Tale is one of the most widely known and used mineral substances. In the form of various talcum powders it is probably familiar to most people, and in one form or another its special characteristics make it useful in a number of different industries. Tale is chemically a hydrous silicate of magnesium, containing 63.5 percent silica (SiO2 ) 31 .7 percent magnesia MgO and 4.8 percent water. Commercial deposits of talc usually contain a proportion of impurities, such as quartz, calcite, dolomite, magnesite, tremolite and iron oxide. The mineral is usually found in soft, foliated or compact massive aggregates; white, grey or green in colour. It is soft (Hardness 1) and can usually be scratched with the finger nail. The lustre is greasy to pearly; the cleavage micaceous in crystalline varieties. The fracture is irregular; the feel characteristically greasy. It is transparent to opaque. The specific gravity is 2.7 to 2.8. Many of its uses depend upon its chemical stabiliiy and inertness. This collated series of Mineral Information Series brochures are for the years 1959, 1962 and 1969 with a related record link to the 1997 Commodity Review publications