DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR

394

PAPERS ON THE

CONSERVATION OF MINERAL 

RESOURCES

REPRINTED FROM REPORT OF THE NATIONAL CONSERVATION 

COMMISSION, FEBRUARY, 1909

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1909

CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction................_.......,-......................._..._..._._. 5

Coal fields of the United States, by M. R. Campbell and E. W. Parker....... 7

Estimates of future coal production, by Henry Gannett..................... 27

The petroleum resources of the United States, by D. T. Day................. 30

Natural-gas resources of the United States, by D. T. Day..................... 51

Peat resources of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, by C. A. Davis...... 62

Iron ores of the United States, by C. W. Hayes............................. 70

Resources of the United States in gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc, by Walderaar Lindgren........................................................ 114

The phosphate deposits of the United States, by F. B. Van Horn............ 157

Mineral resources of Alaska, by A. H. Brooks.......................... .... 172

Index...._............................................................. 209

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Distribution of coal fields in the United States..................... 6

II. Distribution of petroleum and gas fields in the United States....... 30

III. Illustration of the crowding of wells, Spindletop field, Texas....... 32

IV. Production of petroleum, 1859-1907..--......-..............'...... 38

V. Decline in production of the New York and Pennsylvania oil fields

and its probable rate in the future.........---------.--.....-..- 44

VI. Production of gold of the United States and of the principal States

and Territories, 1885-1907 ...................................... 120

VII. Production of gold of the world and of the principal countries,

1800-1906 .................................................... 122

VIII. Production of silver of the world and of the United States, 1880-1907. 128

I.. Production of copper in the United States, 1882-1907.............. 130

X. Production of .lead in the United States, 1880-1907................ 144

XI. Production of zinc in the United States, 1880-1907................. 150

XII. Map of Alaska, showing known distribution of mineral resources... 172 

FIGURE 1. Curve showing production of coal, 1846-1907. .................... 26

2. Curve showing production of iron ore, pig iron, and steel, 1870-1900. 110

3

PAPERS ON THE CONSERVATION OF 

MINERAL RESOURCES.

INTRODUCTION.

This volume is a reprint of selected papers on the conservation of 

mineral resources, written by members of, the United States Geological Survey in response to executive order, for the report of the 

National Conservation Commission (S. Doc. No. 6Y6, 60th Cong., 

2d sess.). Nearly all the information from which these papers 

are compiled had previously been collected by the Geological 

Survey in the performance of its regular duties. Since the organization of the Survey the mineral resources of the nation have been the 

principal subject of its investigations, and the data on which are based 

the estimates of the reserves of mineral fuels and ores are the results 

of nearly thirty years of official work. The report on the coal fields 

is practically a restatement of the information set forth on the coalfield map published in May, 1908, before the appointment of the 

National Conservation Commission; the other inventories constitute a 

summation of work in which the authors had been engaged as members of .the Survey. The printing of the conservation report has furnished an opportunity to present these reprints in convenient form 

and, as the demand for the larger report will greatly exceed the edition authorized, this segregation of the papers relating to minerals 

will prove useful.

5

U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 394 PLATE I

Known coal 'N~'"

Doubtful coal fields

;./.' .' -. :;7l Coal under deep cover

DISTRIBUTION OF COAL FIELDS IN THE UNITED STATES.
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES.

By MARIUS E. CAMPBELL and EDWARD W. PARKEK.

INTRODUCTION.

According to the estimates prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey, the area underlain by workable coal beds in the United States 

is 496,776 square miles. Of this total area, 480 square miles contain 

the entire anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania. The bituminous 

coal fields are estimated to be contained in an area of 250,051 square 

miles. The grade of coal between bituminous and lignite, which 

is designated by the Geological Survey as " subbituminous," is estimated to be contained within areas aggregating.97,636 square miles, 

while the areas containing lignite aggregate 148,609 square miles. 

The coal fields are divided, for the sake of convenience in classification, into six main provinces, as follows (see PI. I) :

1. The eastern province, containing the anthracite coal fields of 

Pennsylvania and the bituminous coal fields of the Appalachian 

region, i. e., those of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West 

Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and small outlying areas in North Carolina.

2. The interior province, containing the bituminous coal-producing regions of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, western Kentucky, Iowa, 

Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas.

3. The Gulf province, containing the lignite areas of Alabama, 

Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.

4. The northern Great Plains province, containing the lignite 

subbituminous areas of North and South Dakota, eastern Montana, 

and northeastern Wyoming.

5. The Rocky Mountain province, containing the bituminous and 

subbituminous areas of western Montana and western Wyoming, 

Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico.

6. The Pacific coast province, containing the areas of Washington, 

Oregon, and California.

During the last few years the Survey geologists have worked in all 

of these coal areas and have also been making careful estimates of 

the quantity of coal contained in the beds when mining first began. 

In making these estimates care has been taken to ascertain how much 

of the supply is easily available and how much is either not available 

under present mining and market conditions or is available with

7
8 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

extreme difficulty. According to these estimates the quantity of coal 

contained within the known area of the United States when mining 

first-began was 3,076,204,000,000 tons. Of this quantity a little less 

than two-thirds, or 1,922,979,000,000 tons, is considered as coal that 

is easily accessible or minable under present conditions, while slightly 

more than one-third, or 1,153,225,000,000 tons, is considered as nonminable under present conditions or accessible with extreme difficulty. 

It should be remembered, however, that the quantity of coal given 

above as easily accessible includes the lignites and subbituminous 

coals of the Western States, of which approximately 530,000,000,000 

tons, while easily accessible, can not be considered available under 

present conditions or those which may be expected in the near future. 

This would reduce the original supply of easily accessible and available coal to approximately 1,400,000,000,000 tons.

The area of the different provinces "and the quantity of coal contained therein when mining first began are shown in the following 

table:

Tonnage (short tons), 'by provinces and accessibility.

[Original coal supply.]

Province.

Gulf.. .......... .................

Total......................

Area in 

square 

miles.

70, 022

144 004

84, 300

103,504

92, 390

1,830

490, 770

Amount easily 

accessible.

in r&d nnn nnn

40F* f\t\7 nnn nnn

13,045,000,000

521,793,000,000

414,740,000,000

11, 100, 000, 000

1,922,979,000,000

Amount accessible 

with difficulty.

8 nnn nnn nnn

91 000 000 000

10,045,000,000

574,280,000,000

10,900,000,000

1,153,225,000,000

Total.

503, 034, 000, 000

9*3 non nnn nnn

osn 703 nnn nnn

989,020,000,000 99 nnn nnn nnn

The distribution of this original supply of coal, according to grades 

and accessibility, is shown in the following table:

Tonnage (/short tons), ~by grades of coal and accessibility.

[Original coal supply.]

Kind of coal.

Anthracite and bituminous. .....

Total......................

Area in 

square 

miles.

250, 531 

97, 030

148, 009

490, 770

Amount easily 

accessible.'

1,170,727,000,000 

350,707,000,000

389,545,000,000

1,922,979,000,000

Amount 

easily accessible 

and available.

1,170,727,000,000

| 210,252,000,000 ^

i W9 Q7Q nnn nnn

Amount accessible 

with difficulty.

505,730,000,000 

293,450,000,000

354,045,000,000

i i w 991 nnn nnn

The first mining of coal in a commercial way, in the United States, 

was in what is known as the Richmond basin, a small area in the 

eastern part of Virginia. Small quantities of coal had been mined 

here in the latter part of the eighteenth century and it was also in 

the latter part'of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 9

. centuries that efforts were being made to introduce anthracite coal for 

fuel purposes. The first actual records of the production of Virginia 

coal were in 1822, in which year it was reported that 54,000 tons were 

mined. In 1820 (two .years before) 365 long tons of anthracite coal, 

or 1 ton for each day of the year, had been shipped to distant markets. From these small beginnings of less than a century ago the 

production of coal has increased until in 1907 the total output of 

anthracite and bituminous coal approximated 500,000,000 tons. In 

183T the total production of the United States reached, for the first 

time, a total exceeding l^OOjOOO1 tons, the output being reported from 

4 States only Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Illinois although Maryland also was producing a small quantity of coal at that

°time. In 1840 the production amounted to a little over 2,000,000 

tons, the output being reported from 13 States. Ten years later, in

1850, the production amounted to 7,000,000.tons; in 1860 it was over

14,000,000 tons; in 1870 over 33,000,000 tons; in 1880 over 70,000,000 

tons; in 1890 it approximated 160,000,000 tons; in 1900 it was nearly 

270,000,000 tons; and in 1907 it was 480,000,000 tons. The aggregate 

production to the close of 1907 has amounted to 6,865,097,567 short 

tons.

Up to the close of 1845 the total production of coal in the United 

States was 27,700,000 short tons, and since that time the drain on the 

supply has practically doubled with each decade. The total production to 1845 and decennially since that time has been as follows:

Short tons.

Up to 1845________________________________-. 27, 677, 214 

1846-1855 - _______________________________,__ 83, 417, 827 

1856-1865 _________________________- ________ 173, 795, 014 

1866-1875 ___________________________________ 419, 425,104 

1876-1885 __________________________________ 847, 760, 319 

1886-1895 __________________________________ 1, 586, 098, 641 

1896-1905 ___________________________________ 2,832,402, 746 

1906-1907 ___________________________________ 894, 520, 702

Total ____________________'__.___________ 6, 865, 097, 567

It is estimated that for every ton of coal mined and sold, half a 

ton is lost or wasted, so that the total production of 6,865,097,567 

short tons to the close of 1907 represents an exhaustion of 10,200,- 

000,000 tons, or 0.3 per cent of the total original supply, or 0.7 per 

cent of the coal which is easily accessible and available under the 

present conditions. The total supply of easily accessible and now 

available coal left in the ground at the close of 1907 was 1,382,780,- 

000,000 short tons.

Accompanying this statement two charts are presented, one showing the production of coal annually from 1846 to 1907, the other 

illustrating the average annual production by progressive ten-year
10 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

periods for the same length of time, the latter chart having been 

prepared in order to eliminate minor variations due to abnormal 

conditions. The average annual increase in coal production figured 

from the average of progressive decades shown on the second diagram is 7!36 per cent, and for the last five progressive decades 

1894-1903 to 1898-1907 the rate of increase has been above that 

average.

DURATION OF SUPPLY.

The total reserve of easily accessible and now available coal is 

estimated at 1,382,780,000,000 tons. The assumption that a constant output has been reached would be utterly unwarranted. On 

the other hand, the adoption of the flat rate of annual increase ofo 

7.36 per cent would involve the improbable assumption that the 

marvelous record of the past and present will be maintained in the 

future and the production would continue to approximately double 

every decade.. Using the waste allowance, on the basis of this constant rate of increase in production, the 1,382,780,000,000 tons available at the close of 1907 would be exhausted in one hundred and 

seven years, or by 2015 A. D. Against the use of the flat rate of 

increase it may well be contended that just as the rate of increase 

in population tends to diminish, so this rapid increase in per capita 

consumption of coal can not persist, and a constant annual production 

will be reached. However, the figures set fifty years ago by statisticians for the probable constant annual production of coal in England have already been exceeded by over 160 per cent.

Mr. Henry Gannett has made an estimate based upon a decreasing 

rate of increase calculated from twenty-year averages of production. 

The use of ten-year averages is regarded as unsatisfactory for the

reason that one of the decades may consist mainly of a period of prosperity, while the preceding and succeeding decades contain periods 

of business depression. The twenty-year period, however, is sufficiently long to include a period of prosperity with one of business 

depression. Taking the four twenty-year periods since 1828, three 

rates of increase are obtained which show a rapid decrease. The 

hyperbolic curve computed from these successive rates of increase 

will indicate the constantly diminishing rate of increase for the successive twenty-year periods. The result obtained by this method is 

that the easily accessible and available coal will be exhausted about 

the year 2027, and all coal by the middle of that century. It is 

recognized that the data upon which this curve has been constructed 

are few and the curve correspondingly weak. However, in the above 

estimate all of the data have been given which it is possible to use, 

and this estimate is believed to represent the best use that can be 

made of the data at hand.
COAL FIELDS OF THE( UNITED STATES. 11

Inasmuch as America leads the Avorld not only in present production of coal, but also apparently possesses the greatest reserve and 

certainly is mining coal at much lower cost than any other country, 

the obvious tendency will be for European countries to look more and 

more to the United States for their coal supply. Therefore, while our 

present coal production and consumption are practically equivalent, 

the export of coal, unless prohibited by federal legislation, must eventually become a factor and increase the coal production in the United 

States beyond the demands of home consumption. On the other hand, 

powerful influences will come to bear upon coal production, which 

favor lengthening the-life of the supply. Thus it is to be hoped that 

with more improved methods in the utilization of coal the increased 

efficiency per unit may act as a factor in reducing coal consumption, 

and improved mining methods should likewise decrease the waste percentage. The increased utilization of water power should also tend to 

decrease coal consumption. Again, as soon as the end appears in sight 

prices will rise and production diminish, and that progressively. This 

interference with the law of decreasing increase produced by growing 

scarcity will, of course, prolong the life of our coal reserves, but at 

the same time will greatly hamper our industries that depend on this 

fuel.

With so many indeterminate factors whose importance is realized 

but can not be measured, prophecy .must possess a questionable value.

WASTE IN COAL MINING.

The principal loss or waste attending coal-mining operations is that 

represented by the quantity of coal necessarily left in the ground as 

pillars to support the roof. In some cases it is also necessary to leave 

a foot or more of coal as a part of the roof, because of the unstable 

character of the material overlying the coal, which itself does not 

make a good roof. It has also been frequently the case that, where 

portions of the coal bed have been of inferior quality, only the highgrade coal has been mined and the poorer material left. The coal left 

as pillars, or as portions of the roof, may be considered a necessary 

loss, but that which is left because of its inferior quality can not be 

considered unavoidable waste iii any sense, and is frequently of higher 

grade than coals mined and used in other portions of the country.

Enormous quantities of coal have been lost beyond recovery from 

the mining of beds lying below, the caving of which, upon the withdrawal of the pillars, has so broken up the overlying strata as to 

render it impossible to recover the coals contained therein. This has 

been particularly the case iii some of the coal beds of western Pennsylvania, but much improvement has been observed in this regard 

within later years. Notwithstanding the improvement in this respect 

it is probable that a large amount of coal will be wasted in the West-
12 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

ern States, where a great number of coal beds are closely associated, 

and also where the intercalated strata are weak, forming poor roofs 

to the mines.

There are no exact figures as to the actual loss or waste sustained 

through coal left in the mines in conducting the mining operations, 

but it has been estimated that it amounts to 50 per cent of the quantity produced and marketed. In some cases, through careful mining and where the conditions are ideal for working, practically all 

of the contents of the coal beds are recovered. In other cases, particularly when the beds are of enormous thickness, the recovery has 

not exceeded 30 per cent of the contents. During the earlier days 

of mining in the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania it was estimated that only 40 per cent of the coal was marketed. This was 

partly due to uneconomical methods of mining, and partly to the 

large amount of culm, for which there was at that time no market 

and which was piled on the ground in unsightly mountains. At the 

time of the Anthracite Coal Waste Commission, which made its 

report in 1893, 40 per cent was still considered a maximum recovery. 

So far as underground workings are concerned, there has been no 

revolution in the methods employed since that time, but there has 

been a considerable improvement in the application of those methods, which has resulted in the recovery at the present time of a materially larger proportion of the coal in the ground than was the rule 

at that date. The earlier methods of mining consisted in leaving 

comparatively narrow pillars, and in the mining of large rooms the 

the result was that the pillars were not strong enough to stand the 

pressure and were crushed beyond recovery. It is now customary 

to use larger pillars between the rooms, which makes it possible to 

better control the roof during " robbing " operations and to eventually 

recover a larger proportion of the contents of the bed.

Material improvements have also been made in the methods of 

the preparation of coal, so that a much greater proportion of the 

product hoisted is now being sent to market in merchantable condition. Part of this is due to better and more systematic methods of 

handling, and part to the saving of small sizes Which formerly went 

to the culm banks. The higher prices of coal and the development 

of methods for using these small sizes have also made it possible, 

through washing processes, to rework the small coal formerly thrown 

on the culm banks, and these are now furnishing several millions of 

tons of marketable coal annually.

Under present conditions, except in cases where the surface must 

be maintained, it is estimated that in the Wyoming region of the 

Pennsylvania anthracite field the recovery for market is from 60 

to 64 per cent. In the Lehigh, Mahanoy, and Schuylkill regions 

the recovery for shipment is estimated at 56 per cent.
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 13

When the Anthracite Coal Waste Commission a made its report 

in 1893 the shipments of anthracite had Amounted to 820,362,995 

long tons, and the total production was estimated to have been 902,- 

000,000 long tons. The commission estimated that for every ton 

produced, 1| tons were lost, and the total exhaustion was estimated 

at 2,255,000,000 long tons! The estimated original contents of the 

field were 19,500,000,000 tons, and the estimated contents remaining 

at the beginning of 1893 were 17,245,000,000 tons.

The commission in its report (p. 149) says:

It is to be doubted whether the total coal won when the field shall be abandoned will exceed 40 per cent of the total contents. An estimate on .that basis 

would show the available marketable coal still now in the ground to be as 

follows:

Tons. 

Wyoming region ______________________________ 1, 859, 000, 000

Lehigfi region______a_______ - 477,500,000

Schuylkill region_______________________________ 4, 561, 500, 000

In all_______________________________ 6, 898, 000, 000

The amount of coal won at the modern colliery due to improvements in mining methods, in the appliances for handling the coal, and in the utilization of the 

small sizes shows a decided advance over the earlier years of mining; a still 

further advance will undoubtedly be made in these directions, and the mining 

of the small beds, where a larger per cent can be won, will all tend to increase 

the total. Future estimates for a long time will in all probability show an 

advance in the total per cent won.

What the commission predicted in the foregoing paragraph has 

to some extent already been accomplished, from the fact that coal 

is now being mined from beds that were not considered a part 

of the available reserves when the commission made its report. In 

mining methods, as previously stated, there has also been a marked improvement, and the writers are of the opinion that it is safe to assume 

that since 1893 the 1 ton of coal lost for every ton mined is nearer 

the actual results than 1-| tons lost for each ton mined, and at this 

rate the available supply at the beginning of 1893 would have been 

8,622,500,000 tons instead of 6,898,000,000 tons. The total production 

from 1893 to the close of 1907 has amounted to 833,187,445 long tons, 

which deducted from the estimated available supply of 8,622,500,000 

tons would leave as the remaining available supply 7,789,312,555 long 

tons, it being understood that this is only one-half of the coal left 

in the ground untouched. What may be done in the future in the 

way of recovery of coal which is now considered an absolutely necessary waste and lost for all time is, of course, a matter of conjecture.

In the mining of bituminous coal it is estimated that for every ton 

of coal produced for market one-half of a ton is lost or wasted. The

a The members of the commission were Eckley B. Coxe, of Drifton ; Heber S. Thompson, 

of Pottsville; and William Griffith, of Scranton, Pa.
14 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

part of this which is represented by the coal left in the mines for 

pillars, etc., may be materially reduced, but in many cases the recovery 

of a larger percentage of the coal in the ground can be obtained 

only by an increased cost of mining; and this in the face of the overdeveloped properties, keen competition, and low selling prices is 

incapable of accomplishment at the present day unless there be concerted legislative action by the governments of the several States.

There is another and a serious loss or waste in bituminous coal 

mining which is, like the culm in the anthracite fields, represented 

by the slack or fine coal necessarily or unnecessarily produced in 

mining operations. This is particularly the case when^he coal is of 

the " dry " or noncaking variety which can not be used for coke 

making or which, because it does not fuse in the fire box, fails to 

make a satisfactory steam fuel. Many thousands of tons of this 

" slack " coal are thrown on the ground each year, and much of 

it is burned in order to prevent it from " cumbering the ground " or 

adding extra weight above the mine workings. -A large part of this 

waste could be prevented by briquetting, but the process of briquetting adds about $1 per ton to the cost of the fuel, which renders 

competition with cheap fuel in the shape of raw coal impossible. 

