Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos plant, South Africa

Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos (Pty.), Ltd., worked crocidolite at Kuruman, South Africa; the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook for 1962 called it "the third largest crocidolite producer," and said "it operated three mines in the Kuruman area and was developing a fourth," without naming them.¹ The 1960 yearbook, citing the South African Mining and Engineering Journal, reported that a full-scale electrostatic air-filter unit "was installed at the Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos plant in Kuruman."³ In March 1961 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, said Collectron Industries "has now installed a large dust collection unit at the Kuruman Cape Blue asbestos mine," with "an overall length of 59 feet," after tests that used Kuruman Cape blue asbestos as the material.⁴ In December 1975 the journal reported that the company "operates two mills at Whitebank and earlier this year opened a new mine and mill at Klipfontein."²

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.¹

Location

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1960

• Dust and health: “A full-scale unit of similar design was installed at the Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos plant”, as reported by South African Mining and Engineering Journal (Johannesburg), p. 11³

1961

• Dust and health: “Material used for the tests was from Kuruman Cape blue asbestos ... the dust concentration of the air feed was about 50,000 particles plus 18,000 fibres/cc”, p. 18⁴
• Dust and health: “The company has now installed a large dust collection unit at the Kuruman Cape Blue asbestos mine, in Kuruman” (Collectron Industries Limited (installer)), p. 20⁴

1962

• Fiber: “crocidolite producer” (Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos (Pty.), Ltd.), p. 11¹
• Worked: “it operated three mines in the Kuruman area and was developing a fourth” (Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos (Pty.), Ltd.), p. 11¹

1975

• Mill: “operates two mills at Whitebank” (Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos (Pty.) Ltd.), p. 42²

Other names

Documents call this mine “Kuruman Cape Blue Asbestos plant”, “three mines in the Kuruman area”, “Kuruman Cape Blue asbestos mine”.

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1962 (January 1, 1963), p. 11.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 42.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1960 (January 1, 1961), p. 11.
4. Asbestos Magazine, 1961, March 1961 (March 1, 1961), pp. 18, 20.