In west Texas, [sulfur] occurs in [Permian] rocks both at the surface and underground. A small amount of sulfur has been mined in the Rustler Springs area of northeastern Culberson County and northwestern Reeves County, about 50 miles northwest of Pecos. There, scattered grains, crystals, and irregular masses of sulfur occur in cracks and in dissolved-out openings in the Castile [Gypsum] and in the surface [gravel], gypsum, [sand], and [clay] that cover most of this [formation].
[Sulfur] has many uses. It is used as an insect-killer, thus helping our food crops to grow. It is used in pulp and paper manufacturing and in the vulcanizing of rubber. Some other uses are in the making of paints, dyes, and explosives. A large amount of sulfur goes to make sulfuric acid, which itself has numerous uses in the chemical, steel, oil refining, and other industries.
[Sulfur] is obtained from the cap-rock of [Gulf Coastal Plain] [salt] domes by the Frasch process.
[Sulfur] Uncemented [Sediments] [Limestone] Sulfur-Bearing Limestone Hot Water Melted Sulfur [Anhydrite]
Talc and [Soapstone]
[Talc], a hydrous magnesium silicate, is an extremely soft mineral—your fingernail scratches it easily. It has a greasy or a pearly luster, and its color is white, light green, or gray. When rubbed across a [streak] plate, it leaves a white streak.
[Talc] cleaves perfectly in one direction, and the [cleavage fragments] are thin, flat, and sheet-like. Its [fracture] is uneven. This mineral has a soaplike or greasy feel, and it is [sectile]—a knife will cut through it. Talc is not particularly heavy—it has a [specific gravity] of 2.7 to 2.8. This mineral seldom occurs with a crystal shape. More commonly it is [massive] and is [granular] or layered.
[Talc] is not always found as a single, pure mineral. In nature, it commonly occurs mixed with one or more other minerals, such as tremolite, anthophyllite, chlorite, and [magnetite]. This combination of talc with other minerals forms a soft, greasy or soapy-feeling [metamorphic rock] called [soapstone]. The talc in this rock may be difficult to identify without special laboratory tests.
In Texas, [talc and soapstone] are found in [Precambrian] [metamorphic] rocks. In west Texas, talc occurs in an area about 20 miles long (just north of U. S. Highway 80 in the vicinity of Allamoore, Eagle Flat siding, and Talc Rock siding) in Hudspeth County. Some of this talc is mined from open pits and used by the ceramic industry to make wall tile. Some of it is finely ground, mixed with insect poison, and used as insect powders and dusts.