Two of the causes which lead to the production of unnecessarily large 

quantities of slack are the excessive use of powder and the practice 

of " shooting from the solid." These reduce the percentage of largesized or marketable coal and naturally increase the cost of that portion of the product.

Legislation prohibiting shooting from the solid, which would provide penalties for excessive use of powder, would have as one result a 

larger percentage of lump coal; and thus in a measure enable operaators to assume the additional expense involved in the briquetting 

of such slack coal as is unavoidably produced.

This legislation is the province of the state governments, and it is 

not too much to hope that before long laws may be enacted against 

the accumulation of slack heaps or their useless destruction by burning, and this waste prohibited, as that of natural gas has been in some 

cases.

The question of the waste in the combustion or utilization of coal 

does not come within the scope of this paper, but as the manufacture 

of coke is, in reality, a preparation of the fuel for use, attention may 

properly be called to the enormous waste resulting from beehive oven 

practice (the method commonly employed in the United States).

In what is known as the beehive oven (so called because of its similarity in shape to the conventional beehive) the coal is partially 

consumed, or, more properly speaking, the volatile combustible contents are consumed and all of the valuable constituents of the coal, 

except the fixed carbon, which is left behind as coke, are wasted.
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 15

These wasted constituents consist of gas, tar, and ammonia. In 

what are known as by-product recovery ovens, however, the process 

is one of distillation and the by-products of tar and ammonia and 

all of the gas, except that used for heating the ovens, are recovered 

and used.

The United States is far behind Germany and other foreign countries in adopting the economies resulting from the coking of coal 

in by-product ovens. In Germany at the present time little or no, 

coke is made except in retort ovens. The first ovens of this type in 

the 'United States were built in 1893 at Syracuse, N. Y. Up to the 

close of 1907 the total number of this type of ovens completed was 

3,892, while the number of beehive ovens in operation in that year 

was 94,746. The production from the retort ovens was 5,607,899 

short tons of coke and that from beehive ovens 35,171,665 tons.

When the economies which may be effected by the use of the retort ovens have been so clearly demonstrated, not only by the plants 

which have been constructed in the United States, but more emphatically through the much more extensive development of byproduct coke manufacture in Europe, the condition in the United 

States, as shown by the statistics for the last four years, is somewhat 

difficult to understand. As previously state'd, the production of coke 

in the by-product ovens of the United States in 1907 amounted to 

5,607,899 short tons. It was valued at $21,665,157. The total value 

of by-products obtained in the manufacture of this coke was $7,548,- 

071, this value and the quantity being distributed as follows:

Value of by-products obtained in manufacture of colcc in retort ovens in .1907.

Tar

Ammonia, sulphate or reduced to equivalent in sulphate. ..... 

Total . . _ ... ............

md cubic feet. .

......pounds..

Quantity.

20,510,731 

53,995,795 

125,372,360

Value.

$3,130,839 

1,242,530 

3,174,702

7,548,071

The gas included in the foregoing statement is the " surplus " not 

consumed in the coking process and is either sold or used at manufacturing establishments operated in connection with the. coke-oven 

plant. In a few instances where the surplus gas is consumed by 

the producing companies the quantity is not measured, nor was 

any value placed upon it in the reports made to the United States 

Geological Survey. In such cases careful estimates have been made, 

based upon the average surplus gas obtained from similar coals 

used at ovens of the same type. The value, similarly estimated, has 

been placed at from 10 to 15 cents per thousand cubic feet.

The coal consumed in retort ovens in 1907 amounted to 7,460,587 

short tons. The quantity of coal used in beehive ovens was
16 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

54,485,522 short tons, from all of which the possible by-products are 

apparently wasted. Assuming that the coal consumed in beehive ovens 

was of the same average quality as that charged into the retort ovens 

and that the prices would be not less than 80 per cent of those ruling 

in 1907, the value of recoverable products which we're thus apparently wasted last year amounted to $44,000,000, a sum equal to 

nearly 80 per cent of the total value of all the coal used in beehive 

ovens during the year. At the prices which prevailed in 1907 the 

value of the by-products wasted in beehive coke ovens was a little 

over $55,000,000.

The value of the by-products from the retort ovens in 1907 was 

a little more than one-third the value of the coke produced in them.

It should be remembered, however, that beehive ovens are located 

in the coal-mining: 

CD 

regions 

O 

and that the cost of the coal charged 

C3

into

them represents only a little more than that represented by the expense of mining the coal, whereas in locating by-product recovery 

plants provision must be made for utilizing or marketing the byproducts. It is for this reason that in much the larger number of 

cases the recovery plants are established near the larger cities and at 

considerable distances from the mining regions, and the expense of 

transportation is added to the mining cost of the coal. Hence it is 

that the value of the coal charged into by-product ovens in 1907 

was $15,874,430, or over $2 per ton, while that of the coal used in 

beehive ovens was $56,956,008, or $1.05 per ton. It must also be 

remembered that the original cost of installation for a by-product 

plant is from four to five times that of a beehive plant of equal capacity. These disadvantages are in turn partly offset by the higher 

percentage yield of coke in the retort ovens and a lower delivery 

charge on the coke produced. In the case of beehive coke, railroad 

transportation expense is borne by the coke, while in retort-oven practice all, or nearly all, of the freight charge is borne by the coal..

The total value of the 5,607,899 tons of by-product coke produced 

in 1907 was $21,665,157, an average of $3.86 per ton. The value of 

the 35,171,665 tons of beehive coke made in 1907 was $89,873,969, or 

$2.56 per ton. If we consider that the difference in the value of the 

by-product coke and beehive coke was due only to the difference in 

freight charges, then the total value of the entire product of beehive coke made in 1907 would, if made in retort ovens close to the 

market, have been $135,750,000. On adding to this the value of the 

by-products that should have been recovered, amounting to $44,000,- 

000 at 80 per cent of the market price in 1907, the total value of the 

coke and by-products would have amounted to nearly $180,000,000 

instead of the value of $89,873,969 for the beehive coke alone. The 

value of the coal charged into these ovens,- however, would have
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 17

been $108,879,870 instead of $56,956,008. Carrying the hypothesis 

further, the difference between the value of the coke and by-products 

if the coal had been coked in retort ovens and the value of the coke 

alone from the beehive ovens was, say, $90,000,000. From this should 

be deducted the difference between what the value of the coal would 

have been at retort ovens and what it was at beehive ovens, i. e., 

$52,000,000. The remainder ($38,000,000), less the difference' in 

operating expenses, wear and tear, interest on capital, etc., may be considered as approximately the actual net loss in value as the result of 

bsehive coke production compared with by-product coke practice in 

1907.

One of the reasons that has been given for the apparent lack of 

progress in retort-oven building in the last four years is the lack of 

profitable markets for the by-products of coal tar, and this has contributed to the backwardness of the United States in the development 

of the chemical industries depending upon coal tar as a raw material, 

and yet this country is importing coal-tar products to the value of 

several million dollars annually. It is also well known that the development of the coal-briquetting industry has been retarded because 

of the lack of assurance of a satisfactory supply of suitable coal-tar . 

pitch for binding material, and there is also an increasing demand for 

creosoting oils for the preservation of timber.

COAL SUPPLY, PRODUCTION AND EXHAUSTION, BY STATES.

Alabama. As far as known the earliest record of the existence of 

coal in Alabama was made in 1834. The first statement of production 

is contained in the United States Census Report for 1840, in which 

year the production is given at 946 tons. In 1907 the production was 

14,250,454 tons, and the total production from 1840 to 1907 amounted 

to 164,734,310 short tons, which represented an exhaustion, including 

the waste in mining, of 247,000,000 tons. The total coal-bearing 

area of the State is estimated at 14,430 square miles, and the 

original coal supply is estimated to have been 68,903,000,000 short 

tons. The exhaustion to the close of 1907 represents a little over 0.3 

of 1 per cent, and the production in 1907 was a little over 0.02 of 1 

per cent of the estimated original supply.

Arizona. A small area of 30 square miles in Arizona is estimated 

to contain 60,000,000 tons of coal, from which there had been no 

production at the close of 1907.

Arkansas. As in Alabama, the first production of coal reported in 

Arkansas was in the census year 1840, when 220 short tons were 

reported as having been mined in that State. The industry in 

Arkansas did not develop rapidly during the early years, as the 

census of 1860 shows a production of only 200 tons, and that of 1880

. 86412 Bull. 394 09 2
18 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

a total of 14,778 tons. 'During the last twenty years, however, there 

has been a marked increase in the production of coal in Arkansas, 

and the maximum output was reached in 1907, with a total of 2,670,- 

438 short tons. The total production to the close of 1907 amounted 

to 23,756,401 short tons, equivalent to an exhaustion of approximately 

36,000,000 tons. The estimated original supply of coal in Arkansas 

was 1,887,000,000 short tons, of which the exhaustion to date represents practically 2 per cent. The production in 1907 was equivalent 

to 0.15 of 1 per cent of the estimated original supply. The total area 

in Arkansas which contains workable coal or which may contain 

workable coal or lignite is estimated to be 7,584 square miles.

California. The coal fields of California consist of scattered areas, 

of which, with few exceptions, comparatively little is known. The 

total workable area is estimated to be 500 square miles, and the 

original contents of the field 1,000,000,000 short tons. Mining in 

California had its beginning, according to the records of the state 

mining bureau, in 1861. The maximum production was reached in 

1880, since which time the production has been irregular and has 

shown a declining tendency, this being due in the last few years to the 

increased production of oil in the State and its use for fuel purposes. 

The total coal production to the close of 1907 was 5,030,945 short tons, 

equivalent to an exhaustion of approximately 7,000,000 tons, or 0.7 

per cent of the original supply.

Colorado. Colorado is one of the Western States which is rich in 

coal resources. The estimated total area of the coal fields is 17,130 

square miles, and the original contents of these fields are estimated 

to have been 371,770,000,000 short tons. Coal production began in 

Colorado in 1864, but it was not until 1882 that the output reached 

as much as 1,000,000 short tons. Since that date there has been a

steady increase in production, until in 1907 it amounted to 10,790,236 

short tons. The aggregate production to the close of 1907 was 112,- 

668,336 short tons, of which the equivalent exhaustion has been 169,- 

000,000 short tons, which represents a little over 0.05 of 1 per cent 

of the original supply. The production in 1907 was approximately 

0.004 of 1 per cent of the original contents of the fields.

Georgia. The coal fields of Georgia are limited to a small area 

in the northwestern part of the State, estimated to cover 167 square 

miles and to have contained, when mining began, 933,000,000 short 

tons. The census report for 1860 contains the first authentic statement of production in Georgia, and the output in that year is placed 

at 1,900 short tons. The production of the State in 1907 was 362,401 

tons, and the total production to the close of the year was 8,123,696 

short tons, representing an exhaustion of 12,000,000 tons. This would 

still leave in the ground a total of 921,000,000 tons, of which
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 19

650,000,000 tons would probably be considered as the available supply, and this, at the rate of production in 1907, would last approximately 1,800 years.

Idaho. The areas in Idaho known to contain workable coal are 

placed at 200 square miles, while there are 1,200 square miles which 

are not known but which may also contain workable coal. The estimated original contents of the coal fields of Idaho are placed at 

600,000,000 tons, from which to the close of 1907 less than 25,000 tons 

had been mined.

Illinois. Illinois is the second State in coal-producing importance. 

The area in Illinois known to contain coal is larger than that of any 

other State east of the Mississippi Kiver, and if we consider only 

the known coal areas the coal fields of Illinois cover a wider area than 

those of any other coal-producing State. The coal-producing area of

Illinois is estimated at 35,600 square miles, and the original contents 

of the fields are placed at 240,000,000,000 short tons. The earliest 

mention of coal in the United States is contained in the journal of 

Father Hennepin, a French missionary, who, as early as 1679, reported a " cole mine " on the Illinois Kiver, near the present city of 

Ottawa. The earliest record of actual mining is that coal was produced in Jackson. County in 1810. In 1833 the production is reported 

to have been 6,000 short tons. In 1907 it was 51,317,146 short tons. 

The total production to the close of 1907 amounted to 645,868,309 

tons, representing an exhaustion of 968,000,000 short tons, from 

which it appears that the exhaustion to the close of 1907 has been 0.4 

of 1 per cent of the total estimated supply. The quantity of coal remaining in the ground at the close of 1907 was 4,664 times the production of that year, or about 2,500 times the exhaustion represented 

by that production.

Indiana. The coal fields of Indiana lie entirely in the southwestern portion of the State. They are confined within an estimated 

area of 6,500 square miles, and contained, when mining first began, 

44,169,000,000 tons of coal. Coal mining in Indiana began sometime 

between 1830 and 1840, and the census of the latter year reported a 

production of 9,682 tons. In 1907 the production amounted to 

13,985,713 short tons, and the total production to the close of that 

year amounted to 159,440,390 short tons. The exhaustion to the close 

of 1907 had been 239,000,000 short tons, or 0.54 of 1 per cent of the 

original supply. Upon these estimates the quantity of coal remaining in the ground in Indiana at the close of 1907 was about 3,000 

times the production of that year, and 2,000 times the exhaustion 

represented by that production.

Iowa. The coal fields of Iowa are estimated to contain Avorkable 

coal aggregating 12,560 square miles. To this may be added 5,640
20 CONSEKVATION OF MIETEBAL BESOTJKCES.

square miles of possible workable coal areas. The original contents of 

the fields are estimated to have been 29,160,000,000 short tons. From 

this there has been produced from 1840, when mining first began, to 

the close of 1907, a total of 141,608,792 short tons, representing an 

exhaustion of 212,000,000 short tons. The quantity of coal still 

available at the close of 1907 was 28,948,000,000 short tons. At the 

rate of production in 1907, in estimating half a ton lost for every ton 

mined, this supply would last 2,550 years.

Kansas. The areas in Kansas known to contain workable coal are 

placed at 3,100 square miles, although in addition to this there 

are 15,780 square miles which may contain workable coal. The 

estimated supply, when mining first began, is placed at 7,022,000,000 

short tons. From this there has been produced from 1869 (the year 

of earliest production) to the close of 1907 a total of 91,176,204 short 

tons. This represents an exhaustion, including loss in mining, of 

about 136,000,000 short tons, from which it would appear that about 

1.9 per cent of the original supply has been exhausted. The production in 1907 was 7,322,449 short tons, equivalent to an exhaustion of 

10,000,000 short tons, which would indicate, at the rate of production 

in 1907, that the known coal supply of Kansas would last approximately 700 years.

Kentucky. Kentucky is the only one of the coal-producing States 

which has within its borders areas belonging to two of the great 

coal fields. The eastern counties of the State are underlain by the 

coal beds of the great Appalachian system, while the southern limits 

of the central or eastern interior field are found in the more northern 

counties of the western part of the State. The eastern areas contain 

10,270 square miles, the contents of which, when mining began, are 

estimated at 67,787,000,000 short tons. The western areas contain

6,400 square miles, the original contents of which are placed at 

36,240,000,000 short tons. The total estimated original supply of the 

State was.therefore 104,027,000,000 short tons. Mining began early 

in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, and it is estimated 

that from 1829 to 1835 the production ranged from 2,000 to 6,000 

tons a year. The production in 1907 was 10,753,124 short tons, and 

the total production to the close of the year was 122,404,574 short 

tons, which represents an exhaustion of 184,000,000 short tons, or 0.18 

of 1 per cent of the original supply. The quantity of coal left in the 

ground at the close of 1907 would then be 103,844,000,000 tons, of 

which approximately 67,000,000,000 short tons would be considered 

available, or, in other words, the supply at the close of 1907 was 6,700 

times the production in that year.

Maryland. The coal fields of Maryland are confined to a limited 

area in Allegany and Garrett counties in the western part of the 

State. This area has an extent of 455 square miles and the original
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 21

supply is estimated to have been 8,044,000,000 short tons. Mining 

began early in the nineteenth century, and shipments were made 

down the Potomac River in 1830. The first shipments by railroad 

were made in 1842, in which year 1,708 tons were shipped over the 

newly built Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1907 the production 

amounted to 5,532,628 short tons, and the total production to the 

close of that year aggregated 147,606,548 short tons, equivalent to 

an exhaustion, including waste, of 221,000,000 tons, or not quite 3 

per cent of the original supply. The supply still remaining at the 

close of 1907 was 7,823,000,000 short tons, 1,422 times the production 

and 948 times the exhaustion represented by the production of that 

year.

Michigan. The coal fields of Michigan are the only ones within 

the drainage basin of the Great Lakes. They occupy an area of 

approximately 11,000 square miles and are estimated to have contained when mining first began a total of 12,000,000,000 short tons of 

coal. Although coal mining has been carried on in Michigan for 

about seventy years, it is only a little more than a decade since it 

became of any importance as an industry, the production exceeding a 

million tons a year for the first time in 1901. The total production 

to the close of 1907 was 13,842,943 short tons, which, including 

waste, represents an exhaustion of 21,000,000 short tons, or 0.175 of 

1 per cent of the total original supply. The production of Michigan 

in 1907 was 2,035,858 short tons. The supply remaining at the close 

of that year was, according to the best estimates, 11,979,000,000 short 

tons, of which 7,986,000,000 tons would be considered as available. 

This is equivalent to 3,900 times the production of 1907.

Missouri. The original coal supply of Missouri is estimated to 

have been 40,000,000,000 short tons, included within an area of 23,000 

square miles. The production of the State to the close of 1907 had 

amounted to 97,618,106 short tons, representing an exhaustion of 

approximately 146,000,000 tons, or 0.36 of 1 per cent of the original 

supply. The production in 1907 was 3,997,936 short tons, which is 

equivalent to an exhaustion of approximately 6,000,000 tons. The 

supply remaining at the close of 1907 is about 6,500 times the exhaustion created by the production in that year.

Montana. Montana's scattered coal fields, known to contain workable coals, aggregate 34,067 square miles, while the areas which may 

contain workable coal, but which are not well known, amount to 

17,575 square miles. The original contents of these coal fields are 

estimated to have been 303,060,000,000 short tons,, from which there 

have been mined to the close of 1907 approximately 24,740,000 tons, 

representing an exhaustion of 37,000,000 tons, or 0.012 of 1 per cent 

of the original supply. The production in 1907 of a little over
22 " CONSERVATION OP MINERAL &ESOURCES.

2,000,000 tons is equivalent to an exhaustion of about 3,000,000 tons, 

and the coal left in the ground was 100,000 times that exhausted.

New Mexico. The coal fields of New Mexico aggregate a total 

area of 18,335 square miles, and the original supply is estimated to 

have been 163,780,000,000 short tons, from which there had been 

produced to the close of 1907 a total of 22,325,432 short tons, representing an exhaustion of 33^000,000 tons, or 0.02 of 1 per cent of the 

original supply. The production in 1907 (2,628,959 short tons) is 

equal to nearly 12 per centr of the entire production of the coal to 

the close of that year, while the coal left in the ground is nearly 

65,000 times the production in 1907,.and over 40,000 times the exhaustion represented by that production.

North Carolina. Two small areas of Triassic age contain all the 

coal known to exist in North Carolina. The total area is about 60 

square miles, and the original contents of the field are estimated at 

200,000,000 short tons. These areas have never been worked to any 

large extent, and the total production to the close of 1907 was less 

than half a million tons.

North Dakota. Although the coal fields of North Dakota are of 

wide extent, the coal itself is all of lignitic character and of little 

commercial value at the present time. The total areas supposed to 

contain workable lignite are placed at 35,500 square miles and the 

original contents have been estimated at 500,000,000,000 short tons. 

The production, particularly considering the large supply, has been 

very small, the total exhaustion to the close of 1907 having amounted 

to only 4,000,000 tons.

Ohio. Compared with the supply of coal originally contained 

within the coal fields of Ohio, the rate of exhaustion has been greater 

than that of any other State in the Appalachian system, with the 

exception of Maryland. The estimated original supply contained

within an area of 12,660 square miles was 86,028,000,000 short tons. 

