, Third Edition, Volume 2. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable & Co. London: Hurst, Robinson & Co. 632 pages. Fuller’s Earth at pages 300-304 https://books.google.com/books/about/A_System_of_Mineralogy_in_which_Minerals.html?id=Bc5aEjAY5dQC
Keele, J., 1915
Clay and Shale deposits of the western provinces, part 5; Keele, J. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir no. 66, 1915, 74 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/101562
http://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/publications/ess_sst/101/101562/me_066_en.pdf
Keele, J., 1920
Ceramic Division, 153-, in Summary Report of the Mines Branch for the Calendar Year Ending December 31, 1918.
Kirwan, Richard, 1794
Elements of Mineralogy, 2nd Edition, Volume 1,
Argillaceous Genus174-206, Fuller’s Earth p. 184
https://archive.org/details/elementsmineral01kirwgoog/page/n237
Knechtel, Maxwell M., 1952
Early Ideas on Origin of Bentonite. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Volume 36, Issues 1-6, pages 884–886
https://books.google.ca/books?id=ASv0AAAAMAAJ
Knight, W. C., 1893
Geology of the Wyoming Experiment Farms, and Notes on the Mineral Resources of the State.
Bulletin No. 14 by University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, October, 1893, pages 103-211; Fire Clays at 193-4
https://repository.uwyo.edu/ag_exp_sta_bulletins/31/
Knight, W. C., 1897a
“Mineral Soap”. Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume LXIII, June 12, 1897, 600-601
https://books.google.com/books/about/Engineering_and_Mining_Journal.html?id=y3VJAQAAMAAJ
Knight, W. C., 1897b
That “Mineral Soap.” American Soap Journal and Perfume Gazette, volume VIII, No 4, page 125, July 1, 1897
Knight, W. C. , 1898
Bentonite. Engineering and Mining Journal, vol 66, October 22, 1898, p. 491
https://books.google.ca/books?id=9Jg-AQAAMAAJ
Koutsopoulou, E. ; G.E. Christidis; and I. Marantos 2016
Mineralogy, geochemistry and physical properties of bentonites from the Western Thrace Region and the islands of Samos and Chios, East Aegean, Greece. Clay Minerals (2016) 51 (4): 563-588. https://doi.org/10.1180/claymin.2016.051.4.03
Mackenzie, R.C., 1979
Clay Mineralogy - Whence and Whither? Developments in Sedimentology, Volume 27, 1979, Pages 1-14 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0070-4571(08)70696-4
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0070457108706964
McConnell, R.G., 1889
Report On An Exploration in the Yukon and MacKenzie Basins, N.W.T., 1D-161D, in Geological Survey of Canada Report of Progress 1888-89, clay at page 99D
https://archive.org/details/vol188889reporto00geol/page/n5
https://archive.org/details/vol188889reporto00geol/page/n254
Muir, M. M. Pattison, 1878
Note on an Edible Clay from New Zealand. Proceedings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, volume 17, pages 6-7
https://books.google.ca/books?id=oZ1GAQAAMAAJ
Murchison, Roderick Impey, 1839
The Silurian System. Part 1. London: John Murray. 576 pages
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Silurian_System.html?id=jxBfAAAAcAAJ
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/165541#page/252/mode/1up
Walker’s Earth, Walker’s soap at pages 204, 249
O'Shaughnessy, W. B., 1841
Report and Correspondence on the Manufacture of an Improved Pottery from Indian Clays. The Bengal Dispensoatory and Pharmacopoeia. 18 pages
https://books.google.com/books/about/Report_and_Correspondence_on_the_Manufac.html?id=PY9eAAAAcAAJ
Pabst, Willi and Koøánová, Renata, 2009
Prehistory of clay mineralogy – from ancient times to Agricola. Acta Geodyn. Geomater., Vol. 6, No. 1 (153), 87–100, 2009
https://www.irsm.cas.cz › materialy › acta_content › 6_Pabst
Pittinger, Jill, 1975
The Mineral Products of Melos in Antiquity and Their Identification. The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 70 (1975), pp. 191-197 https://www.jstor.org/stable/30103322
Pliny the Elder, written before AD 79, printed 1469
Naturalis Historia, [The Natural History, Book XXXV. An account of paintings and colours. As translated by John Bostock.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:phi,0978,001:35 ]
Also: http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=PerseusLatinTexts&getid=1&query=Plin.%20Nat.%2035.56
Ries, H; and Keele, J. 1913
Report on the clay and shale deposits of the western provinces, part II. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir no. 25, 1913, 136 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/100499
Robertson, Robert H. S., 1949
The Fuller's Earths of the Elder Pliny. The Classical Review, Volume 63, Issue 2, September 1949 , pp. 51-52 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X00094749
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-review/article/fullers-earths-of-the-elder-pliny/65D3CB6974EF87AADCC08EAE9DFAE543
Robertson, R. H. S., 1958.
The earths of Theophrastus. Classical Rev., 8: 222-223.
