Spruce Pine Mica Company

Here’s a short Asheville Citizen-Times piece about the Spruce Pine Mica Company. The headline is, “Portrait of the Past: At the Spruce Pine Mica Co., 1972.” Per the story, “[m]ica mines began big production in the Spruce Pine area in the 1890s to advance the mineral’s use as a scouring agent, ceramic glaze and enhancer of paint and gypsum wallboard.”

Read the online version of the story here: http://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2017/01/19/portrait-past-spruce-pine-mica-co-1972/96664340/

The Spruce Pine Mica Company is still in operation in Spruce Pine, NC. Their website has some interesting info about mica - I like their answer to this question on the FAQ page:

Why is mica not used more in production?

Mica was the original material in many applications. One of the reasons it is not found more commonly is the design engineers are not familiar with the material because it is not considered a cutting edge material; even though it is millions of years old and is superior in many ways to more expensive, manmade materials.

Visit the Spruce Pine Mica Company website here: http://www.sprucepinemica.com