The first record we have of the production in the State is in the year 

1838, when 119,952 short tons of coal were mined. Ohio's output was 

at that time exceeded only by the production of Pennsylvania anthracite and bituminous coal from the Richmond basin. From 1845 to 

1875 Ohio ranked second among the coal-producing States. In 1876 

it was surpassed by Illinois, and since 1896, when it was surpassed by 

West Virginia, it has ranked fourth among the coal-producing States. 

In 1907 Ohio contributed 32,142,419 short tons of coal to the total 

product of t that year. The total output of Ohio mines from 1838 to 

the close of 1907, a period of seventy years, has amounted to 492,769,- 

358 short tons, representing an exhaustion of 739,000,000 tons, or 

something less than 0.9 of 1 per cent of the estimated original supply. 

The production of 1907, which was a little less than 7 per cent of the 

production to the close of that year, was equivalent to an exhaustion
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 23

of about 48,000,000 tons. Deducting from the original supply the 

exhaustion at the close of 1907, there would still be available on 

January 1, 1908, 85,980,000,000 tons, or nearly 2,000 times the production in 1907.

Oklahoma. All of the coal in Oklahoma is contained in that portion of the State which was formerly known as the Creek, Cherokee, 

and Choctaw nations of Indian Territory. The total area underlain 

by workable coal is estimated to be about 10,000 square miles, and the 

original contents are estimated to have been 79,278,000,000 tons. 

Mining did not begin in Indian Territory until comparatively late, 

the first production reported having been in 1880, when 120,947 short 

tons were produced. The industry has progressed rapidly, however, 

and the production in 1907 amounted to 3,642,658 short tons. The 

total production to the close of 1907 was 39,845,015 short tons, representing an exhaustion of approximately 60,000,000 tons. The quantity of coal left in the ground in Oklahoma at the close of 1907 was 

13,000 times the exhaustion represented by the production in that 

year.

Oregon. As far as known the earliest record of coal production 

in Oregon was in 1880, when the output amounted to 43,205 short 

tons. In 1907 Oregon's production was 70,981 short tons, and the 

aggregate production from 1880 to the close of 1907 was 1.790,392 

tons, which represents an exhaustion of 2,700,000 tons. The total 

area in the State containing workable coals is estimated at 230 square 

miles and the original supply at 1,000,000,000 short tons.

Pennsylvania. The supplies of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania are 

discussed elsewhere in this paper. (See p. 13.) The bituminous areas 

in the western portion of the State are estimated to have an extent 

of 14,200 square miles and to have contained, when mining first began, 112,574,000,000 short tons. The development of the Pennsylvania bituminous coal fields did not begin until about twenty years 

after anthracite mining was established as an industry, the first production having been reported in the census year 1840, when 464,826 

short tons were mined. Up to 1897 the production of anthracite 

coal in Pennsylvania exceeded that of bituminous, but in 1898 the 

bituminous production took the lead and has continued to lead 

since that date. In 1907 the production of bituminous coal exceeded that of anthracite by nearly 80 per cent, and as indicative 

of the extent to which the bituminous coal-mining industry of Pennsylvania has grown it may be stated that the production in 1907 was 

nearly three times that of 1897, only ten years before. The total 

production of bituminous coal in Pennsylvania to.the close of 1907 

was 1,846,069,253 short tons, which was equivalent to an exhaustion 

of 2,760,000,000 tons, or 2.5 per cent of the original supply. The
24 CONSERVATION OP MINERAL RESOURCES.

exhaustion represented by the production in 1907 was 225,000,000 

tons. The supply remaining at the close of 1907 was 109,804,000,000 

tons, or 492 times the exhaustion represented by the production of 

that year.

South Dakota. The northwest corner of South Dakota contains 

the southern extension of the North Dakota lignite beds, and it is 

estimated that about 6,000 square miles of this territory may contain 

workable lignites. The contents are estimated at 10,000,000,000 short 

tons, and these are practically untouched.

Tennessee. The coal fields of Tennessee are contained in a narrow 

strip in the eastern counties of the State, where the Appalachian 

province crosses the State in a northeast-southwest direction. Mining 

began sometime between 1830 and 1840, and the census for the latter 

year reported a production of 558 tons. Coal mining did not, however, develop into an important industry in Tennessee until after the 

close of the civil war, and it was not until 1883 that the production 

reached as much as 1,000,000 tons annually. Since that time it has 

increased with notable regularity, until in 1907 the production 

amounted to 6,810,243 short tons. The total area of bituminous coal 

in the State is estimated at 4,400 square miles, and the total original 

supply at 25,665,000,000 tons. The total production to the close of 

1907 amounted to 84,304,601 short tons, representing an exhaustion 

of approximately 126,000,000 tons, or about 0.5 of 1 per cent of the 

original supply. The exhaustion represented by the production in 

1907 was approximately 10,200,000 tons, and the supply left in the 

ground at the close of the year was equal to 2,500 times this exhaustion.

Texas. The known bituminous coal fields of Texas are estimated 

to contain 8,200 square miles, and the exploited lignite fields 2,000 

square miles. In addition to this there are 5,300 square miles which

may contain Avorkable bituminous coal and 53,000 square miles which 

may contain workable lignite. The estimated contents of the bituminous coal fields when mining first began in Texas were 8,000,000,000 

short tons, and of the lignite fields 23,000,000,000 short tons. The 

exploitation of both the lignite and the bituminous areas is of comparatively recent date, no production having been reported from 

Texas prior to 1884, and it was not until 1901 that the output reached 

as much as 1,000,000 tons. The production to the close of 1907 was 

14,444,948 short tons, representing an exhaustion of 22,000,000 tons, 

or 0.07 of 1 per cent of the original supply.

Utah. Utah's coal fields are contained in scattered areas aggregating 15,130 square miles. The quality of the coals ranges from subbituminous to anthracite. The estimated original supply was 

196,458,000,000 short tons, from which the exhaustion, including 

waste, at the close of 1907, was 28,000,000 short tons, indicating that
COAL FIELDS OF THE UNITED STATES. 25

there were still remaining in the ground 196,430^000,000 tons, or a 

little more than 100,000 times the production of 1907.

Virginia. The Richmond basin in Virginia, where coal mining in 

the United States was first carried on, contains 150 square miles. Another small area in Montgomery County contains 200 square miles 

of coal-productive territory, but the principal regions are in the 

southwestern corner of the State, which is crossed by the Appalachian 

system. The portion of the Appalachian coal field in Virginia is estimated to be 1,550 square miles. The .original supply has been placed 

at 22,500,000,000 short tons. From this there had been produced 

at the close of 1907 a total of 57,229,152 short tons, representing an 

exhaustion of 86,000,000 tons. The production in 1907 was 4,710,895 

short tons, equivalent to an exhaustion of a little over 7,000,000 tons, 

so that the coal left in the ground in Virginia at the close of 1907 

was 2,000 times the exhaustion represented by the production of that 

year.

Washington. Washington's coal supply is contained within a 

number of areas that are scattered over the State and aggregate 

approximately 1,100 square miles. The estimated original supply 

was 20,000,000,000 short tons, and while mining began there as early 

as 1860, the total production'to the close of 1907 was only 43,108,697 

short tons, of which nearly 50 per cent was produced within the last 

seven years. The exhaustion represented by the production to the 

close of 1907 was 64,000,000 short tons, which is equivalent to about 

one-third of 1 per cent of the original supply. The quantity of coal 

still in the ground at the close of 1907 was estimated to be 19,936,- 

000,000 short tons, equivalent to 5,400 times the production of 1907 

and 3,600 times the exhaustion made by that output.

West Virginia. The total area containing workable coal in Virginia is 17,000 square miles, and the original supply when mining first 

began was 231,039,000,000 tons. West Virginia was not admitted as 

a State until 1863, in which year the production amounted to 444,648 

short tons. The quantity of coal mined prior to that time, in the portion of Virginia Avhich afterwards became West Virginia, was not 

sufficient to materially affect the total output. For a number of years 

West Virginia has been third among the coal-producing States, and 

in 1907 the production amounted to a little over 48,000,000 tons. The 

aggregate, production to the close of 1907 was 434,198,539 short tons, 

equivalent to an exhaustion of 650,000,000 tons. At the beginning of 

1908 there still remained available in the coal fields of West Virginia 

230,389,000,000 short tons, nearly 4,800 times the production in 1907, 

or 3,200 times the exhaustion represented by the 1907 output.

Wyoming. The estimated original coal supply of Wyoming is 

larger than that credited to any other coal-producing State, with the 

exception of North Dakota. In the latter State, however, the entire
26 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

supply is lignite, while in Wyoming the coals are of subbituminous 

or of bituminous character. The total area which may contain 

workable coals has been estimated at 50,793 square miles, and the contents of this field, when mining first began, at 424,085,000,000 short

tons. In comparison the aggregate production at the close of 1907, 

which was 77,818,765 short tons, appears insignificant. The total 

exhaustion of the beds to the close of 1907 amounted to 116,000,000 

short tons, or 0.027 of 1 per cent of the total estimated supply.
ESTIMATES OF FUTURE COAL PRODUCTION.

By HENRY GANNETT.

The Geological Survey estimates the amount of coal remaining in

the ground to be 3,147,043,000,000 tons, of which about two-thirds is 

easily obtainable, the other third being of indifferent or poor quality 

and difficult of mining.

In nearly a century of mining about one-third of 1 per cent of the 

supply has been taken out of the ground. The production during 

.the }^ear 1907, which was more than 480,000,000 tons, was much 

larger than in any previous yearThe Geological Survey also estimates that in mining practice 

about 1 ton of coal is lost for every 2 tons won, either by leaving it 

in the ground or in breaking and transporting.

In order to reach even an approximate idea of the length of time 

that this coal supply will last, it is necessary in the first place to estimate the probable annual production in the future. That it will increase beyond the present maximum goes without saying, but at what 

rates and for how long a period will the increase continue are questions whose solution can only be guessed. Unfortunately we have 

very few data upon which to build. The rate of yearly increase of 

production is very irregular, so irregular that no conclusions can be 

drawn from it. It is impossible, to construct from it a smooth curve 

which might be projected into the future. Even if ten-year averages 

be taken, and the rate of progress be thus obtained per decade, the 

result is very unsatisfactory, for the reason that one of the decades 

may consist mainly of a period of prosperity while the preceding and 

succeeding decades may contain periods of business depression. It is 

necessary, therefore, in order to obtain rates of increase which are 

fairly comparable with one another that we take the rate of production for periods sufficiently long to include a period of prosperity 

with one of business depression, i. e., twenty years. This has been 

done with the following results, expressed in terms of millions of

27
28 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

tons', each the production of twenty years, with percentages of 

increase:

Production of coal and rate of increase, by twenty-year periods, 1828 to 1901.

Years.

1828-1847............................................................................

1848-1867. ............................................................................

1868-1887. ...........................................................................

1888-1907. ............................................................................

Production.

Millions 

of tons. 

37.3

306.0

1,451.0

5,068.0

Per cent 

of 

increase.

720

374

249

We have here three rates of increase and they show a very rapid 

decrease. It would, of course, be folly to assume that the latest rate 

of increase, 249 per cent, is to continue indefinitely or even at all. 

There is every indication that the next twenty years will show a great 

diminution; indeed, at the present rate of increase of production, all 

the coal would be exhausted before the end of the present century.

The normal curve formed by rates of increase is a hyperbola that 

is, if population or production, etc., is not interfered with by extraneous influences, it tends to increase in a constantly diminishing ratio, 

but never ceases to increase, and the successive rates of increase when 

plotted to scale form a hyperbolic curve. The equation of this curve, 

referred to its asymptotes, is (x a) (y^b) c. We have three 

points on this curve, i. e.:

x=l y=720

x=2 y=374

x=3 y=249

x being periods of time, in this case twenty-year intervals, and y 

being the corresponding per cents of increase.

Using these values in the above equation, we obtain for the constants :

a= 13

b= IT

c=833

Substituting these values of the constants in the equation, and giving x successively values of 4, 5, 6, etc., the following values for y, 

the per cents of increase, are obtained, as shown below, with the resulting amount of coal production in each successive twenty-year 

period:
ESTIMATES OF FUTURE COAL PRODUCTION. 29

Estimated production of coal and rate of increase, by twenty-year periods,

1908-2067.

Years.

1908-1927. .........................................................................

1928-1947. .........................................................................

1948-1967. .........................................................................

1988-2007..........................................................................

2008-2027. .........................................................................

2028-2047. .........................................................................

2048-2067. ..........................................................................

Per cent 

of 

increase.

185

145

100

85

74

65

58

Production.

Millions of 

tons. 

21,375

52,369

114,688

990 77fi

424,346

738,362

1,218,297

1,924,909

The production for the double decade 204S-2067 is estimated at 

the enormous rate of 274 tons (including waste) for every man, 

woman, and child then in the country, or, excluding waste, 183 tons 

per capita.

As is seen above, the easily accessible coal may' be exhausted about 

the year 2040, and all coal about the middle of that century; i. e., 

ten years later.

It must not be supposed, however, that this programme will be 

carried out. In the first place, the data upon which this curve has 

been constructed are very few, and the curve is correspondingly 

weak. They are, however, all that we possess and the foregoing is 

probably the best way to use them.

In the future, powerful extraneous influences will come to bear 

on coal, production, and all, as far as can be foreseen, except possible exports, are in favor of lengthening the life of the supply.

As soon as the end appears in sight the price will rise and production diminish, and that progressively. This interference with 

the law of decreasing increase, produced by growing scarcity, will of 

course prolong the life of our coal reserves, but at the same time will 

greatly hamper our industries dependent on this fuel.

Again, the development of water power will prove another disturbing factor which will prolong the life of our coal supply. To a 

great extent, city heating and lighting and power for manufacturing, 

and transportation will in the near future be furnished by water 

power. It is estimated that in round numbers 30,000,000 horsepower 

are going to waste in our streams to-dajr, most of which can and will 

be utilized, replacing coal. If all the latent water power in the 

country were harnessed within the next twenty years, it would 

probably prolong the life of the coal supply by about eighty years.

Furthermore, the economies to be introduced in mining and handling coal will result in saving a large part of the present waste. If 

the production and transportation were relieved of all waste within 

the next twenty years, the coal supply would last twenty years longer.
THE PETROLEUM RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

By DAVID T. DAY.

EXTENT OF THE PETROLEUM FIELDS.

This report deals with the petroleum fields of the United States 

as known at present; that is, it is limited to the petroleum pools 

actually developed, or what is known as " proved territory."

LOCATION.

The areas where petroleum is known to occur at present are shown 

on Plate II.

Appalachian. Petroleum is unknown and improbable east of the 

Allegheny Mountains. Parallel with their western flank the Appalachian belt extends from western New York to Tennessee. It crosses 

western Pennsylvania, and there petroleum was first found in large 

quantity. The supply in Pennsylvania is rapidly becoming exhausted. It has declined to one-third of its highest rate of-production. This high-production mark was only seventeen years ago. The 

Appalachian field continues across West Virginia and includes the 

eastern edge of Ohio. Farther south moderate supplies have long 

been known, and they are still being developed in Kentucky and Tennessee.

" Petroleum " in this report means crude petroleum, as it comes 

from the earth; that is, before it has been refined. The word " oil" 

refers to products obtained from petroleum.

The petroleum of this field (known generally as Pennsylvania 

petroleum) differs essentially from that of the other fields in the 

United States. It is notably different from any other petroleum 

thus far found in the world. It is most easily converted into 

lamp oil, and yields the greatest percentage of this product. The 

lamp oil is, in fact, the finest yet produced much better than any 

other except the products from western Ohio and Indiana, and the 

petroleum from this latter field costs more to refine. ,

Farther south, in Kentucky and Tennessee, the product is progressively poorer, but is much better than Russian or any other of 

the foreign products with which it comes in competition. 

30
BULLETIN 394 PLATE II

DISTRIBUTION OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS FIELDS IN THE UNITED STATES.
PETROLEUM. .31

Lima-Indiana. The second great field in historical development 

covers a considerable portion of northwestern Ohio and eastern Indiana, and small isolated pools of petroleum of the same general 

character are found elsewhere in Indiana. This petroleum is more 

uniform than the Pennsylvania varieties. It contains, quite 

uniformly, less gasoline and less lamp oils, 'and the presence of 

organic sulphur compounds results in an average of one-half of 1 

per cent of sulphur, which can be removed only by ingenious and 

comparatively costly refining processes.

Illinois. In Illinois, near the eastern edge, a strip of territory 

some 30 miles long and of irregular width, averaging about 6 miles, 

is yielding a comparatively enormous quantity of petroleum. It is 

freer from sulphur than the Lima-Indiana variety, and occasionally 

contains sufficient asphalt to ally it to the petroleum from the next

field to the west, the Mid-Continent field.

Mid-Continent. This comprises the pools in Kansas and Oklahoma, and must eventually include, for statistical purposes, the 

pools in northwestern Louisiana and northern Texas. The yield 

from this field within the last two years has been so large as to greatly 

disturb the industry, on account of the difficulty of providing sufficient refining and transportation facilities. This petroleum differs 

from Pennsylvania petroleum in frequently containing small amounts 

of asphalt, and also in containing hydrocarbons less stable in their 

action toward the chemicals used in refining them. Nevertheless, it 

has proved possible to obtain good yields of perfectly satisfactory 

products covering the entire range from gasoline to paraffin wax. 

Some of the petroleum of this field contains sufficient water and 

other foreign materials to complicate the matter of giving it a just 

valuation, and also to add to the difficulty of the refining processes.

In the Mid-Continent field the Glenn pool, located a few miles 

south of Tulsa, Okla., is a good illustration of the uncertainties of 

petroleum production. A well drilled in 1905 happened to be 

located a few feet within the limits of this pool. Had it been located 

slightly farther to the east the field would not then have been discovered, but the very considerable flow from this well caused more 

than usual excitement, and nearly all of the wells drilled to the west 

proved good producers. The wells "produced 1,000,000 barrels from 

1,000 acres of ground within the year 1906. Well drilling was 

so rapid, in fact, that the pool reached its maximum production 

thirteen months after the discovery of the first well, and from 

that time the production declined almost as rapidly as it had increased, until the decline was arrested bj cleaning out the wells, and 

afterward, also, shooting them with nitroglycerine. The transportation companies could not keep up with such rapid development,
32 . CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

and perhaps 1,000,000 barrels of petroleum was' wasted on the 

ground within two years.

Gulf. For many years the escape of petroleum and natural gas 

to the surface has been noted at many points in Texas and in southern Louisiana. This led to the drilling, in 1901, of a well at Spindle 

Top, near Beaumont, Tex., from which probably more than 500,000 

barrels of petroleum flowed before the well could be checked. -The 

field was soon extended-to Jennings and Welsh, and later to Anse la 

Butte, in Louisiana.. Other wells were rapidly drilled (PI..Ill), resulting in a large addition to the petroleum product of the United 

States. This petroleum contains a large percentage of asphaltum 

and relatively small amounts of gasoline and lamp oils, and therefore 

offers little temptation to the refiner. It is also handicapped by the 

presence of sulphur in many forms. For some years it was disposed of principally to the railroads and burned as fuel on locomotives, and thus caused considerable industrial development in Texas, 

because it was necessary to sell the petroleum at prices as low as 10 

cents per barrel in order to find a market for the product. After persistent endeavor it has become possible to refine this petroleum 

successfully, and some of the products have peculiar value. The 

lubricating oils find considerable favor and the gasoline has special 

value as a solvent.

California. Petroleum, principally asphaltic and similar to the 

Texas petroleum, except that it is sometimes free from sulphur, is 

found in many areas in California, between Los Angeles and San 

Francisco, the principal fields being Los Angeles City, Puente Hills, 

Kern River, Sunset, McKittrick, Santa Maria, Coalinga, and Fullerton. The lack of an adequate supply of fuel in California has led to 

very great development of the petroleum industry for this purpose, 

as shown in the production tables below, and investigations have 

shown that the quantity of petroleum existing in California is greater 

than in any other known field in the United States.