Ruffell, A.H., Hesselbo, S.P., Wach, G.D., Simpson, M.I. and D.S.Wray, 2002
Fuller's earth (bentonite) in the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Aptian) of Shanklin (Isle of Wight, southern England). Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, Volume 113, Issue 4, 2002, Pages 281-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(02)80034-7
Selwyn, A.R.C., 1874
Observations in the North West Territory on a Journey Across the Plains from Fort Garry to Rocky Mountain House Returning by the Saskatchewan River & Lake Winnepeg. Pages 17-62, in Geological Survey of Canada Report of Progress 1873-74,
http://archive.org/stream/annualreportgeo13canagoog#page/n6/mode/2up
Spence, H. S., 1924
Bentonite. Canada Mines Branch, Publication 626, 1924, 45 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/307808
Spencer, L.J.., 1898
[Abstract of] “Mineral Soap” By Wilbur C. Knight. Journal of the Chemical Society, London, Volume 74, Part 2, page 610
https://books.google.com/books/about/Journal_Chemical_Society_London.html?id=96MxAAAAYAAJ
Sutherland, Wayne M., 2014
Wyoming Bentonite. Summary Report. Wyoming Geological Survey. 4 pages.
https://www.wsgs.wyo.gov/products/wsgs-2014-bentonite-summary.pdf
Theophrastus, [before] 287 BC
Περὶ λίθων [Translation: on Stones], [see Caley, E.R. and J.C. Richards, 1956, Theophrastus on Stones,Columbus: Ohio State University
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6aea/1f77da14667d90a6f6464afe4f2fdde8a6f5.pdf].
Watt, George, 1889
A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India - Volume 2. Calcutta, Government Printing Office, 689 pages. Clay at pages 360-367
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.31092/page/n367
Wherry, Edgar. T., 1917
Clay Derived from volcanic dust in the Pierre in South Dakota. Journal of the Washington. Academy of Sciences, volume 7, 576-583
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/18415#page/582/mode/1up
Williams, Cheryll, 2013
Medicinal Plants in Australia Volume 4: An Antipodean Apothecary . New South Wales, Australia: Rosenberg Publishing, 552 pages. Page 254 Cimolian earth probably bentonite
https://books.google.com/books/about/Medicinal_Plants_in_Australia_Volume_4.html?id=7eVUAQAAQBAJ
Winer, A. A., 1954
Acid Activation Of Saskatchewan Bentonites. Saskatchewan Department of Mineral Resources. Industrial Minerals Research Branch. Report of Investigations No. 4.
8792-RPI-4_Acid_Acitvation_Of_Sask_Bentonites.pdf
Wynne, A.B., 1878
Geology of the Salt Range in the Punjab. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, volume 14, 313 pages, at page 300
https://books.google.ca/books?id=x2-OcwxiS74C&dq
The additional references are provided at the end of my July 28, 2019 blog posting.
Friday 9 August 2019
Mark Your Calendars for a Tour of the Tatlock Quarry on Saturday, August 24th
Below is an advertisement from this week’s Perth Courier for the tour of OMYA’s Tatlock Quarry on August 24th from 10 am to 2pm, rain or shine.
The advertisement promises a bottle of OMYA’s Maple Syrup to those that bring a non-perishable food item or make a cash donation to the Lanark Food Pantry. The syrup produced in past years has been excellent!
The Tatlock quarry is located in Lanark County about 30 km north of Perth up Highway 511, turning right on McIlraith Road. There is more than ample parking available in the fields opposite the quarry entrance. Below is a photo of the quarry that I took while on the 2015 tour. The bus is barely visible at the bottom of the quarry.
OMYA is a world leader in the production of calcium carbonate which it mines from quarries located throughout the world. OMYA’s quarry at Tatlock, Lanark County is the largest calcium carbonate mine in Canada and is said to produce the purest calcium carbonate in the world. OMYA mines and crushes the calcium carbonate at the Tatlock quarry and processes the product at its plant west of Perth along Highway 7.
The Tatlock quarry is about 900 meters long, 400 meters wide and 110 meters deep. A Google satellite view of the quarry can be obtained by typing 45.145370, -76.497971 into the Google search engine and searching under MAPS, and switching to SatelliteView.
Christopher Brett
The advertisement promises a bottle of OMYA’s Maple Syrup to those that bring a non-perishable food item or make a cash donation to the Lanark Food Pantry. The syrup produced in past years has been excellent!
The Tatlock quarry is located in Lanark County about 30 km north of Perth up Highway 511, turning right on McIlraith Road. There is more than ample parking available in the fields opposite the quarry entrance. Below is a photo of the quarry that I took while on the 2015 tour. The bus is barely visible at the bottom of the quarry.
OMYA is a world leader in the production of calcium carbonate which it mines from quarries located throughout the world. OMYA’s quarry at Tatlock, Lanark County is the largest calcium carbonate mine in Canada and is said to produce the purest calcium carbonate in the world. OMYA mines and crushes the calcium carbonate at the Tatlock quarry and processes the product at its plant west of Perth along Highway 7.
