14 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-15TH ANNUAL REPORT

STATISTICS ON MINERAL PRODUCTION IN FLORIDA DURING 1921 AND 1922

COLLECTED IN CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL
 SURVEY, THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, AND THE U. S. CENSUS BUREAU
 The total value of the minerals produced in Florida during 1921 was $12,986,699. This represents a very decided decrease in total value of production over that of 1920, the reduction being mainly accounted for in the decreased output and value of phosphate. For 1922 the total mineral production value reached $11,445,073. The continued slight decrease in the production and value of phosphate was somewhat offset by the increased production and value of all of the other mineral industries of the State.

 BALL CLAY OR PLASTIC KAOLIN
 This high-grade clay was discovered in Florida near Lake Eustis, Lake County,* and Mr. Lawrence C. Johnson, of the United States Geological Survey, is credited with first reporting its occurrence.t A record of the beginning of mining is contained in the Mineral Resources of the United States for the year 1893, page 614. An interesting fact in this connection is that the Edgar Plastic Kaolin Company, of Metuchen, N. J., who were among the first to mine this clay in Florida, have continued to mine through the intervening years and are heavily interested in properties in Putnam and Lake counties. Mining has been carried on continuously since the year above mentioned and the ball clay industry of Florida has continued to increase in importance.
 The Florida ball clays mined at Edgar, Putnam County, and near Leesburg, Lake County, are the purest found in this country. The clay occurs intimately mixed with coarse sand and quartz pebbles, these latter forming the larger percentage of the mass. The only treatment in the process of refining is that of washing, which removes the sand and
 *U. S. Geol. Surv., Min. Res. of the U. S., 1889 and 1890, p. 441, 1892. tfbid, Min. Res., 1891, p. 507, 1893.