Smaller fields. The great fields describe^ above are those which 

control the industry. West of the Mid-Continent field and east 

of the California field are several smaller ones (as thus far developed) in Colorado and Wyoming, with promises of fields in 

New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. In 

Alaska at least two petroleum pools have been discovered which may 

possibly be capable of considerable output when the market conditions 

become favorable.

There are many regions in the United States where there is no 

geological improbability of finding petroleum. Such geological 

improbability exists where the rocks are greatly disturbed and broken 

up to such a depth as to prevent probable drilling to the undisturbed 

sedimentary rocks which could furnish good storage for petroleum.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY lULLETIN 394 PLATE II!

ILLUSTRATION OF THE CROWDING OF OIL WELLS, SPINDLETOP FIELD, TEXAS. 

(Photograph by C. W. Hayes.)
PETROLEUM. 33

AKEAS.

In each petroleum field it has become necessary for the pipe-line 

companies and for the producers themselves to locate on detailed 

maps every well as it is drilled, distinguishing the productive from 

dry wells, in order that the limitations of each field may be promptly 

determined. From these maps, principally, with the aid of many independent data collected by himself, Dr. F. H. Oliphant has compiled 

a map of the petroleum fields in the United States, which is appended 

to this report. The following table, giving in' square miles the area 

of petroleum territory in each State, has been compiled from measurements of the areas on this map, revisions being made from the 

map recently published by Dr. I. C. White, state geologist of West 

Virginia, and from data supplied by Dr. H. Foster Bain, director 

of the Geological Survey of Illinois; Ralph Arnold, in charge of 

the petroleum investigations in California for the United States

Geological Survey; A. C. Veatch, for Wyoming; Dr. J. A. Bownockcr, state geologist of Ohio; and by Doctor Oliphant himself. 

The figures here given are merely general approximations, which lack 

very much in uniformity. In some States the area shows simply 

actual "proved territory."' In others, as in Alabama, it indicates 

the region in which the future production of petroleum is probable. In many others considerable territory is included between individual pools which in all probability will prove to be barren, and 

while the extensions of " proved territory " will, to a certain extent, 

offset that which proves eventually to be barren, the table is, at best, 

a rough approximation. It takes no account whatever of the fact 

that other fields now altogether unknown will be developed in the 

future.

State. Square 

miles.

100

50

850

200

10

200

1,000

200

400

State.

Ohio:

Western............

Square 

miles.

60

80

30

80

300

115

535

400

State.

Utah....................

Total.............

Square 

miles.

2,000

SO

400

40

570

750

8,450

THICKNESS.

The thickness of the " pay sands " in these fields varies within wide 

limits. In West Virginia Doctor White considers 5 feet of " pay 

sand " to be a safe estimate in good producing territory. This is 

sufficiently liberal for Pennsylvania also. In other fields much thicker 

" pay sands " are recognized. In Illinois the " pay " streaks in the

86412 Bull. 394 09 3
34 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

petroleum sands vary from 2.feet to over 30 feet in thickness, and at 

Spindle Top, in Texas, an average thickness of over 75 feet has been 

calculated. In California, particularly in the Kern River field, the 

" pay sands " reach a thickness of over 100 feet.

POROSITY. ;

The rocks composing the " pay " streaks in the petroleum-bearing 

formations of the United States vary from sandstones and dolomites, 

with the compactness of ordinary building stone, to unconsolidated 

sands and coarse gravel, and, in exceptional cases, honeycombed limestones, in which actual cavities of considerable size have to be 

reckoned with. It has been customary to consider 10 per cent as near 

the average porosity of the " pay sands," with a latitude of variation 

from practically nothing in damp shales to over 30 per cent in the 

most porous strata,

The principal effect of these variations in porosity is rather upon 

the rate at which the petroleum can be obtained from the pool than 

upon the total amount obtainable.

PROBABLE SUPPLY OF PETROLEUM.

CAPACITY OF SANDS.

Assuming 10 per cent as the average porosity of " pay sands," 1 

cubic foot of " pay sand " would yield approximately 1 gallon of 

petroleum, or 5,000 barrels per acre of " pay sands " with an average 

thickness of 5 feet.

ESTIMATES OF YIELD.

The thickness most frequently reported for the " pay sands " of 

various fields is normally, much in excess of 5 feet. In Pennsylvania,

the reported thickness of petroleum-bearing strata will average more

than this, and frequently more than one stratum has been noted in 

the same well, and yet, as will be shown in the tables of production 

below, the average yield per acre in Pennsylvania has been less 

than 800 barrels, and at the present rate of decline it is not probable 

that more than 800 barrels per acre will be obtained on the average 

in New York and Pennsylvania. It is fair to assume that 1,000 

barrels per acre is a sufficient allowance for New 'York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. In 

Illinois, where the yields have been unusually great on account of 

"pay" streaks approximating 25 feet on the average, Doctor Bain 

estimates 8,000 barrels per acre as the result of conferences with 

the producers. This is taking into consideration the fact that in 

the northern portions of the field the yield is frequently not greater 

than 2,500 barrels per acre. In the Texas field the supply is better
PETBOLEUM. 35

calculated by consideration of the amount already yielded and the 

rate of decline, from which it is estimated that the Texas fields will 

surely yield 200,000,000 barrels, and Louisiana 50,000,000 barrels. In 

Oklahoma the remaining productive capacity is estimated by Mr. 

W. J. Eeed, of the United States Geological Survey, at a minimum 

of 282,875,000 barrels. In the remaining fields, outside of California, 

1,000 barrels per acre is believed to be a sufficient allowance for the 

known fields.

In California very careful measurements by Mr. Arnold have 

resulted in an estimate of 8,500,000,000 barrels of petroleum stored 

in the rocks of that State, of which perhaps 5,000,000,000 barrels 

may be expected to be produced. Recognizing that the amount of 

oil obtainable from these known fields is a matter largely of conjecture, it can only be based as above, upon what the fields have already

yielded, and upon the thickness and relative porosity of the sands,

but estimates of different authorities must vary between wide limits, 

and this should be borne in mind in considering the following table.

Estimated minimum and maximum total yield of the petroleum fields of the

United States. '

Gulf field. ................-...-.-...-.-.-.;.......-.-...................

Total ............ : ................................................

Minimum.

2,000,000,000

1,000,000,000

350,000,000

400,000,000

250,000,000

5,000,000,000

1,000,000,000

10,000,000,000

Maximum.

5,000,000,000

3,000,000,000

1,000,000,000

1,000,000,000

1,000,000,000

8,500,000,000

5,000,000,000

24,500,000,000

PRODUCTION OF PETROLEUM. 

BEGINNING OF THE INDUSTRY.

Production of petroleum in the United States has been considered 

statistically only since 1859. The production to that date incidental to the salt industry, and the occasional use of petroleum from 

springs for medicinal purposes, had no bearing on the industry which 

was to follow, except in one way. Samuel Kier, of Pittsburg, had salt 

wells at Tarentum, from which he accumulated so much petroleum 

(more than 50 barrels) that he applied himself to the problem of 

developing a definite trade for it, and succeeded by means of introducing a lamp with a chimney. He also partly refined this petroleum. 

A. C. Ferris, also of Pittsburg, applying himself in the same direction, began the distribution of this oil to other cities, and the efforts of 

these two merchants created and maintained a demand which caused 

Colonel Drake to drill a well for petroleum at Titusville in 1859. In
36 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

the course of the half century since the drilling of the Drake well 

1,806,608,463 barrels of petroleum, or 240,919,676 tons, have been produced, worth $1,654,877.685. Details of this production are shown in 

the following table:

Production of crude petroleum in the United States, 1859-1907, by years and by 

States, in barrels of J/2 gallons.

Year.

1859.......

1860. ......

1861.......

1862.......

1863. ......

1864. ......

1865. ......

1866. .'.....

1867.......

1868. ......

1869.......

1870. ......

1871.......

1872.......

1873.......

1874.......

1875.......

1876. ......

1877. ......

1878. ......

1879. ......

1880. ......

1881.......

1882.......

1883.......

1884.......

1885. ......

1886.......

1887.......

1888.......

1889- ......

1890.......

1891. ......

1892.......

1893.......

1894.......

1895.......

1896.......

1897.......

1898. --....

1899. ......

1900

1901.......

1902.......

1903. ......

1904.......

1905. ......

1906. ......

1907.......

Total .

Pennsylvania and 

New York.

2,000

500,000

T, 113, 609

3,056,690

2,611,809

2,116,109

2,497,700

3,597,700

.3,347,300

3,646,117

4,215,000

5,260,745

5,205,234

6,293,194

9,893,786

10,926,945

8,787,514

8,968,906

13, 135, 475

15, 163, 462

19, 685, 176

26,027,631

27,376,509

30,053,500

23, 128, 389

23,772,209

20,776,041

25,798,000

22, 356, 193

16, 488, 668

21,487,435

28,458,208

33,009,236

28, 422, 377

20,314,513

19,019,990

19, 144, 390

20,584,421

19,262,066

15,948,464

14,374,512

14,559,127

13,831,996

13,183,610

12,518,134

12,239,026

11,554,777

11,500,410

11,211,606

687,425,409

Ohio.

31,763

29,888

38,179

29, 112

38,940

33,867

39,761

47,632

90,081

661,580

1,782,970

5,022,632

10,010,868

12,471,466

16,124,656

17,740,301

16,362,921

16, 249, 769

16,792,154

19,545,233

23,941,169

21,560,515

18,738,708

21,142,108

22,362,730

21,648,083

21,014,231

20,480,286

18,876,631

16,346,660

14,787,763

12,207,448

366,250,105

West 

Virginia.

120,000

172,000

180,000

180,000

179,000

151,000

128,000

126,000

90,000

91,000

102, 000

145,000

119, 448

544, 113

492,578

2,406,218

3,810,086

8, 445, 412

8,577,624

8, 120, 125

10,019,770

13,090,045

13,615,101

13,910,630

16,195,675

14, 177, 126

13,513,345

12,899,395

12,644,686

11,578,110

10,120,935

9,095,296

185,039,718

California.

12,000

13,000

15,227

19,858

40,552

99,862

128,636

142,857

262,000

325,000

377,145

678,572

690,333

303,220

307,360

323, 600

385, 049

470, 179

705,969

1,208,482

1,252,777

1,903,411

2,257,207

2,642,095

4,324,484

8,786,330

13,984,268

24, 382, 472

29,649,434

33,427,473

33,098,598

39,748,375

201,965,825

Kentucky 

and 

Tennessee.

............

4,755

4,148

5,164

4,726

4,791

5,096

5,400

6,000

9,000

6,500

3,000

1,500

1,500

1,680

322

5,568

18,280

62,259

137,259

185,331

554,286

998, 284

1,217,337

1,213,548

820,844

5,276,578

Colorado.

76,295

297, 612

316, 476

368,842

665,482

824,000

594,390

515,746

438,232

361,450

384,934

444, 383

390,278

317,385

460,520

396,901

483,925

501,763

376,238

327,582

331,851

8,874,285

Indiana.

33,375

63,496

136,634

698,068

2,335,293

3,688,666

4, 386, 132

4,680,732

4,122,356

3,730,907

3,848,182

4,874,392

5,757,086

7,480,896

9,186,411

11,339,124

10,964,247

7,673,477

5,128,037

90,127,511

Illinois.

1,460

900

521

400

300

200

250

500

360

360

9nn

250

200

181,084

4,397,050

24,281,973

28,866,683
PETBOLEUM. 37

Production of crude petroleum in the United States, 1859-1907, by years and by 

States, in barrels of 4% gallons Continued.

Year.

1859.......

1860. ......

1861.......

1862.......

1863. ......

1864.......

1865.......

1866. ......

1867.......

1868. ......

1869. ......

1870. ......

1871.......

1872.......

1873. ......

1874. ......

187 r>

1876. ......

1877.......

1878.......

1S7Q

1880.......

1881.......

1882.......

1883.......

1884. ......

1885.......

1886. ......

1887. ......

1888.......

1889.......

1890.......

1891.......

1892.......

1893. ......

1894.......

1895. ......

1896. ......

1897.......

1898. ......

1899. ......

1900. ......

1901.......

1902.......

1903. ......

1904.......

1905....... 

1900. ......

1907.......

Total .

Kansas.

500

1,200

1,400

5,000

18,000

40,000

44,430

113,571

81,098

71,980

69, 700

74, 714

179,151

. 331,749

932,214

4,250,779

c!2,013,495 

 21,718,648

c45,933,649

85,881,278

Texas.

48

54

54

45

50

60

50

1,450

65,975

546,070

669,013

836,039

4,393,658

18,083,658

17,955,572

22,241,413

28,136,189 

12,567,897

12,322,696

117,819,991

Missouri.

20

278

25

10

50

8

10

43

19

10

132

ol,602

62,335

o757

o3,000

02,572

o3,100 

o3,500

 o4,000

21,471

Oklahoma.

30

80

10

130

37

170

625

6,472

10,000

37,100

138,911

1,366,748

« 

W

W

1,560,313

Wyoming.

2,369

3,455

2,878

3,650

5,475

5,560

5,450

5,400

6,253

8,960

11,542

8,454 

e7,000

9,339

85,785

Louisiana.

548,617

917 771

2,958,998

8,910,416 

9,077,528

5,000,221

27,413,511

United States.

2,000

500,000

. 2,113,609

3,056,690

2,611,309

2, 116, 109

2,497,700

3,597,700

3,347,300

3,646,117

4,215,000

5,260,745

5,205,234

6,293,194

9,893,786

10,926,945

8,787,514

9,132,669

13,350,363

15,396,868

19,914,146

26,286,123

27,661,238

30,349,897

23,449,633

24,218,438

21,858,785

28,064,841

28.283,483

27,612,025

35,163,513

45,823,572

54,292,655

50,514,657

48,431,066

49,344,516

52,892,276

60,960,361

60,475,516

55,364,233

57,070,850

63,620,529

69,389,194

88,766,916

100,461,337

117,080,960

134,717,580 

126,493,936

166,095,335

1,806,608,463

Total value.

832,000

4,800,000

1,035,668

3,209,525

8,225,663

20,896,576

16,459,853

13,455,398

8,066,993

13,217,174

23,730,450

20,503,754

22,591,180.

21,440,503

18, 100, 464

12,647,527

7,368,133

22,982,822

31,788,566

18,044,520

17,210,708

24,600,638

23,512,051

23,631,165

25,740,252

20,476,924

19,193,694

20,028,457

18,856,606

17,950,353

26,963,340

35,365,105

. 30,526,553

25,906,463

28,932,326

' 35,522,095

57,691,279

58,518,709

40,929,611

44,193,359

64,603,904

75,752,691

66,417,335

71,178,910

94,694,050

101,175,455

84,157,399 

92,444,735

120,106,749

1,654,877,685

<» Includes the production of Michigan.

6 Includes production of Michigan and small production in Oklahoma.

c Includes production of Oklahoma, 

a" Included with Kansas. 

e Estimated.
New petroleum fields have beeno found and developed so rapidly as 

tion in the older fields. Therefore, the rate of total production has sh

1860 to over 166,000,000 barrels in 1907. The rate of production is 

are noted the sudden impulses resulting from the discovery of new f

production of petroleum in the United States has been as follows:

Production of petroleum fields in each year fro

[Barrels of 42 gallons.]

Year.

1859................................................................

1860. ...............................................................

1861. ...............................................................

1862. ...............................................................

1863. ...............................................................

1864. ...............................................................

1865. .....-...-.-.......:...........................................

1866. ...............................................................

1867. ...............................................................

1868. ...............................................................

1869. .........-...............:....................................

1870. ...............................................................

1871. . . ... ^ ...................-...........'.........................

1872. ...............................................................

1873. ...............................................................

1874. ...............................................................

1875. ...............................................................

1876. ...............................................................

1877. ...............................................................

1878. ...............................................................

1879 

1880. ...............................................................

1881................................................................

1882. ...............................................................

1883. ................................................................

1884. ...............................................................

1885. ................................................................

1886. ...............................................................

1887. ...............................................................

1888. ..............-...............................-..............;.

1889. ...............................................................

Appalachian.

2,000

500,000

2, 113, 609

3,056,690

2,611,309

2, 116, 109

2,497.700

3, 597, 700

3,347,300

3,646,117

4,215,000

5,260,745

5,205,234

6, 293, 194

9,893,786

10,926,945

8, 787, 514

9, 120, 669

13, 337, 363

15,381,641

19,894,288

26, 245, 571

27,561,376

30, 221, 261

23, 306, 776

23,956,438

21, 533, 785

26, 549, 827

22,878,241

16,941,397

22.355.225

California.

3,000

12,000

13,000

15,227

13, 543

40,552

99, 862

128, 636

142, 857

262, 000

325,000

377, 145

678, 572

690, 333

303,220

LimaIndiana.

36, 178

1,064,025

4, 650, 375

9,682,683

12. 186. 564
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 394 PLATE IV

Barrels.

170,000,000

160,000,000

150,000,000

140,000,000

130,000,000

120,000,000

110,000.000

100,000,000

90,000,000

80,000,000

70,000,000

60,000,000

50,000,000

40,000.000

30,000,000

20,000,000

10,000,000

- -

- 

^

-p

<;

 8

LI

3-

=>y3

V

> -- X

/

ct

a

_<

\t S

<*

c

I

p

 --

S

H 

C

5 S

!^

n3 J

3^-

«

 4

iT

5

>>

*\

\

,

-c

_ 

w

/

o 

c

D

nT

E 

3

c

a

^

c

t

/

i

3"

5

> i

/

A«

-§4-

t

 ^1

/h^ / ^

\

 \

/ s

\

1

c

S. /

O7

. C3 _

X 

(U

H

&

"5

c

&

/

/

rt 

O

-a"

Q>

V-i

2

V

C3

ca

y

/

1

a 

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7

/

i

c

c

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o

"/

/

\

5

coi. oooio '

OQ OO OQ OO OO O5 C3i O5OiOii35OlO5O5OiOOOO oooociooooooooo oo oooooooooooooooooiaiaiOiosoiaiosoj

ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF PETROLEUM, 1859 TO 1907.
1890. ............................_................;.................

1891 ................................................................

1892. ...............................................................

1893 ......................................................:.........

1894. ...............................................................

1895. ...............................................................

1896. .-.............:................................................

1897........'........................................................

1898. ...............................................................

1899. ...............................................................

1900. ...............................................................

1901 ................................................................

1902. . ..............................................................

1903. ...............................................................

1904 .'...............................................................

1905. ...............................................................

1906. ...............................................................

1907. ...............................................................

Total. .......................................................

30,073,30V

35,848,777

33, 432, 377

31,365,890

30, 783, 424

30,960,639

33,971,902

35,230,271

31,717,425

33,068,356

36,295,433

33, 618, 171

32,018,787

31,558,248

31,408,567

29,366,960

27,741,472

25, 342, 137

947,156,953

307,360

323,600

385,049

470, 179

705,969

1,208,482

1,252,777

1,903,411

2,257,207

2,642,095

4, 324, 484

8,786,330

13,984,268

' 24, 382, 472

29, 649, 434

33, 427, 473

33,098,598

39,748,375

201,962,510

15,078,378

17,452,612

15,867,675

15,982,097

17,296,510

20,236,741

25,255,870

22,805,033

20,321,323

20,225,356

21,759,290

21,933,379

23,358,626

24,080,264

24,689,184

22,294,171

17, 554, 661

13,121,094

386,932,089

Michigan and Missouri not included.
WELL RECORDS.

The production recorded above has resulted from the drilling of 287

and 54,940 were dry holes. A distribution of these wells by fields is sh

Wells drilled, in petroleum fields in each year /ro

Year.

1859. .......................

1860........................

1861........................

1862........................

1863. .......................

1864........................

1865. .......................

1866. .......................

1867. .......................

1868........................

1869........................

1870. .......................

1871........................

1872........................

1873........................

1874........................

1875. .......................

1876........................