The Tatlock quarry is about 900 meters long, 400 meters wide and 110 meters deep. A Google satellite view of the quarry can be obtained by typing 45.145370, -76.497971 into the Google search engine and searching under MAPS, and switching to SatelliteView.
Christopher Brett
Wednesday 7 August 2019
Porphyritic Volcanic Rock - When the Comment is More Interesting than the Original Post
Henri Lessard, who writes the Géo-Outaouais blog covering the geology of the Outaouais and Ottawa area, left me a very interesting comment, that I’ve reproduced below (as I suspect most people don’t read the comments):
“A pyroxenite seems to have already been discovered in the Ordovician limestone at Hull (Gatineau), Qc....
Drilling reports dating from 1998 for the construction of Boulevard des Allumettières at Hull (now Gatineau) reports a mafic intrusive rock (a pyroxenite) in Ordovician limestone.
The "greenish intrusive" encountered in the upper part of a borehole, between 1.25 m and 1.50 m deep. The intrusive-limestone contact is well defined, however, the orientation of the contact is undefined.
Drilling was carried out at the corner of Demontigny and Laramée streets (the latter today under boulevard des Allumettières). In thin section, the intrusive is equigranular (grains 0.5-1.0 mm), and consists of 75% orthopyroxene (hypersthene) and clinopyroxene (augite) in equal proportions. The remaining 25% is composed of quartz, calcite and clay minerals [weathered?] "So we are dealing with pyroxenite. (P.13)
Link toward my blog (in french) :
http://geo-outaouais.blogspot.com/2018/06/roche-intrusive-pyroxenite-dans-le.html
Thank You,
Henri Lessard”
On his blog page he references:
Les Laboratoires Gatineau, 1998. Étude de caractérisation des sols et du roc : boulevard St-Laurent - Laramée, Hull - secteur DeMontigny au Lac-des-Fées. Projet 20-6672-8385-A - Rapport final. Gouvernement du Québec, Ministère des Transports.
Other interesting posts from Henri Lessard’s blog, in a similar vein, is his post from Wednesday, December 12, 2018 entitled “Roche porphyrique à l'Ange-Gardien, QC” where he includes photographs of a rock rich in feldspar phenocrysts, and his post from Thursday, November 16, 2017 entitled ‘Volcanisme à L'Ange-Gardien, QC”, both of which discuss the Mesoproterozoic Robitaille igneous suite which has been assigned an age of 1060 Ma (Hogarth, 2007). L'Ange-Gardien is a municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec. The Mesoproterozoic Robitaille igneous suite is found on both sides of the Rivière du Lièvre at L'Ange-Gardien.
I decided to highlight Henri Lessard's comment because it is more interesting than my original post, and the pyroxenite he mentions is worth further investigation.
Christopher Brett
Ottawa
Suggested Readings:
Hogarth, Donald D., 2007 (or more recent)
GM 63238: Rocks of the Mason -Buckingham - Mayo area, with emphasis on Mesoproterozoic Igneous Types. Ministère de l’Énergie et des Resources naturelles, Québec
http://gq.mines.gouv.qc.ca/documents/examine/GM63238/GM63238.pdf
Hogarth, Donald D., 2016
Chemical trends in the Meech Lake, Québec, carbonatites and fenites. The Canadian Mineralogist 54(5):1105-1128 September 2016
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318091132_Chemical_trends_in_the_Meech_Lake_Quebec_carbonatites_and_fenites
Hogarth, Donald D. and van Breemen, O., 1996:
Geology and age of the Lac a la Perdrix fenite, southern Gatineau district, Quebec; in Radiogenic Age and Isotopic Studies: Report 9; Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research 1995-F, p. 33-41
https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/28/056/28056346.pdf
Hogarth, Donald D. And Robin, Michel J.L., 2007
Strontium in Feldspars of High-K Proterozoic Igneous Rocks of the Robitaille Suite, Buckingham, Québec. The Canadian Mineralogist, vol. 45, p. 1293-1306.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2113/gscanmin.45.5.1293
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/canmin/article-abstract/45/5/1293/13682/STRONTIUM-IN-FELDSPARS-OF-HIGH-K-PROTEROZOIC?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Lafleur, Jean and Hogarth, Donald D., 1981
Cambro-Proterozoic volcanism near Buckingham, Quebec. [trachyandesit 573 +-32 Ma] Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 1981, 18(12): 1817-1823,
https://doi.org/10.1139/e81-169
Sinaei-Esfahani, Fahimeh, 2013
Localized metasomatism of Grenvillian marble leading to its melting, Autoroute 5 near Old Chelsea, Quebec. Thesis submitted for the degree of Masters of Science. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, 133 pages digitool.library.mcgill.ca › thesisfile117148
[ Local metasomatism of regional marble by an alkaline fluid of mixed crust + mantle derivation, possibly at the end of the Ottawan orogenic phase, at approximately 1020 m.y., or the Rigolet orogenic phase, at approximately 980 m.y.]
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