As bodies of iron ore in the form of the carbonate, or limonite, may occur in rocks of any age, and as rocks of any age may be metamorphosed, it follows that hematite and magnetite may be present in any formation which has been subjected to metamorphosing conditions.
Limestone when metamorphosed is changed to a crystalline marble, frequently white in colour owing to the dissipation of its previously contained organic matter. The white marbles so extensively utilized in Georgia, Vermont, etc., are of this nature. Other similar metamorphosed layers occur in several of the ranges of the Pacific mountains from Mexico to Alaska.
The influence of metamorphism on deposits of coal when the heat has been of moderate intensity serves to drive off a large part of the volatile matter present and converts the coal into a substance resembling coke, as has happened adjacent to dikes or intruded sheets of igneous rock in the Richmond coal-field, Virginia, in New Mexico, Washington, etc. When the heat is somewhat more intense, the coal is changed to what is termed graphitic anthracite, as in the Rhode Island coal-fields, and when still greater or long-continued, results in the production of
graphite, as in the Algonkian rocks about the Adirondack hills and over a wide region in eastern Canada.
An important result of metamorphism is the production of new minerals in the rocks acted on. Many of the metamorphic terranes consist essentially of quartz, feldspar, and mica, which have been formed by the rearrangement of the mineral matter contained in the rocks during their previous state. Besides these constituent minerals there are frequently others present, such as the garnets, tourmaline, emerald, sapphire, corundum, etc., which are of economic importance. In a large number of instances the minerals of metamorphic rocks are contained in veins of one class or another, in part resulting from segregation in the rocks themselves while yet in a heated condition, and in part deposited in fissures or other openings as a result of secondary concentration through the action of heated waters. The principal difference between the minerals concentrated in the metamorphic rocks and those deposited in cavities in unaltered sedimentary beds seems to be that in the former instance the percolating water which carried the material in solution had a higher temperature than in the latter case.
Among the numerous mineral substances of value in the arts, occurring in the metamorphic terranes of North America, other than building stones and the previously concentrated deposits, such as iron ore, graphite, etc., mention can only be made at present of the following:
Mica, which is used in thin sheets for the windows of stoves and furnaces, and when ground and mingled with other substances furnishes a good insulating material for electric wires, fireproofing, and also used as a lubricant, etc., occurs in large quantities in the metamorphic rocks of New Hampshire and Ottawa, and less abundantly in North Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, etc. It is widely distributed, but to find transparent colourless sheets of large size is difficult.
Talc and soapstone, consisting of the hydrated silicate of magnesia, and useful for hearths, mantels, fire-brick, linings for stoves, laundry-, bath-, and acid-tubs, etc., and
when ground, employed as an adulterant of soap, paper, rubber, and as a lubricant, etc., occurs widely in the metamorphic terranes on the eastern side of the Appalachians, in Canada, and at numerous localities in the Pacific mountains. The chief centres of production at present are in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Asbestos, valuable on account of its fibrous structure and non-conductivity of heat, which make it an excellent insulator, and largely used in the manufacture of fireproof paper, cloth, etc., occurs in connection with serpentine, in metamorphic terranes, and is extensively mined in the Thetford district, Quebec.