1877........................

1878.........................

1879. .......................

1880. .......................

1881........................

1882........................

1883........................

1884........................

1885. .......................

1886. .......................

1887........................

1888. .......................

1889........................

Appalachian.

Completed.

2 

49 

78 

92 

137 

226 

474 

442 

618 

928 

1,500 

1,664 

1,470

1,183 

1,263 

1,317 

2,398 

2,920 

3,939 

3,064 

3,048 

4,217 

3,880 

3,304 

2,847 

2,265 

2,761 

3,478 

1,660 

1,505 

5.768

Dry.

1 

39 

61 

72 

108 

180 

375 

350 

570 

208 

i700 

0800 

o900

a 400 

«300 

o200 

o360 

438 

658 

328 

148 

144 

182 

179 

261 

270 

359 

525 

422 

371 

949

California.

Completed.

2

1

1 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

3 

5 

15 

45 

olO

Dry.

30 

4

Lima-Indiana.

Completed.

o50 

olOO 

o300 

531 

704

Dry.

«5 

a 10 

a30 

27 

4

Colorado- Wyoming.

Completed.

6 

46 

14

Dry.

24 

8

Mid-C

Completed
1890........................

1CQ9

1CQQ

1894........................

1 OQK

1896........................

1897. .......................

1SQR

1899........................

1900. .......................

1901-....--.-......--.....-.

1Qfi9

1903

1904. .......................

1905. .......................

1906. .......................

1907...-.-.....-...:........

Total................

6,358

3,388

1 968

1 QSft 3

7AQ

7,136

7 R94

6,072

4,792

8,752

8,845

7,709

7,722

8,474

8,859

7,450

7,568

7,205

174,362

1,049

664

462

443

S7<i

1,588

1,901

1,580

1,920

2,160

2,118

2,214

2,383

2,251

1,934

1,923

39, 723

a 10

o40

a60

a 75

«75

a 100

o200

a 275

a300

o500

1,116

422

398

458

252

174

309

5,037

5

a 15

020

«20

025

o30

o40

050

060

a 100

209

102

75

15887

11

994

1,969

1,639

1,741

3,661

5,756

5,638

3,172

3,088

4,616

5,738

4,911

6,460

7,758

6,897

3,500

2,743

1,564

74,647

193

265

259

314

565

730

708

514

384

498

662

590

725

675

623

395

304

252

8,732

222422

34

43

103

33

31

35

10

20

25

o25

o30

o35

504

18

25

304

13

168

10

olO

o!2

o!2

190

1

ol

o

a 

o3

05

29

1,29

3,55

4,04

3,87

4,72

18,20

o Estimated,
42 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Total number of wells in operation in petroleum fields in each year from. 1859

to 1907.

Year.

1859......................

1860. .....................

1861. .....................

1862. .....................

1863. .....................

1864. .....................

1865. .....................

1866. .....................

1867. .....................

1868......................

1869. .....................

1870. .....................

1871. .....................

1872. .....................

1873......................

1874......................

1875. .....................

1876. .....................

1877. .....................

1878. .....................

1879. .....................

1880. .....................

1881............ ..........

1882. .....................

1883. .....................

1884. .....................

1885......................

1886......................

1887. .....................

1888. .....................

1889. .....................

1890. .....................

1891......................

1892. .....................

1893. .....................

1894. .....................

1895. .....................

1896. .....................

1897. .....................

1898. .....................

1899.......................

1900. .....................

1901......................

1902. ...... ..............

1903. .....................

1904. .....................

1905......................

'1906......................

1907.....................

Appalachian.

1

11

28

48

77

123 222

313

351

1,058

1,838

2,673

3,197

3,481

4, 752

5,821

7,135

8,817

11,234

13, 400

15,517

18,627

21, 158

22,245

22,349

21,063

20, 729

20, 782

17,947

15, 433

17, 127

19 850

20,579

19 683

18^267

19 717

24, 131

25, 235

24, 418

25,217

30 (i43

35,691

9.8 5Q4

38,637

oo Q7/1

40 958

42,' 634

41, 436

4(1 013

California.

2

2

3

3

4

7

10

13

10

20

23

26

37

48

51

o53

o!56

o!91

o251

o390

 o545

o745

ol,295

2 1V)

2 on 7

2

C7C

2,715

 o2,734

2,661

9 ^Q

Lima-Indiana.

o45

ol35

o405

909

1,609

3,385

4,759

6,196

7,903

10,829

15,251

19,481

20,363

91 fiQ3

94 390

27,608

28,833

29,542

31,695

30,235

26,315

1 Q QA1

 ) } 19(1

Colorado- Wyoming.

6

28

34

36

QQ

40

44

40

1 Q

Oft

46

117

144

158

175

TOO

179

176

oll8

o!07

a 112

Mid-Continent.

4

10

24

24

9d

58

197

176

167

185

171

1 39

390

1,350

4 494

7 on

10,270

Gulf.

o

2

o

07

377

830

1,216

o 1, 274

1,418

1 571

1 900

9 <Wi

Illinois.

5

5

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

2

570

3,655 

7 Qio

Total.

1

11

28

48

77

123

222

313

351

1,058

1,838

2,673

3,197

3,481

4,752

5,821

7,137

8,819

11,237

13, 403

15, 521

18,634

21, 168

22, 258

22, 365

21,083

20, 797

20,943

18, 395

16, 418

18,832

oo 041

oc 401

26 061

26, 401

30> 841

39, 784

45,318

45,580

48, 328

65,757

71, 10C

79 3fiA

76, 189

79, 928

81,853

70 QQfl

On fiTA

a Estimated.

LIFE OF A WELL.

Varying with the compactness of the "pay sand" and with the 

pressure of the gas accompanying the petroleum, the productive life 

of wells varies between the extreme limits of a few months on the one 

hand to more than twenty years on the other. In many regions in 

Pennsylvania the hard and compact sandstones have resulted in wells 

of unusually long life, such wells having an initial production of 

50 to 500 barrels in the first twenty-four hours and " settling down " 

to a comparatively steady production of perhaps one-tenth of that 

amount. This has continued for years with gradual decline, and 

after even twenty years many of such wells are still being pumped, 

with a production reduced to one-tenth of a barrel per day. The 

other extreme, of short-lived wells, is represented by the Spindle Top 

type, where, from very loose sands, wells have spouted many thou-
PETROLEUM. 43

sands of barrels in the first twenty-four hours, have shown a correspondingly rapid decline, and have become exhausted and been abandoned within six months to four years from the time when first 

drilled. The experience of petroleum producers in Pennsylvania has 

shown seven years to be a fair average life of a well.

Adopting this average for the Appalachian, Lima-Indiana, Illinois, 

and Mid-Continent fields, four years for Texas, six years for California, and seven years for'the minor petroleum fields, tables have 

been computed showing the probable number of active wells which 

contributed to each year's production. This has been done by adding 

to the existing wells all the new productive wells drilled in each 

year and subtracting all wells when they reached the prescribed age 

limit. From these tables the average daily yield of the wells of each 

region has been estimated:

Average production per well per day in each field from 1859 to WOT.

[Barrels of 42 gallons.]

Year.

1859....................

I860....................

1861....................

1862....................

1863....................

1864. ...................

1865....................

1866....................

1867....................

1868. ...................

1869....................

1870....................

1S71

1872....................

1873. ...................

1874....................

1875....................

1 Q7ft

1877....................

1878....................

1879....................

1880

1881 ....................

1882....................

1883....................

1884

1885....................

1886....................

1887....................

1888....................

1889................:...

1890....................

1891....................

1892....................

1893....................

1894. ...................

1895....................

IQQfi

1897....................

1898....................

1899....................

1900. ...................

1901....................

1902....................

1903....................

1904....................

1905....................

1906....................

1907....................

Appalachian.

5.48

124. 19

206. 81

174. 47

92.91

47.01

30.82

31. 49 .

26.13

9.44

6.28

5.39

4.46

5.70

5.14

3.37

2.83

3.25

3.14

3.51

3.86

3.57

3.72

2.86

3.11

2.85

3 Wl

3 4Q

3.00

3.58

4.15

4.77

4.64

4.70

4.23

3.52

3.68

3.45

2.97

2.79

2.39

2 97

2 99

2.10

1 89

1.83

1 73

18.11

California.

4.11

16.39

11.87

13.91

9.28

15.83

27.36

27.11

24.46

35.74

38.70

39.74

50.24

39.30

16.28

15.88

11.98

9.50

. 8.26

10.12

13.19

Q 7Q

9.57

8.30

7.66

9.15

11.19

15 QQ

9"; CU

29.84

33.49

34.07

49 *ifi

20.47

LimaIndiana.

2.20

21.59

31.46

29.10

20.75

12.20

10.05

7.00

5.54

4.38

3.64

3.54

3.07

2.57

2.28

2.16

2.08

2.17

2.07

2.23

2.32

2.54

2.74

7.73

Colorado- Wyoming.

34.83

29.04

25.50

28.07

47.98

56.29

37.01

35.49

67.23 QQ in

23 14

10.56

7.53

5.60

7.29

6.04

7.54

7.97

8.93

8.57

8.35

' 23. 62

MidContinent.

.35

.34

.16

.24

2.05

1.89

.96

1 7Q

2.43

9.65,

10.93

14.70

20.54

8.22

3.19

3.82

4.34

6.09

8.81

5.29

Gulf.

.07

.08

.08

.06

.07

.08

.07

1 98

4.89

3.97

3.30

2.76

9.90

40.07

36.51

48.56

64.61

31.21

19.35

14.08

Illinois.

1

.80

.50

.36

.28

.22

.20

.13

18

. .35

.25

.25

.13

.18

is

4.80

.87

3.30

8.37

1.12

Average.

5.48

124. 19

206. 81

174. 47

92.91

47.01

30.82

31.49

26.13

9.44

6.28

5.39

4.46

4.94

5.70

5.14

3 74

9 61

7.56

8.53

6.40

9.85

- 15.47

15.42

13.66

19.43

14.58

21.01

30.01

25.11

9.62

8.75

10.77

11.14

8.26

8.06

12.68

7.58

6.77

5 U

4.99

5.33

7.65

10.70

11.07

14.19

16.64

12. 52

13.13
44 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

DURATION. 

PRODUCTION CURVE.

The rate of petroleum production, graphically portrayed in the 

curve on Plate IV, shows that beginning with 1860 as much petroleum has been produced in each nine years as the entire product 

preceding this nine years. Continuing this rate of increase the next 

nine years would produce 1,800,000,000 barrels, making the total 

amount extracted up to 1916 3,600,000,000 barrels. In 1925 the 

amount extracted would reach 7,200,000,000, and in 1934 14,400,- 

000,000 barrels, and nine years more, 1943, would bring the total to 

almost the maximum amount estimated as obtainable from the 

present fields. Concerning the probability of such a rate of increase 

in production, one must consider the causes for the great increase in 

past years. The vital factor has been the ease with which any quantity of oil could be sold for cash at any time and for prices ordinarily much above the cost of production. This ready market has 

not been seriously disturbed even by the greatly increased production 

of the past few years. The second reason is based upon the liquid 

character of the product. With the discovery of each hew field the 

territory is divided into many leaseholdings, frequently small in size. 

In pumping from one lease petroleum is apt to flow in from a rival 

interest. It is therefore necessary for each lessee to " get his share " 

before it flows away to drained territory. It is impossible to prevent 

the consequent rapid depletion of a field without a combination of 

all the interests, or by limiting by statute the amount that each producer shall extract per acre within a specified time. General industrial conditions have had little effect in regulating the production 

of petroleum, as has been the case with coal. The purchaser for cash 

has always been on hand. Even if the price paid has been low, it 

has been above the cost of production. The surplus has been readily 

marketed abroad, or burned as a substitute for coal.

Oil's independence of industrial conditions is also shown by the 

inability of the production to respond to greatly increased trade demand. It requires the development of new territory to greatly increase the production. Otherwise the developed fields rapidly fall 

into the stage of decline, which is more or less rapid as the oil sands 

are loose or compact. Without the opening of new territory there is 

no probability of continuing the indicated rate of increase. The production of the present year could not be maintained beyond a very 

few years. The duration of the supply will thus be extended, but 

with a production inadequate to legitimate demands, as the production in the past has been excessive.

Under conditions of an insufficient supply, the relations of price 

to production must more closely follow supply and demand, the con-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 394 PLATE v

33

32

31

30

28*

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

II

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

I

0

DECLINE IN PRODUCTION OF THE NEW YORK AND PENNSYLVANIA OIL FIELDS AND ITS PROBABLE RATE IN THE FUTURE.
PETBOLEUM. 45

ditions governing which have been pointed out in connection with 

our better known supply of coal, but there must always remain the 

exceptional feature of rival producers vying in the extraction of 

petroleum from the same reservoir.

RAPIDLY DECLINING FIELDS.

The production tables show that in seventeen years Pennsylvania 

and New York have decreased to a third of their greatest output. 

The decline has become regular, and, logically extended, Ayill render 

the production negligble in ten years (Pl.V). The production per 

well per day has fallen from a maximum average of 207 barrels to 

1.7 barrels, showing that increasing the number of wells is not significantly effective in stimulating the product. In fact, many very 

old wells are contributing to the product with as little as o~e-tenth of 

a barrel per day.

The production in West Virginia has declined to 56 per cent of the 

maximum output, and new developments of great magnitude are not 

looked for. This State is also in the rapidly declining class. 

The rate in Kentucky and Tennessee is not easily predicted, but 

there is no territory which has yet been proved to rank among the 

great producers. Ohio and Indiana are declining more rapidly at 

present than Pennsylvania. In Texas the decline is also rapid, apd 

a total of only 200,000,000 barrels is estimated from the present pools. 

In Kansas the decline has been rapid and the production has now 

reached a small fraction of the previous yield and a stage where the 

future decline will be slower.

INCREASING TERRITORY.

Illinois and Oklahoma, in the Mid-Continent field, and California 

can be expected to show greater yields. In Illinois the limitations of 

the new fields have not been reached, and the possibilities of considerable extensions render an increase in the yield probable for several 

years. The same is true in Oklahoma, particularly in the so-called 

" shallow pool."

TIME OF EXHAUSTION.

Regarding the limits of time within which the present supply will 

be exhausted, it is clear that considering the minimum quantity of 

petroleum in the United States as 15,000,000,000 barrels, and continuing the present rate of increase in production, the supply would be exhausted about 1935. If the present annual production were continued without increase, 90 years would be required to exhaust 

this estimated minimum quantity. A reasonable view of the situation makes it probable that the present annual rate of production 

will be increased slightly through the developments of Illinois, Oklahoma, and California, but that within a very few years a marked
46 CONSERyATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

decline will be noted, and this will continue with increasing value 

for the oil product and an insufficient quantity for the legitimate 

demands of the industry after another decade, and that the production, on a reduced scale, will continue for a long time, but in an 

amount unsatisfactory to industrial necessity, except as supplemented 

from new fields.

NATURE AND EXTENT OF WASTE IN THE EXTRACTION OP

PETROLEUM.

STORAGE.

Waste, as understood in the natural-gas industry, has been markedly 

absent with petroleum. Very rarely has it proved impossible to 

furnish storage for some exceptionally prolific gusher. In 1907 lack 

of storage in the Mid-Continent field resulted in wasting a large 

amount of petroleum, estimated at 1 per cent of the total production, 

for which no storage was available. A similarly exceptional waste 

resulted in 1901 from the unexpected gushers in the Spindle Top pool 

in Texas.

LACK OF FORESIGHT ABROAD.

The record of the United States in providing sufficient storage in 

steel tanks is far better than that of the other petroleum fields of the 

world. In Russia lack of foresight in opening unusually strong 

gushers has not only led to repeated enormous waste of petroleum, but 

to fires which have involved the destruction of large cities. Nowhere 

else in the world have the emergencies of the petroleum production 

been met with the keen foresight and prompt treatment characteristic 

of the United States.

EVAPORATION.

Another form of waste of petroleum products of Europe and of 

the East, which has been avoided in the United States, is evaporation 

of gasoline and of similar light products when the petroleum is' exposed to the air in open tanks. These light products form the most 

valuable portion of petroleum. A thin layer of any ordinary light 

crude petroleum will become heavy and valueless by exposure to the 

sun for a single day. This has been a source of great loss in the open 

earthen tanks which have been much used, in Russia. In the United 

States, on the other hand, only under very exceptional circumstances 

has the earthen tank been 'used, and then only pending the completion 

of steel tankage. The rapidity with which great numbers of steel 

tanks, often holding as much as 55,000 barrels, have been constructed 

is a remarkable tribute to the engineering skill of the oil-transportation companies. It is due, also, to the conditions of the iron industry, which make it possible to furnish suitable steel promptly for 

such emergencies. On an average, one tank per day was completed 

in the Mid-Continent field in 1907.
PETROLEUM. 47

WASTE IN THE USE OF PETROLEUM.

The principal waste in the petroleum industry is connected with its 

utilization. In the face of an approaching scarcity, the use of petroleum should be limited to the purposes for which it is essential and 

for which no other material can be substituted.

ESSENTIAL USES.

Petroleum may be regarded as indispensable for the lighting of 

isolated houses, and for every small establishment not in connection 

with a gas or electric supply. The prices at which lamp oils can be 

sold are lower than the prices of any substitute under isolated conditions. The economic necessity, therefore, of securing the greatest 

amount of illuminating oil from crude petroleum is evident. .

ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF OIL FOR LUBRICATION.

A still more essential use of petroleum is for lubricating all bearings in every kind of machinery. This is necessary in the development of power by any means. The following table gives some indication of the amount of lubricating oil consumed in various kinds of 

power production. At least one-half pint of lubricating oil is used 

for every ton of coal converted into power, and when this power is 

carried further to its 'ultimate uses, such as the moving of railroad 

cars, and when account is taken of the machinery depending on 

hand power, including sewing machines, clocks, watches, etc., this 

necessary oil is probably doubled in amount. The conservation, 

therefore, of a proportionate amount of lubricating oil, consistent 

with all industrial activity, must become a part of the general plan 

for civilized progress. It should be noted that from 10 to 15 per cent 

is as large an amount of lubricating oil as is now obtained from crude 

petroleum.

Average amount of lubricating oil required for power.

Fleet of 167 steam vessels, total indicated 

horsepower. 480,900. 

New England industrial plants: 

No.l.. .................................

No. 2...................................

No.3...................................

No. 4. ..................................

Gallon 

of oil per 

ton of 

coal.

0.168 

.024 

.209

.400 

.200 

.670 

.500

.310

Gallon 

of oil per 

horsepower 

day.

0. 0021 

.0003 

.0025

.0048 

.0024 

.0080 

.0060

.0037

%

Including- crank case, cylinder, and 

engine oil. 

Doubtless supplemented by water lubrication. 

Machine and cylinder oil.

Cylinder oil.
48 ' CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

UNNECESSARY USES.

In 1907 there were 18,855,691 barrels of crude petroleum burned as 

fuel- in locomotives, and' a large proportion of the California production was used for the development of power, principally by burning it 

for the generation of steam. Whenever a large increase is made in 

the production of petroleum with a corresponding decrease in price, 

the producers are grateful for any outlet for their oil and sell it 

for such low-grade uses, in which it brings not more than one hundredth part and has brought as low as one thousandth part of the 

maximum price for high-grade petroleum products. Much of this 

crude petroleum, had it remained stored in the ground, could later 

have been converted into far more valuable products. Much petroleum has been used for oiling roads. The skillful application of 

petroleum residues to poor road surfaces has proved so effective that 

this use is justifiable, but the use of crude petroleum for such purposes can seldom be considered in any other light than as a waste, 

especially as coal-tar residues and waste products of the coking and 

illuminating-gas industry serve this purpose well enough.

EXPORTS.

The greatest waste of petroleum has been in exporting crude petroleum and petroleum products to foreign countries. The necessity for 

it has been due to the sudden increase of production, due to the 

discovery and immediate development of the larger fields, and only 

by this means has it been possible for the producers to continue to 

obtain a constant market for petroleum, wherever produced. This 

immediate purchase of the product has meant a gain of millions of 

dollars to the producers.

