Shiehmien mine, Szechwan Province

The Shiehmien mine, whose name the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook glossed as "meaning asbestos," lay in Szechwan Province, China; the yearbook and Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, described it from an article in the Chinese newspaper Takungpao.^1,3 Both described an ore zone "6,300 meters long by 350 meters wide," with reserves the journal put at "28-million metric tons" and the yearbook at "more than 28 million tons of ore grading over 2%."^1,3 The yearbook said the article claimed "more than half of the fibers exceed 2 millimeters in length," while Asbestos in 1981 wrote of "top quality Chrysotile fibers 2 centimeters or longer constituting more than half of total production."^1,4 According to the yearbook, aerial tramways and trucks "increased production from 50 tons to 'tens of thousands of tons' (could be per month)."¹ In 1977 Asbestos estimated China's annual production at "160,000 tons per year, principally from the Shihmien (Asbestos) Mine."²

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.²

Location

Output the documents report

Figures as printed, in the units each document uses (short tons before about 1990, metric tons after, in most U.S. chapters). Some are a year's output, some a daily rate or a capacity, some a company's total rather than this mine's alone; the statement for that year below says which.

Year by year

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

1974

• Reserves: “The overall ore zone at Shihmien is 6,300 meters long by 350 meters wide, with reserves reaching 28-million metric tons”, as reported by Takungpao, p. 46³

1975

• Description: “more than half of the fibers exceed 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) in length”, as reported by Takungpao, p. 10¹
• Reserves: “an ore body 6,300 meters long by 350 meters wide containing more than 28 million tons of ore grading over 2%”, as reported by Takungpao, p. 10¹
• Description: “the Shiehmien (meaning asbestos) mine in Szechwan Province”, as reported by Takungpao, p. 9¹
• Output: “increased production from 50 tons to "tens of thousands of tons" (could be per month)”, as reported by Takungpao, p. 10¹

1977

• Output: “Annual production has increased to an estimated 160,000 tons per year, principally from the Shihmien (Asbestos) Mine”, p. 39²

1980

• Reserves: “Reserves are estimated at 28-million tonnes of better than 2% ore with top quality Chrysotile fibers 2 centimeters or longer constituting more than half of total production”, p. 36⁴

Other names

Documents call this mine “Shiehmien (meaning asbestos) mine”, “Shihmien”, “Shihmien (Asbestos) Mine”, “Shihmien (meaning asbestos) Mine”.

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1975 (January 1, 1976), pp. 9–10.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1977, December 1977 (December 1, 1977), p. 39.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1975, December 1975 (December 1, 1975), p. 46.
4. Asbestos Magazine, 1981, January 1981 (January 1, 1981), p. 36.