Elcor mine

The Elcor Mine is a former asbestos mine in Culberson County, West Texas, that produced tremolite asbestos in the mid-20th century. Mineral samples from the site are commonly used as scientific reference material for identifying fibrous tremolite in tissue, dust, and product analyses.

Origin

The name "Elcor" derives from the El Dorado–Culberson region of West Texas where the deposit was worked. The mine was developed in the 1940s–1950s when domestic sources of amphibole asbestos were sought, and ore from the site entered scientific reference collections for mineralogical study.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Elcor tremolite is one of the standard reference materials scientists and expert witnesses use when identifying tremolite fibers recovered from lung tissue, dust samples, or consumer products. Because tremolite is a known contaminant of commercial talc and of some chrysotile deposits, matching the morphology and chemistry of a fiber to a reference like Elcor can help establish what type of asbestos a person was exposed to and, sometimes, where it likely came from. For patients, this matters because fiber-typing evidence can connect a mesothelioma diagnosis to a specific product, occupation, or industry, even decades after exposure.

Example Sentence

The plaintiff's mineralogy expert compared the amphibole fibers found in the lung digestion study to reference tremolite from the Elcor Mine to demonstrate that the exposure was consistent with contaminated talc rather than commercial chrysotile.

Related Terms

Tremolite, Amphibole Asbestos, Fiber Burden Analysis, Provenance Analysis, Talc Contamination, Transmission Electron Microscopy

Notes

• If your case involves talc-containing products (cosmetic powders, industrial talc, ceramics), ask your legal team whether a fiber-typing analysis comparing recovered fibers to known tremolite sources like Elcor has been done or is planned.
• Preserve any pathology slides, lung tissue blocks, or surgical specimens. These may be needed for later digestion studies and fiber identification.
• Tremolite exposure is particularly relevant in mesothelioma cases tied to talc, vermiculite (Libby, Montana), or certain chrysotile mining regions; ask whether your occupational or product-use history fits any of these pathways.
• Reference-mineral comparisons are technical; request that your attorney explain in plain language how the fiber evidence in your case connects to the products or worksites being sued.