METHODS OF PREVENTING OB LESSENING WASTE IN THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY.

CHECKING UNNECESSARY PRODUCTION.

At present, more petroleum is being produced than is necessary for 

the legitimate demands of the industry. Within ten years the present 

fields will be unable profitably to produce enough for these legitimate 

requirements. Inasmuch as the lands now owned by private interests 

are leased by rival concerns, it is impossible to prevent each rival 

from producing petroleum as rapidly as he desires. The only direction in which production can be checked is with the petroleum 

contained in public lands. Offering such public land for entry at 

a nominal price is nothing more than temptation to the private 

citizen to waste petroleum by overproduction, since lands yielding 

hundreds of dollars per acre in this product can be obtained for
PETROLEUM. 49

a nominal sum. Every acre of public land believed to contain supplies of petroleum or natural gas should be withdrawn from every 

form of entry and should be subjected to an equitable system of lease. 

By this means undoubtedly a large amount of petroleum would be 

reserved for use when the supply becomes inadequate to industrial 

demands. It should be noted that since the advance copies of this 

report appeared in the public press, the petroleum producers of

Oklahoma have arranged to reduce production in that State.

« 

BETTER COMBUSTION.

The use of petroleum as a form of power is justified on the Pacific 

coast, provided attention is given to securing the maximum amount of 

power per unit of oil. This is not consistent with burning oil under 

stationary boilers for the production of steam, but prompt study 

should be given to the development of internal-combustion engines 

capable of using crude petroleum or, more particularly, less valuable 

residuum. It should be noted that private enterprise has already 

done much for the successful solution of this problem.

HOW SUPPLIES OF PETROLEUM MAY BE EXTENDED. 

PREVENTION OF WASTE IN EXTRACTION AND IN USE.

Legislation tending to the capping of gas wells in petroleum fields, 

to preserve the pressure, and to prevent the unnecessary encroachment of water, should be extended to all States where petroleum is 

produced. After the practical exhaustion of the field by this encroachment of water, the remaining petroleum can frequently be 

washed into smaller but still profitable pools a system which is 

already intelligently used in this country.

DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUBSTITUTES.

Alcohol from grain, potatoes, and waste products can be used in 

the place of petroleum as an illuminant and for power in place of 

gasoline whenever the necessity arises. No practical substitute is 

known for mineral lubricating oils. Animal and vegetable oils are 

excluded as entirely too expensive. The production of artificial 

petroleum from 'various vegetable and animal waste products has 

received sufficient study to indicate the possibility of good results 

if scientific research is encouraged in this direction.

NECESSITY OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

The most practical recommendation seems to be the encouragement 

of scientific research in the study of the conditions of occurrence of 

petroleum in the earth, in order to lessen the expense of discovery

86412 Bull. 394 09 4
50 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

of new pools. A second line of scientific research of even greater 

value should include fundamental studies of the nature of all kinds 

of petroleum, with a view to converting less valuable varieties into 

higher grades and to producing greater proportions of the absolutely 

necessary lubricating oils from crude petroleum. Such scientific 

study should be initiated at once to be of benefit when the present 

petroleum- supply becomes inadequate.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

Three conclusions are self-evident from this report.

First. It is absolutely necessary for the preservation of an ade^ 

quate supply of petroleum that all public lands where petroleum is 

probable should at once be withdrawn from entry.

Second. A general investigation of the conditions of accumulation 

of petroleum and its geographic distribution should be undertaken 

in order that the petroleum-bearing public lands may be selected.

Third. Fundamental scientific study of the nature of petroleum, 

especially with a view to securing the greatest yields of the most 

valuable constituents and even for transmuting one oil into another, 

is required for its most intelligent use.
NATURAL-GAS RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

By DAVID T. DAY.

THE GAS FIELDS.

DISTRIBUTION.

The conditions favorable to the accumulation of gas reservoirs are 

in general the same as for petroleum. The two usually overlap. 

More or less gas is always found dissolved in crude petroleum, and 

the amount of gas obtained at a given pressure from a sand of slight 

thickness leads to the belief that the gas is dissolved in the petroleum 

under pressure, in a manner similar to the solution of carbonic acid 

in Avater. Eeservoirs filled with dry gas are often found almost 

always in the neighborhood of petroleum fields though beds of coal 

often yield natural gas, even when far from oil wells, as in the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania, where gas is found more than 100 miles 

distant from any petroleum pool.

AREAS.

The areas shown on the accompanying petroleum and gas map (PL 

'II) comprise the regions in which either natural gas or petroleum 

is the more valuable product. The limits of these areas have been 

revised since the map was published, and they now show the following measurements in square miles:

State.

Illinois...................

Square 

miles.

40

310

80

50

2,460 p;vi

9QO

110

40

State.

AVestern

Square 

miles.

70

40

Ken

110

165

1 000

20

2

7qn

State.

Utah....................

West Virginia...........

Total..............

Square 

miles.

en

ion

40

70

1,000

120

10,055

PRESSURE.

Estimates of the total yield, in cubic feet, which can be expected 

from the gas pools are ordinarily obtained by measuring the pressure 

with a Pitot tube, calculating by a simple formula the cubic feet per 

day, and observing the rate of decline.

51
52 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL BESOURCES.

The closed or rock pressures in various fields, in so far as reliable 

records are available, are given in the following table for various 

years:

Pressure of natural, gas in various fields at various dates.

[In pounds per square inch.]

1885. .....

1886. .....

1887......

1888......

1889......

1890. .....

1893. .....

1894......

1895. .....

1896......

1897. .....

1898......

1899.....:

1900. .....

1901......

1902. .....

1903......

1904......

1906......

Illinois.

400-450

125

300

60

40

25

«3-30

/

150-435

Indiana.

325-400

320-340

325

325

280

260

240

220

195

165

150

no|

80

50

155

4305-400 

22-156

Kansas.

iio

200

100

250

300-325

/310-320

0150

J550-650

90-282

Kentucky.

125

) c60 \<J250-300 

285-300

}.........

New 

York.

400

240

}........

1,500

. 200

45-335

Ohio.

450

400

f 0750

\ 6650 

6450

250-390

170-275

650-150

f Q750

\ 645 

630

(0300-400

\ (6 A)

f olOO

\ >800

121-352

Oklahoma.

}.......

}.......

}.......

}.......

217-468

Permsylvania.

150-575

200-460

200-380

9V>

150

85

400

41-486

Texas.

<250

West Virginia.

550-680

i nnn

fifift_Qnn

100-1, 100

600-1,200

. 1, 200

1 200

1 nflft 1 9ftn

i nnn-1 9>vi

850-1,250

144T1R

0 Lancaster. 

6 Northwestern Ohio. 

c Western Kentucky. 

d Eastern Kentucky.

8 Bureau County.

' Alien County.

o Neosho County.

h Reduced to almost no pressure.

* Beaumont.

i Homer.

k Southern Indiana.

The paucity of actual data is evident from the table above. It is 

useful only in showing the generally rapid decline of the high pressures.

PRODUCTION.

The following tables show the value of the natural gas thus far 

produced. It has been possible only in the last two years to determine 

the quantity, in addition to the value of gas produced, but this shows 

that the quantity produced, as well as the price, is increasing.

Approximate value of natural gas produced in the United States, 1882-1901,

by States.

State.

Ohio..........................

Total...................

1882.

$75,000

140,000

215,000-

1883.

$200,000

275,000

475,000

1884.

$1,100,000

360,000

1,460,000

1885.

$4, 500, 000

196,000

100,000

40,000

1,200

20,000

4,857,200

1886.

$9, 000, 000

210,000

400,000

60,000

4,000

300,000

6,000

32, 000

10,012,000

1887.

$13, 749, 500

333,000

1,000,000

120,000

600,000

15, 000

15, 817, 500
NATURAL GAS. 53

Approximate value of natural gas 'produced in the United States, 1882-1907,

~by States Continued.

State.

New York. ...................

Ohio..........................

California. ........-.-..----...

Kentucky and Ter 

Texas and Alabam 

Arkansas and Wye 

Utah.........................

)ming......

Total...................

State.

Pennsylvania. . ..

Ohio.............

West Virginia.... 

Illinois...........

Indiana..........

Kentucky and

Alabama .........

Texas............ 

Arkansas and

Utah.............

Other............

Total.......

State.

Pennsylvania. . ..

Ohio.............

West Virginia....

California........

Arkansas and

South Dakota....

Total.......

1894.

$6, 279, 000 

249,000 

1,276,100 

395,000 

15,000 

5,437,000 

86,600 

4,500 

60,350

89,200 

} 50

100 

500

12,000

. 50,000

13,954,400

1901.

312,688,161 

293,232 

2,147,215 

3,954,472 

1,825 

6,954,566 

659,173 

1,328 

67,602

18,577

270,871

1,800 

7,255

27,066,077

1888.

§19,282,375 

332,500 

1,500,000 

120,000

1,320,000

75, 000

22, 629, 875

1895.

$5,852,000 

241,530 

1,255,700 

100,000 

7,500 

5,203,200 

112,400 

3,500 

55,000

98,700 

20

100 

20,000

7,000

50,000

13,006,650

1902.

$14,352,183 

346,471 

2,355,458 

5,390,181 

1,844 

7,081,344 

824,431 

2,154 

120,648

14,953

365,356 

300

1,900 

10,280 

360

30,867,863

1889.

$11,593,989 

'. 530,026 

5,215,669 

12,000 

10, 615 

2,075,702 

15, 873 

 35,687 

12,680 

2,580 

1,728 

375

1, 600, 175

21, 107, 099

1896,

$5,528,610 

256,000 

-1,172,400 

640,000 

6,375 

5,043,635 

124,750 

1,500 

55,682

99,000

60 

20,000

4,500

50,000

13,002,512

1903.

$16,182,834 

493,686 

4,479,040 

6,882,359 

3,310 

6,098,364 

1,123,849 

7,070 

104,521

13,851

390,301 

300

2,460 

14,140 

10,775 

1,000

35,807,860

1890.

$9,551,025 

552, 000 

4,684,300 

5,400 

6,000 

2,302,500 

12, 000 

10,500 

33,000 

30,000

1,606,000

18, 792, 725

1897.

$6,242,543 

200,076 

1,171,777 

912,528 

5,000 

5,009,208 

105,700 

500 

50,000

90,000

40 

15,050

4,666

20,000

13,826,422

1904.

$18,139,914 

522,575 

5,315,564 

8,114,249 

4,745 

4,342,409 

1,517,643 

6,285 

114,195 

[ 14,082

322,104 

300

6,515 

14,300 

12,215 

49,665

38,496,760

1891.

$7,834,016 

280, 000 

3, 076, 325 

35, 000 

6,000 

3, 942, 500 

5,500 

1,500 

30,000 

38, 993

250

250, 000

15, 500, 084

1898.

$6,806,742 

229,078 

1,488,308 

1,334,023 

2,498 

5,060,969 

174,640 

145 

65,337

103,133 

765

7,875

3,300

20,000

'15,296,813

1905.

$19,197,336 

- 623,251 

5,721,462 

10,075,804 

7,223 

3,094,134 

2,261,836 

7,390 

133,696

14,409

1,500 

237,290 

300

21,135 

20,752 

15,200 

130,137

41,562,855

1892.

$7,376,281 

216, 000 

2, 136, 000 

70,500 

12, 988 

4,-716, 000 

40, 795 

3,775 

55,000 

43, 175 

100 

100

200,000

14, 870, 714

1899.

$8,337,210 

294,593 

1,866,271 

2,335,864 

2,067 

6,680,370 

332,592 

290 

86,891

125,745 

8,000

1,480 

3,500

20,074,873

1906.

$18,558,245 

672,795 

7,145,809 

13,735,343 

87,211 

1,750,715 

4,010,986 

7,210 

134,560

I 150,695

287,501 

300

34,500 

22,800 

15,400 

259,862

46,873,932

1893.

$6,488,000 

210,000 

1,510,000 

123,000 

14,000 

5,718,000 

50,000 

2,100 

62,000 

68,500 

50 

100 

500 

100, 000

14,340,250

1900.

$10,215,412 

335,367 

2,178,234 

2,959,032 

1,700 

7,254,539 

356,900 

547 

79,083

{ 20,666

286,243 

1,800 

9,817

23,698,674

1907.

$18,844,156 

766,157 

8,718,562 

16,670,962 

143,577 

1,572,605 

4,843,019 

17,010 

168,397

178,276

380,176 

300

[ 126,582

19,500 

417,221 

235 

100

52,866,835
54 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Value of natural gas consumed in the United States, 1902-1907, by States.

State.

Ohio..........................

West Virginia.................

Oklahoma. ...................

Illinois........................

South Dakota. ................

North Dakota. ................

Total...................

1902.

$13, 942. 783 

4,785,766 

824, 431 

2,154 

2, 473, 174 

1, 723, 709 

06,710,080 

255, 481 

360

14, 953

120, 648 

1,844

1,900 

10, 280 

300

30, 867, 863

1903.

$16, 060, 196 

7,200,867 

1, 123, 849 

7,070 

3,125,061 

1, 944, 667 

a 5, 915, 367 

280, 426 

1,000

13, 851

104, 521 

3,310

| 2,460

14, 140 

10, 775 

300

35, 807, 860

1904.

$17,205,804 

9, 393, 843 

1, 517, 643 

6,285 

3, 383, 515 

2, 222, 980 

a 4, 282, 409 

268, 264 

49, 665

| 14,082

114, 195 

4,745

6,515

14,300 

12, 215 

300

38, 496, 760

1905.

$19,237,218 

10, 396, 633 

2, 265, 945 

7,390 

3, 586, 608 

2, 434, 894 

« 3, 056, 634 

237, 290 

126,028

14, 409

1,500 

133, 696 

7,223

21, 135

20, 752 

15,200 

300

41, 562, 855

1906.

$21,085,077 

12, 652, 520

} 4,030,776

3, 720, 440 

2, 654, 115 

"1,750,755 

287, 501 

247,282

I 150,695

134, 560 

87,211

34,500

22,800 

15, 400 

300

46, 873, 932

1907.

$22, 917, 547 

15, 227, 780 

/ 4,853,298 

\ 17,010 

3, 757, 977 

3,098,533 

1, 570, 605 

380, 176 

406, 942

178, 276

168, 397 

143, 577

i 126,582

19,500 

300 

235 

100

52, 866, 835

a. A portion of this was consumed in Chicago, 111. 

Distribution of natural gas consumed in the United States in 1906, by States.

State.

New York. .......................

Oklahoma.........................

Wyoming. ........................

Total.......................

Number of 

producers.

309 

409 

130 

19 

67 

143 

578. 

45 

50 

2 

4 

5 

18 

66 

4 

3 

3 

' 13 

3

1,871

Consumers.

Domestic.

273,184 

310, 175 

} 79,512

51,281 

74,538 

47,368 

17,216 

8,391 

1 

2,700 

702 

5,537 

1,429 

1,700 

3 

800 

406 

1

874,944

Industrial.

3,307 

3,316

995

913 

95 

156 

18 

202 

1 

28 

1 

10 

2 

4 

4 

11 

10 

1

9,074

Gas consumed.

Domestic.

Quantity, 

M cubic feet.

41,135,808 

33,049,479

9, 576, 572

9,619,147 

8,999,871 

5,049,759 

679,941 

1,446,879

i 273,919

122, 577 

359,556

} 58,500

20,500 

. 12, 900 

400

110,405,808

Cents per 

M cu. ft.

22.2 

24.7

17.5

15.5 

27.7 

27.8 

40.5 

11.8

30.4

97.3 

22.8

49.1

100.0 

88.4 

25.0

22.7

Value.

$9,128,837 

8, 165, 567 

1,673,979

1, 489, 473 

2,495,040 

1,403,987 

275,860 

170,774

83,320

119,338 

82,211

28, 711

20,500 

11, 400 

100

25,149,097
NATURAL GAS. 55

Distribution of natural gas consumed in the United States in .1906, by States 

Continued. .

State.

Ohio..............................

Iv^pntnplrv

Total.......................

Gas consumed.

Industrial.

Quantity, 

M cubic feet.

120,959,365 

41,763,083

} 59,891,889 

48,835,862 

1,182,551 

2,811,781 

109,213 

1,961,249

1 764,650

30, 444 

50,000

| 62,000

3,067 

10,000 

1,600

278, 436, 754

Cents 

perM 

cu. ft.

9.9 

10.7

3.9

4.6 

13.4 

12.3 

10.6 

3.9

8.8

50.0 

10.0

9.3

75.0 

40.0 

12.5

7.8

Value.

$11,956,240 

4,486,953

2,356,797

2,230,967 

159,075 

346, 768 

11,641 

76,508

67,375

15,222 

5,000

5,789

2,300 

4,000 

200

21,724,835

Total.

Quantity, 

M cubic feet.

162,095,173 

74,812,562

69,468,461

58,455,009 

10, 182, 422 

7,861,540 

789, 154 

3,408,128

1,038,569

153,021 

409,556

120,500

23,567 

22,900 

2,000

388,842,562

Cents 

per M 

cu. ft.

13.0 

16.9

5.8

6.3 

26.0 

22.2 

36.4 

.7.2

14.5

87.9 

21.3

28.6

96.7 

07.2 

15.0

12.1

Value.

$21,085,077 

12, 652, 520

4,030,776

3, 720, 440 

2,654,115 

1,750,755 

287,501 

247,282

150,695

134, 560 

87,211

34,500

22,800 

15,400 

300

46,873,932

Quantity and value of natural gas produced and consumed in the United States

in .1906. by States.

State.

Texas

Total.......................

Produced.

Quantity, 

M cubic feet.

138,161,385 

45,436,020 

119,400,392 

69,322,633 

33,560 

2,547,769 

7,861,140 

789, 154 

3,520,396 

153,021

1 1,038,569

409,556 

23,567

( 120,500

22,900 

2,000

388,842,562

Cts. per 

M cu. ft.

13.4 

15.7 

11.5 

5.8 

21.5 

26.4 

22.2 

36.4 

7.3 

87.9

14.5

21.3 

96.7

28.6

67.2 

15.0

12.1

Value.

$18, 558, 245 

7, 145, 809 

13,735,343 

4,010,986 

7,210 

672, 795 

1,750,715 

287,501 

259,862 

134,560

150, 695

87,211 

22,800

34,500

15,400 

300

46,873,932

Consumed.

Quantity, 

M cubic feet.

162,095,173 

74,812,562 

58,455,009

| 69,468,461

10,182,422 

7,861,540 

789, 154 

3, 408, 128 

153,021

1,038,569

409,556 

23,567

120,500

22,900 

2,000

388,842,562

Cts. per 

M cu. ft.

13.0 

16.9 

6.3

5.8

26.0 

22.2 

36.4 

7.2 

87.9

14.5

21.3 

96.7

.28.6

67.2 

15.0

12.1

Value.

$21,085,077 

12, 652, 520 

3, 720, 440

4,030,776

2,654,115 

1,750,755 

287, 501 

247,282 

134,560

150, 695

87,211 

22,800

34,500

15, 400 

300

46,873,932
56 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Quantity and value of natural gas consumed in the United States in 1907,

. by States.

State.

Ohio......................................

Texas .....................................

Illinois. ...................................

Total...............................

Number of 

producers.

344 

408 

196 

105 

208 

687 

107 

38 

2 

5 

8 

51 

128 

6 

3 

4 

13 

26 

4 

3 

1

2,407

Consumers.

Domestic.

295,115 

380,489 

146,327 

53,807 

83,805 

46,210 

11,038 

19,279 

600 

3,000 

1,250 

6,346 

2,126 

3,899 

1,091 

6 

529 

259 

1 

3 

1

1,055,181

Indus- 

. trial.'

3,812 

5,476 

1,605 

1,000 

155 

218 

277 

239 

4 

38 

6 

37 

61 

35 

21 

3 

5 

12 

1

13,005

Gas consumed.

