Re the "carbide mine" in Sweden:
"Rutley's Elements of Mineralogy", 24th edition, by H.H. Read,
makes no mention of calcium carbide as a naturally occurring
mineral.
"Mellor's Modern Inorganic Chemistry", new edition (1939,
reprinted 1947) by G.D. Parkes and J.W. Mellor, says CaC2
is made by heating a powdered mixture of quicklime and coke
in an electric furnace. The action is endothermic, so much so
that the carbide formed is molten. Many strange things happen
in nature, but it is difficult to visualise the formation of a deposit
of calcium carbide.
Calcium carbide does react with water to give acetylene, but this
alone does not preclude its possible occurrence. Though
many strata are wet, many others are quite dry, and soluble minerals
can occur, and be mined, underground. Two examples of such
minerals in mines I have been to are rock salt at Winsford
in Cheshire, and potash at the Amelie mine in Alsace, France.
Tony Brewis
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