Domestic.

Quantity, 

M cu. ft.

44,840,748 

41,970,198 

16,022,597 

9,807,000 

10,466,829 

4,480,499 

1,262,808 

1,028,898

I 343,261

97,245 

344,304

I 185,405

22,500 

41,340 

400 

940 

400

130,915,372

Cents 

per M 

cu. ft.

24.2 

24.4 

14.8 

16 

27.9 

28.7 

19.3 

31.5

30.7-

102.2 

22.7

40.5

53.8 

25 

25 

25 

25

23

Value.

$10,846,922 

10,228,979 

2,374,761 

1,567,911 

2,918,817 

1,284,160 

244,050 

324,368

105,272

99,376 

78,284

75,182

12,100 

10,335 

100 

235 

100

30,170,952

State.

Ohio..............................

New York ........................

California. ........................

North Dakota ....................

Oregon ...........................

Total.......................

Gas consumed.

Industrial.

Quantity, 

M cu. ft.

119,700,431 

41,001,570 

58,555,098 

44,363,520 

1,390,925 

2,134,705 

3,552,828 

274,260

944,473

133,099 

810,040

581,583

15,000 

66,750 

1,600

273,525,882

Cents 

per M 

cu. ft.

10.1 

12.2 

4.2 

4.9 

12.9 

13.4 

4.6 

20.3

7.7

51.8 

8.1

8.8

49.3 

10 

12.5

8.3

Value.

812,070,625 

4,998,801 

2,478,537 

2,190,066 

179,716 

286,445 

162,892 

55,808

73,004

69,021 

65,293

51,400

7,400 

6,675 

200

22,695,883

Total.

Quantity, 

M cu. ft.

164,541,179 

82,971,768 

74,577,695 

54,170,520 

11,857,754 

6,615,204 

4,815,636 

1,303,158

1,287,734

230,344 

1,154,344

766,988

37,500 

108,090 

2,000 

940 

400

404,441,254

Cents 

per M 

cu. ft.

13.9 

18.4 

6.5 

6.9 

26.1 

23.7 

8.5 

29.2

13.8

73.1 

12.4

16.5

52 

15.7 

15 

25 

25

13.07

Value.

822,917,547 

15,227,780 

4,853,298 

3,757,977 

3,098,533 

1,570,605 

406,942 

 380,176

178,276

168,397 

143,577

126,582

19,500 

17,010 

300 

235 

100

52,866,835
NATURAL GAS. 57

Quantity and value of natural gas produced and consumed in the United States

in 1907, ~by States.

State.

Pennsylvania. ......

West Virginia......

Ohio........

Kansas................ ........

Indiana............... ........

New York.. .......... ..

Oklahoma.

Kentucky'. ......

Alabama. .......

Louisiana. .

Texas......

California..........

Illinois.....

Arkansas............

Colorado.....

Wyoming..

North Dakota..

Missouri........

Tennessee.

South Dakota.

Oregon.............

Total........... .....

Produced.

Quantity, 

M cu. ft.

 135,516,015 

122,687,236 

52,040,996 

74, 526, 300 

6, 624, 204 

3,287,974 

4,867,031 

1,303,158

1 1, 287, 734

230,344 

1,154,344

1 766,988

940 

108,090 

2,000 

37,500 

400

404,441,254

Cents 

per M 

cu. ft.

13.9 

13.6 

16.8 

6.5 

23.7 

23.3 

8.5 

29.2

13.8

73.1 

12.4

16.5

25.0 

15.7 

15.0 

52.0 

25.0

13.07

Value.

318,844,156 

16,670,962 

8,718,562 

4,843,019 

1,572,605 

766. 157 

417,221 

380, 176

178,276

168,397 

143, 577

126,582

235 

17,010 

300 

19, 500 

100

52,866,835

Consumed.

Quantity, 

M cu. ft.

164,541,179 

54,170,520 

82,971,768 

74, 577, 695 

6, 615, 204 

11,857,754 

4, 815, 636 

1,303,158

1,287,734

230,344 

1, 154, 344

766,988

940 

108,090 

2,000 

37,500 

400

404, 441, 254

Cents 

per M 

cu. ft.

13.9 

6.9 

18.4 

0.5 

23.7 

26.1 

8.5 

29.2

13.8

73.1 

12.4

16.5

25.0 

15.7 

15.0 

52.0 

25.0

13.07

Value.

§22, 917, 547 

3,757,977 

15,227,780 

4, 853, 298 

1,570,605 

3.098,533 

406, 942 

380, 176

178, 276

168,397 

143, 577

126,582

235 

17, 010 

300 

19,500 

100

52,866,835

PROBABLE DURATION OF THE SUPPLY OF NATURAL GAS.

The duration of high pressures in the known fields is very short. 

There is no probability of the pressures exceeding 100 pounds per 

well after ten years. The rate of decline is a peculiar one. At first 

very rapid, it would be expected that the decline in pressure would 

follow a simple rate, but it does not. Many wells are still showing a 

slight but appreciable yield by pumping them after the pressure became negligible. The yield from these low-pressure wells is surprisingly persistent. Evidently the territory drawn upon by them is 

much larger than was expected. The pumping of natural gas in 

order to utilize the entire supply is the most hopeful element in the 

outlook for a continued supply. It is this feature which made possible the use of a larger quantity of natural gas last year than the 

year before. The outlook is that natural gas will be utilized for as 

long a period as has already elapsed since the industry began, with 

the greater part to be furnished by the Mid-Continent field.

NATURE AND EXTENT OF WASTE OF NATURAL GAS.

Waste of natural gas will be divided into three classes: First, waste 

incident to the discovery of a natural-gas field; second, waste in oil 

production; third, waste in consumption.

WASTE FROM HIGH-PRESSURE WELLS.

It has been a common experience in the discovery of a gas field 

to encounter pressures so great as to lead to great difficulty in cap-
58 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

ping, and thus confining the gas until needed. Noted instances of 

this were the Homewood well near Pittsburg, the Karg and Adams 

wells in Ohio, the Caney Fork well in Kansas, and, more recently, the 

wells of the Caddo field in northwestern Louisiana. Individual wells 

among these have wasted as much as 25,000,000 cubic feet per day, 

or sufficient gas to supply the entire consumption of three cities the 

size of Washington, D. C. In^the Caddo field at the present time the 

waste of this character is estimated at 70,000,000 cubic feet per day. 

In this case wells are drilled through the gas-producing stratum in 

search of petroleum, which is usually found a few hundred feet below. 

The natural gas is cased off, but usually, owing to lack of skill on 

the part of the driller and indifference to the waste of gas, the 

gas escapes around the casing in increasing volume as the earth is 

loosened from around the pipe, and finally the force of the gas is 

sufficient to blow the casing entirely from the well. This has happened in four wells already in the Caddo field. When a well is thus 

" blown out" little effort has been made to close it. It has been the 

practice to set fire to the gas for an advertisement to the region.

WASTE OF GAS FROM PETROLEUM WELLS.

The production of more or less gas is incident to the drilling of 

all oil wells, and in most of them, by the time the petroleum-bearing 

sand is reached, the escape of gas is very great. Taken altogether, the 

waste of gas by this means is much greater and much more difficult 

to prevent than the waste from high-pressure gas wells.

In the first days of oil-well drilling in Pennsylvania, natural gas 

was a nuisance and a menace to the oil producer. This menace became 

greater with the volume of the gas. It developed a hostility toward 

natural gas on the part of the oil-well driller, which has increased 

rather than diminished up to the present time. It is to this hostility 

that the present waste of natural gas in oil regions is due. When 

natural gas was encountered in a sand above the expected oil stratum, 

it always cost considerable money to case it off and pack it in order to 

continue the drilling, and frequently caused explosions, tearing out 

the side of the well and occasionally blpwing out the casing, causing 

the ruin of the enterprise. Every oil well now drilled includes in its 

outfit pipes connected with the casing for carrying the natural gas 

to a safe distance. Frequently it is burned to get rid of it, sometimes 

under the boiler to supply power for the well drilling and pumping. 

This practice has become so general that it is a common custom to pay 

$5 per twenty-four hours for the power for a well-pumping station. 

When the natural gas contains appreciable amounts of hydrogen sulphide, with the consequent injury to health, its presence is proportionately less, welcome.
NATUBAL GAS. 59

It is difficult for the oil-well driller to obtain a prompt and profitable market for the natural gas, whereas with oil it is only necessary 

to connect the well to a tank, and the cash for the product can be 

obtained within a few hours. Occasionally, when the pressure due to 

natural gas is greatly relieved, oil is found. The oil-well driller has 

accepted this exceptional case as a rule, and is apt to give all possible 

vent to the gas in the hope of its being followed by the desired petroleum. As to the amount of natural gas which is being wasted daily, 

no accurate statistics have been attempted, and the judgment of Dr. 

I. C. White, a state geologist of West Virginia, may well be accepted, 

to the effect that no less than 1,000,000,000 cubic feet of gas are wasted 

every twenty-four hours. Of this undoubtedly the larger part is 

wasted in the production of oil. Pumping the oil leaves the wells 

more or less open, and prevents any careful saving of the gas.

WASTE IN CONSUMPTION.

Directly associated with the waste of natural gas by allowing it to 

escape freely from oil and gas wells is the form of waste where the 

ga.s is used, by delivering it through pipes back into the ground in 

oil wells below the oil-bearing stratum, so that it will spray the oil to 

the surface. The mixture of oil and gas then runs into a tank where 

the oil is saved, but usually the gas is allowed free vent to the outside 

air. The lack of care in saving the gas after thus using it is a good 

example of the carelessness with this material prevalent in the oil 

fields.

Where natural gas is utilized for power, heat, and the lighting of 

dwellings and has once entered the pipe lines of the distributer, the 

waste is comparatively small, and little can be said at the present time 

in regard to any serious loss due to'ineffective consumption. Much is 

used for lighting with incandescent mantles, an efficient use which 

leaves practically nothing to be desired. A still greater quantity is 

burned in stoves or in grates, under conditions which are also efficient. 

For power purposes there is little excuse for burning gas under boilers 

for the generation of steam, when so much greater economy can readily be produced by consuming It in internal-combustion engines, and 

the adoption of the gas engine in the place of steam should proceed 

with far greater rapidity than at present. The following table, prepared by Dr. F. H. Oliphant in 1892,6 shows that nine-tenths of all 

the gas used could be saved by substituting internal-combustion 

engines for the kind of steam engines in use in the oil regions :

0 Conference on the conservation of natural resources, White House, " Waste of fuel 

resources," p. 5.

6 Mineral Resources, 1892.
60 CONSERVATION OP MINERAL RESOURCES.

Comparison of fuel per indicated horsepower per hour for different types of

engines.

Type of engine. Cubic feet 

of gas.

Large natural-gas engine, highest type.................

Ordinary natural-gas engine...........................

Triple-expansion condensing steam engine.............

Double-expansion condensing steam engine...........

Single-cylinder and cut-off steam engine ...............

Ordinary high pressure, without cut-oil', steam engine. 

Ordinary oil well pumping steam engine ..............

9

13

16

20

40

80

130

METHODS OF PREVENTING OB LESSENING THE WASTE OF

NATURAL GAS.

What has been said above concerning the substitution of gas 

engines supplied with natural gas, for furnaces burning natural gas 

under steam boilers, is a matter of small moment compared with the 

prevention of escape of natural gas into the air. Our total consumption of natural gas in the United States in 1907 was 404,000,- 

000,000 cubic feet per year, whereas the amount wasted not burned 

at all was estimated at practically the same amount. Thus only 

half of all the natural gas actually produced goes to any useful 

purpose. This waste should furnish light for half the urban population of the United States. Remedy for this waste by legislation 

has been extremely effective in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. 

Only a part of the credit for stopping natural-gas waste is due to 

legislation, much credit being due to the natural-gas companies 

themselves for taking the initiative in this reform and carrying it 

out with most commendable vigor. As a result, the waste of natural 

gas in these States has practically ceased. Great precautions are 

now used for the suppression of every flambeau or open gaslight. 

They are only to be seen at the present time occasionally in connection with the drilling of oil wells. These precautions in late 

years have not been due so much to legal restrictions as to the 

efforts of the natural-gas distributers to economize in every direction 

in the saving of natural gas. The laws of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana call for the efficient capping of every natural-gas well when not in use. This, however, does not prevent the 

escape of natural gas where it is an incident of oil production. In 

this field a more practical plan will depend on the cooperation of the 

natural-gas and oil-collecting companies, by which the oil producer 

may receive pay promptly for natural gas to be collected by the natural-gas companies from his oil well. In West Virginia the oilcollecting companies and the natural-gas collecting companies are 

usually simply branches of the same company, and this plan of collecting gas from the oil wells is already being carried into effect.
NATURAL GAS. 61

The ingenuity and watchfulness of the natural-gas companies has 

effected far greater saving in natural gas than was believed possible 

five years ago. The result is in evidence from the gain in production 

in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where high pressures have prac- 

' tically ceased.

EXTENSION OF NATURAL-GAS SUPPLIES. . 

PREVENTION OF WASTE IN EXTRACTION AND IN USE.

It is of prime necessity that the laws concerning the capping of 

natural-gas wells, which have had such good effect in the principal 

oil and. gas producing States, should be extended to the newer fields 

in the Southern and Southwestern States, and that the most radical 

measures should be taken to promptly suppress the great waste in 

these fields at the present time. When effective laws are in operation 

controlling the escape of gas from high-pressure wells, the problem 

will be reduced to saving the gas from the oil wells a problem 

which can be solved only by affording a prompt and efficient market 

for the gas, even when produced in small quantity. Meantime, the 

problem of compressing natural gas in steel cylinders for smallscale transportation is receiving much consideration. Within the 

next few years success will undoubtedly be attained in returning the 

natural gas to reservoirs within the earth, which have proved to be 

sufficiently tight to hold the gas under heavy pressure. Experiments 

in this direction, costing more than $125,000, are being carried out 

in Ohio. 

INCREASING EFFICIENCY IN USE.

has already been sufficiently referred to in a previous paragraph. (See pp. 59-60.)

DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUBSTITUTES.

Unlike petroleum, natural gas can be replaced efficiently, at least 

for all practical purposes, by fuel gases produced by methods which 

are already well understood and are being studied with great care 

by the technologic branch of the United States Geological Survey. 

This substitution of fuel gas is well understood. The replacement of 

the artificial gas for the natural will regularly follow the trade relation of price. It is known that many large culm banks and other 

amounts of refuse coal are already owned by the natural-gas companies in anticipation of their utilization at the place where they 

occur, for making and distributing gas to distant points of consumption. This long-distance transportation of natural gas has been developed on so large a scale between West Virginia and Cleveland, 

Ohio, that the transmission of fuel gas over long distances is now also 

being studied as a certain feature of future industrial progress.
PEAT RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES, EXCLUSIVE OF

ALASKA.

By CHARLES A. DAVIS.

Peat as a source of fuel and power, as well as the raw material upon 

which may be based a number of industries, has but recently attracted 

general attention in this country. It has, however, long been used in 

northern Europe, where it is estimated that in the neighborhood of 

10,000,000 tons prepared in various ways are consumed as fuel annually, and smaller amounts are used as stable litter, for sanitary purposes, and in various trades and arts.

It has been assumed by engineers, economists, economic geologists, 

and others, because of the abundance and cheapness of good coal and 

wood in the United. States, that peat could not be used profitably in 

competition with them, at least for a long time to come.

Eecent developments in the utilization of low-grade fuels in producer-gas engines, and the very considerable successful use of peat 

for the generation of fuel, illuminating, and producer gas in Sweden, 

Germany, Eussia, and other countries of Europe, have made a 

marked impression on those scientists and others in America who 

have followed the march of events in this direction, and these developments have aroused new interest in the possibility of using peat as an 

auxiliary fuel.

Already preliminary experiments have been made by the technologic branch of the United States Geological Survey with a large 

gas producer, which confirm the reports of foreign success in this 

direction, showing that some peats of American origin are little inferior to many grades of bituminous coal now on the market, and 

superior to some in the quantity of producer gas to be derived from 

them and in the calorific value of the gas.

Still more recent than this work is the report from Germany that 

by the investigations of Doctors Frank and Caro it is possible to 

recover a large part of the combined nitrogen contained in peat, 

while it is being converted to gas in the gas producer, as ammonium 

sulphate; and that where the nitrogen is present in amounts slightly 

above 1 per cent of the dry matter of the peat, the quantity of ammonium sulphate obtained pays the expenses of maintaining the plant,

62
PEAT. 63

of gasifying the peat, and a profit besides, leaving the gas as an additional profit. As many American peats have more than 2 per cent 

of combined nitrogen and a considerable number of analyses show 

above 3 per cent, it is probable that in the near future peat beds will 

be profitably utilized for the production of power and ammonium 

salts in the United States.

This is the more likely when it is considered that the region of 

most abundant occurrence of peat in large deposits lies along the 

northern border of the country and in the eastern Coastal Plain. 

There are also smaller areas where it is found, as in the western 

mountains and in the moister portions of the Pacific slope. The 

States containing the greatest amount of peat are the eastern Dakotas, 

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, northern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana 

and Ohio, New York, the New England States, New Jersey, the 

coastal portions of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and 

practically all of Florida.. It is also assumed that there are workable 

peat beds in the swampy parts of the Gulf States and in those portions 

of the flood plain of the Mississippi remote from the stream.

It will be noted that these regions of frequent occurrence of peat 

are practically all outside of the coal fields, with the exception of 

Michigan, where, as is well known, the coal basin has not been found 

to be productive except in limited marginal areas, very small in comparison \vith that of the entire basin.

As a sign of the times it may be stated that work is about to begin 

in Florida on a plant for generating electric power by producer-gas 

engines using air-dried peat as fuel, the power to be transmitted to 

Jacksonville. Aside from other phases of the question it should be 

remembered that peat can be mined and prepared for the gas producer by the simplest and most inexpensive equipment, and with a 

minimum of danger, since all of the workings are open cuts made by 

the use of spades or by ordinary excavating or dredging machinery, 

so that none of the dangers of underground mining are encountered.

On the other hand, the great drawback in the preparation of peat 

for fuel or other uses has always been and continues to be the fact 

that it contains from 85 to 90 per cent or more of water as it comes 

from the beds, and that the greater part of this water can not be 

pressed out but must be removed by evaporation. Peat which is air 

dry contains from 15 to 25. per cent of water, and its theoretical efficiency is lowered thereby in nearly direct proportion to the amount 

of-water present.

In gas producers of recent types, however, it is reported that peat 

with 40 per cent water has been used with success, and for this 

purpose the question of excess of water has apparently been solved 

by plowing or digging up the peat and allowing it to dry out by 

exposure to the wind and sun on the surface from which it is taken.
64 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

In Florida, even in midwinter, peat taken from below the water 

level, ground in a pug mill, and afterward spread over a drying 

ground in a layer 8 inches thick, dries to the air-dry state in about 

three weeks, and is ready for use in a gas producer in less time.

The question of artificially drying peat for fuel has received and 

is now.engaging the attention of able engineers and inventors, and, 

in the opinion of many, the successful solution of this problem is 

necessary before any considerable increase in the use of peat for 

ordinary fuel can be expected.

Briefly stated, success depends on finding a way to handle a ton 

of peat with about 90 per cent of water so rapidly and cheaply 

that the 250 pounds of salable material, which will result when it has 

reached the air-dry state, will pay the cost not only of the processes 

of preparation, but also of management, amortization, and selling, 

and return a profit on the original investment. Attention should be 

called to the fact that if peat with 90 per cent water has its moisture content reduced to 80 per cent, it loses more than half of its 

content of water, and that this amount is readily extracted by very 

simple and inexpensive processes.

In Europe, peat is prepared for fuel in several ways designed primarily to render it transportable and efficient as a source of energj^. 

As cut peat it is used extensively for domestic purposes in the form 

of air-dried sods or blocks cut by hand with specially designed 

spades. A more compact and efficient fuel is made by more or less 

thoroughly macerating the peat and pressing it into molds, after 

which it is dried by spreading the blocks on the ground, exposed to 

sun or wind, or by grinding it in a specially constructed pug mill 

similar to that used in grinding clay for making bricks. The peat 

is ground wet as it comes from the beds, and delivered from the mill 

in the form of wet bricks, which on exposure to the air and sun's 

heat for some time become dry, firm, tough, and nonabsorbent. This 

is machine peat, which is rated the most generally successful form of 

peat fuel for domestic and boiler use on the markets of Europe. As 

marketed, this product contains from 20 to 25 per cent of moisture 

and has, theoretically, about 65 per cent of the fuel value of the same 

weight of good bituminous coal when burned in stoves or under 

boilers, but practically, because of the lack of waste of the peat, 

in the form of ash, smoke, clinker, and uncoiisumed portions, its real 

value is higher than is indicated by comparison of the possible heat 

units to be obtained.

As pea°t briquets the material is more compact, burns more slowly 

and persistently, and stands transportation and handling well. The 

peat is dried thoroughly, powdered, and briquetted, either without or 

with a binder or in mixture with coal or lignite.
PEAT. 65

An increasing amount of peat is manufactured into charcoal or 

p>eat coke, especially in Germany, where it is used somewhat extensively as a substitute for wood charcoal in smelting iron and in other 

metallurgical processes, including the refining of copper, steel making, 

etc. Of the processes so far developed for the manufacture of peat 

coke none have proved profitable on a commercial scale, except such 

as condense the distillates and recover a series of by-products similar 

to those obtained by the destructive distillation of wood, viz, fuel 

gases, methyl alcohol, acetic acid, lime acetate, ammonium salts, tar 

and its derivatives. This process involves large preliminary investment and the maintenance of costly plants, but wliere a good market 

can be found for the by-products this seems to be justified, according 

to unbiased and trustworthy reports from Europe. In preparation 

for coking, the peat is treated exactly as if it were to be sold as 

machine-pressed peat and is stored in open sheds until needed for the

coking retorts.

An increasing amount of peat in the form of powder burned with 

blast burners is used abroad for firing under boilers and in brick 

and cement burning; where properly prepared and rightly fired it 

approaches theoretical efficiency when used in this way.

The production of gas from peat, as has been stated, has passed 

beyond the experimental stage, and peat gas is used for metallurgical 

purposes, boiler firing, making lime and brick, and to some extent in 

making glass, while a rapidly growing number of producer-gas plants 

:for using peat are being installed for generating electric power for 

transmission directly from the larger peat deposits to centers of use.

In view of all of these considerations the following estimates of the 

peat resources of the United States have been prepared with the view 

of at least directing attention to the very considerable source of 

wealth to the nation which is now lying entirely undeveloped in the 

swamps and bogs of the country < It will also be noted in considering 

the possibilities of the peat deposits that they furnish potential substitutes for wood in various departments of industry, and in some 

considerable degree in these directions may relieve the drain upon the 

vanishing forests.

In making the estimates given below it has been the aim of the 

writer to be conservative in every detail, and it is believed that in no 

case will they be found too optimistic.

The total swamp area of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, is. 

estimated to be 139,855 square miles.* Of this 8 per cent is assumed 

to have peat beds of good quality, or 11,188 square miles. The peat in 

this area is assumed to average at least 9 feet in depth and to contain 

200 tons of dry fuel per acre for each foot in depth, or a total of-

" Sixtieth Congress, first session, S. Doc. 15L. 

86402 Bull. 394 Q9 5
66 CONSERVATION OF. MINERAL RESOURCES.

12,888,500,000 tons. Its value, if converted into machine peat bricks 

at $3 per ton, would be $38,665,700,000. The value if coked and the 

by-products of distillation saved would be as follows:

Quantity and value of peat coke and by-products from peat deposits of the

' . United States.

Plienol. ............:....................:...............................

Product in tons.

3,608,800,000

257,800,000

90,200,000

38,700,000

167,500,000

25,800,000

43,800,000

56,700,000

39,900,000

738,400,000

Value.

o.$26,005,366,000

} 4,474,200,000

3,479,900,000

66,345,100,000

824,900,000

7,844,000,000

2,268,800,000

2,777,400,000

6,501,300,000

"Charcoal price. At coke price the value would be $9,924,200,000.

The better grades of peat coke are nearly free from sulphur and 

phosphorus, and may be used wherever hard-wood charcoal is required. The quantity of wood required to make charcoal equivalent 

to the amouilt of the peat coke given in the estimate would be approximately 8,019,800,000 cords. The uncondensable gas given off from the 

retorts while the peat is being converted to coke has good fuel value, 

the maximum. being about 300 B. t. u. per cubic foot, and has been 

successfully used for heating the retorts and for other fuel purposes.

If converted into producer gas by the most recently developed 

processes, so that the combined nitrogen of the peat is converted into 

ammonia and fixed as ammonium sulphate, there would be possibly 

available <319,257,511,000,000 cubic feet of producer gas, with a calorific value of 145 B. t. u. per cubic foot. Assuming 1.5 per cent of 

nitrogen as an average content of the peat, which is low, since many

analyses show .more than 3 per cent, 100 pounds of ammonium sulphate to the ton of peat treated in the gas producer could be obtained.

On this assumption there is stored up nitrogen enough in the peat 

to supply at least 644,400,000 tons of ammonium sulphate, having a 

value of $36,732,400,000, in addition to the gas produced.

Recent tests reported from Europe show that from 2 to 2.5 pounds 

of peat will produce an effective horsepower per hour, if reduced to 

gas in a properly .designed gas producer and used in the gas engine. 

Taking the larger amount, to be conservative, it is evident that there 

is stored up in the peat beds of the country, as estimated above, 

energy sufficient to develop 10,310,860,800,000 effective horsepower 

hours.

In.Europe great quantities of the more fibrous types of peat are 

manufactured into stable litter, for bedding live stock, and peat mull, 

or powder, for absorbent and sanitary uses. Of this class of material 

it is estimated that there are at least 2?578,000,000 tons available,
PEAT. 67

This class of material is superior to straw and other substances now 

generally used for the purpose, and would readily bring $10 per ton, 

or the whole amount has a prospective value of $25,780,000,000. The 

only factory (located in Indiana) now making a product of this class 

in the United States sells its entire output of several hundred tons 

per annum at about $12 per ton.

A single plant for making paper from peat is in operation in Michigan. Possibly 5 per cent of the total amount of the peat of the country is suitable for this purpose, or 644,400,000 tons. The use of this 

material would reduce the consumption of wood for the purposes of 

making coarse papers and pasteboard, by whatever amount it displaced wood pulp in the manufacture of such materials.

In the United States peat is being somewhat extensively manufactured into fertilizer filler, material used in making various grades

of artificial fertilizers in which slaughterhouse and other refuse animal matter rich in nitrogen are ingredients or in which hygroscopic 

mineral compounds are used.. Peat in the form of dry powder is 

especially adapted to this use, since it absorbs water and ammonia 

readily, is a deodorizer, and to a considerable extent prevents fermentation and decomposition. At the prices now obtained for peat 

suitable for this purpose in the form of dry powder, and considering 

one-half of the total amount suitable for the purpose, its value is 

estimated to be $38,666,000,000, or about the same as the valuation of 

die whole for ordinary fuel.

Ethyl or " grain " alcohol has been made from the less thoroughly 

decomposed peats in Denmark and Sweden at a cost estimated at 

about 47 cents per gallon.

If 10 per cent of the entire body of peat in the country can be 

used in this \vay, about 70,900,000 tons of alcohol can be obtained 

from peat. It must be said in passing that this process is as yet 

hardly past the experimental phases.

Artificial wood, a fireproof or slow-burning composition of peat 

and mineral cements, has been made in Germany on a small scale for 

paving blocks and similar uses, as well as for larger structural purposes, as a substitute for wood or stone in buildings. About 10 per 

cent of the entire peat deposits of the United States may be suitable 

for this composition, or 1,288,800,000 tons, the use of which would release an equivalent amount of sawed lumber for other uses or to be 

held in reserve against future need.

Fibrous peat, properly cleansed of the finer material associated 

with it, is finding a constantly growing use in Europe as packing 

material, for fragile or perishable articles, and for protecting and insulating water and other pipes subjected to the liability of freezing. 

The peat best adapted to this use is too light in weight and too loose
68 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

in texture for fuel manufacture, and may be estimated to occur to 

the amount of 500,000,000 tons, with a market value of $3,000,000,000, 

displacing excelsior, hay, straw, paper, and other similar materials 

which are now used.

Fabrics of various qualities and kinds, mattresses for hospitals, 

and fiber for surgical and other asceptic dressings and as a substitute 

for silk in cloth weaving have been made from certain grades of peat, 

but the market is so well supplied with other products for the same 

purpose, which are of as good or better quality, that the use of the 

peat products has never reached any extensive commercial scale and 

does not seem likely to do so in the near future.

It is clearly apparent, however, that in the peat beds of the United 

States there lies undeveloped even entirely untouched a vast 

amount of raw material from which may be derived, by intelligent 

and conservative exploitation, fuel, power, fertilizing material, and 

the raw materials from which may be made a number of valuable 

products, all of which will serve to supplement other resources which 

are now known to be limited in quantity. By utilizing these resources also the wealth of the nation may be possibly increased by the 

not inconsiderable sums which represent the potential cash value of 

the peat beds and their products, and an equivalent amount of other 

material will be rendered free for other purposes.

ABSTRACT OF ESTIMATE OF THE PEAT RESOURCES OF THE

UNITED STATES.

Peat, a fuel used in Europe to the amount of 10,000,000 tons per 

annum, is an almost unknown material in the United States, although 

possessing properties which make it an excellent domestic fuel and 

desirable for gas production on a large scale,

As the area of the peat beds in the United States, and the quantity 

of workable material which they contain, is almost unknown, the 

estimates submitted are but rough approximations. The following 

are sources of information used here: (1) Publications and topographic maps of the United States Geological Survey; (2) reports 

of the state geological surveys of New York, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Massachusetts, and New Jersey; (3) cooperative reconnaissance 

peat surveys undertaken by the United States Geological Survey and 

the state surveys of Connecticut, Maine, and Wisconsin; (4) personal 

observation of the writer in various parts of the country.

The total area of swamp land is estimated by the United States 

Geological Survey* to be 139,855 square miles. The writer estimates 

8 per cent of this to have peat beds which would average 9 feet deep, 

or 11,188 square miles, with an average possible production of 200 

tons of dry fuel per acre-foot, or a total of 12,888,500,000 tons.

0 Sixtieth Congress, first session, S. Doc. 151.
PEAT. 69

The greater part of this material occurs in that part of the country 

without productive coal fields, in eastern North and South Dakota, 

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and the New England 

States, in northern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, in the coastal plain 

region, in eastern New Jersey, Virginia, North and South Carolina, 

Georgia, and the whole of Florida. The swamp areas of the Gulf 

States and of the flood plain of the Mississippi River, as well as those 

of the Pacific States, also contain workable peat beds, but in none of 

these is there any considerable overlapping of the peaty areas into 

workable 'coal fields.

It is estimated that, in the vicinity of the beds, this quantity of 

peat would have a value of $3 per ton in the form of air-dry blocks, 

or a total of $38,665,700,000, and that once established on a commercial basis the entire product would find ready sale as fast as produced. 

If this peat were all used in by-product gas producers, to this value

as fuel may be added the value of 644,400,000 tons of ammonium sulphate, which at present prices would be worth $36,732,400,000.

Peat has been successfully used as a source of producer gas, of a 

form of charcoal or coke, of various by-products from the coke retorts 

similar to those obtained from wood distillation, of fuel and illuminating gas, of fertilizer filler, of paper, of litter for stables, and of 

packing materials. In these forms the prospective value of the total 

peat of the country is much larger than as peat fuel.0

« For a fuller general discussion of the origin, handling, and uses of peat, 'see Bastin, 

K S., and Davis, C. A., Peat deposits of Maine : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 37G, 1909, 

pp. 8-64.
IRON ORES OF THE UNITED STATES.

By C. W. HAYES.

INTRODUCTION.

No previous inventory of the iron-ore supplies of the United States 

in any detail has ever been published, and the present one must be 

considered only a first approximation which will be materially modified as new quantitative data are made available by future public and 

private investigations. The estimates of ore supplies given in this 

paper are not based upon the judgment of any individual, but so far 

as possible represent the consensus of opinion of those best qualified 

to form an opinion.. Cordial cooperation in making up the estimates 

has been given' by officers. of private corporations and the several 

state geological surveys and..by, economic geologists- and .mining 

engineers generally. Special acknowledgments 1 are due to Messrs. 

W. N. Merriam,.C. K.Leith, D. H. Newland, H. M. Beuhler, W. S. 

Bayley, T. L. Watson, R. C. Hills, and J. F. Kemp, who have furnished information which'could not have been obtained from any 

other source. ;

CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION.

The commercial ores of iron, on the basis of chemical composition, 

fall into two main classes, i. e., oxides and carbonates. The latter 

class is relatively unimportant, furnishing in the United States less 

than one-twentieth of 1 per cent of the annual production. The 

oxides'are further separated, according to the proportion of oxygen 

and combined water which they contain, into three classes. The 

chemical and commercial classification is therefore as follows: 

. 1. Magnetite. Magnetic oxide, Fe3 04 , including titaniferous magnetite. Theoretical iron content, 72.4 per cent. Generally containing 

some hematite.

2. Hematite. Anhydrous sesquioxide, Fe2 03 , including specular 

and red hematite, red fossil ore, oolitic ore, etc. Theoretical iron content, 70 per cent.

3. Brown ore. Hydrous sesquioxide, Fe2 03 nH2 0, including turgite, limonite, goethite, or a mixture of these minerals, known locally 

as brown hematite, bog ore, etc. Theoretical iron content, 59.8-66.2 

per cent. 

70
IRON ORES. - 71

4. Carbonate. Side-rite, iron carbonate, EeCO.,, ;known locally as 

spathic ore, black band ore, kidney ore, etc. :Theoretical iron content, 48.2 per cent. . '

GEOLOGIC CLASSIFICATION.

In their geologic relations and mode of occurrence the iron ores 

may be further classified as follows:

1. Magmatic segregations in basic igneous rocks. The titaniferous 

magnetites of the Adirondack region represent this type. A characteristic of such deposits is the perfect gradation from the ore into the 

surrounding rock by an increase in the gangue, which consists of the 

same minerals as the associated igneous rock. The deposits are of 

great size and present large possibilities of utilization by concentration or with modification of furnace practice which will permit

their economical reduction.

2. Contact deposits, formed in connection with the intrusion of 

igneous rocks at their contact with the intruded sediments, generally 

limestones. These appear to be due to ascending heated waters and 

vapors given off by the cooling igneous rock. The ores include both 

magnetite and hematite. -Typical examples are the Cornwall deposits of Pennsylvania and many of the western iron-ore .deposits, .as 

those at'Hanover,'"N-. Mex>.yand -Iroto'Springs- Ut&hv'^v« ':< *- .* ;!

3. Concentration deposits'^These include all: -forms* of vthe oxide 

ores in which the iron, originally disseminated through the rocks, has 

been dissolved, transferred, and redeposited by circulating waters. 

It includes most of the brown ores of the Appalachian region in which 

the iron was originally disseminated through a great mass of limestones and shales and has been leached out and concentrated by surface waters during the erosion of these rocks. In some cases the iron 

was probably deposited as carbonate or sulphide and subsequently 

changed in place to hydrous oxide. It includes the bog-ore deposits, 

which have been formed or are now forming in swamps, to which 

iron is brought in soluble form as organic compounds and precipitated by the breaking up of those compounds through oxidation.

4. Replacement deposits. These are closely related to the concentration deposits, the principal difference being that the ore-bearing 

solution has derived the iron from an outside source and deposited 

it in place of some definite portion of an original rock series, generally a limestone. They include all classes of ores, both oxides and 

carbonates, their composition depending on the conditions .of deposition and the subsequent, alteratipns which .they have undergone. An 

example qf: this type is the so-jCa^led Qriskany ore .of y irginia. In .this 

case the iron derived from a great mass of overlying shales has been 

carried in solution, and where structural conditions were favorable
72 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

deposited in place of a certain easily soluble bed of limestone for a 

variable distance from its outcrop.

5. Bedded deposits. These, include all deposits in which the ore 

forms tabular or lenticular bodies which lie parallel to the bedding 

or foliation of the inclosing rocks. Their origin may be diverse, but 

their common characteristic is great lateral extent compared with 

thickness. In many bedded deposits, though not in all of them, the 

ore is sharply differentiated from the surrounding rocks. Magnetite 

deposits of this type are the Adirondack ores associated with metamorphic sediments and with gneisses of uncertain origin. Of the 

hematite deposits of this type are the enormous deposits of the Lake 

Superior district, where certain beds of the iron formation have been 

enriched both by the removal of silica in solution and by the deposition of additional iron. It also includes the gray specular ores of 

Alabama, which are associated with Cambrian and pre-Cambrian 

slates and sandstones, and the important red ores, fossil and oolitic, 

which form regular sedimentary beds, differing only in composition 

from associated Silurian sandstones and shales. Of the carbonates 

it includes the black-band ores, which occur as layers of nodules or 

continuous beds associated with the " Coal Measures " in Ohio and 

Pennsylvania.

6. Gossan deposits. Iron sulphides tend to oxidize with loss of 

sulphur when exposed to surface weathering, and deposits of pyrite 

and pyrrhotite are therefore generally covered with a deposit of residual brown ore, which extends down to the level of permanent 

ground water. Examples of this type are the brown ore on the outcrop of the pyrrhotite veins at Ducktown, Tenn., and the iron-ore 

capping of many metalliferous veins in the West.

Referred to the ultimate source of the material, it may be stated 

in general that the iron ores are derived from the iron minerals either 

segregated or disseminated in igneous rocks or the iron minerals deposited by igneous emanations, which have been worked over, in 

varying degrees.by the agents of weathering and sedimentary and 

chemical deposition at the surface of the earth. Iron compounds are 

among the most stable substances under surface conditions, and hence 

the net result of the changes at the earth's surface is to concentrate 

iron minerals mechanically and chemically as compared with associated minerals.

VALUE OF ESTIMATES.

An understanding of the above chemical and geologic classifications of iron ores is essential for an appreciation of the limitations 

and uncertainties of any estimate of the ore supplies of the country. 

It will be readily understood that with the great diversity in type 

of deposits there must be a very wide difference in the degree of ac-
IRON ORES. 73

curacy with which the ore can be estimated. The closest approximation can be made in. case of bedded deposits such as the Clinton red 

hematites. These beds vary in thickness and composition from 

place to place, but the variations are similar to those characterizing 

other sedimentary beds such as coal, and with a minimum amount 

of testing on the outcrop and at depth their contents can be calculated with a fair degree of certainty. Certain assumptions, however, 

must alwa}rs be made. Thus it is assumed that observed variations 

in composition and thickness continue with regularity between and 

beyond points of observations; also that a certain depth will limit 

 workability. This limiting depth will depend upon a variety of 

conditions which can not be determined in advance of mining, and 

hence the depth fixed upon in making calculations will be largely a 

matter of opinion, and must be expected to change with changing 

commercial conditions. Hence it is doubtful if even the best known 

and most thoroughly tested deposits of red hematite can be estimated 

within 10 per cent of their actual yield. At the other extreme are 

the concentration deposits of brown ore. These are extremely variable both in depth and horizontal extent. Surface indications are 

thoroughly unreliable, and those most experienced in working such 

deposits are practically unanimous in the opinion that no deposit can 

be safely estimated until every ton of ore has been mined. Under 

such circumstances the estimates given below of ore remaining in 

this class of deposits can only be regarded as having a degree of accuracy represented by a factor varying between 0.7 and 3.

Intermediate between these extremes are the most important deposits, including those 1 of the Lake Superior and Adirondack districts. 

The former by reason of their greater regularity and the thoroughness 

with which they have been tested may be considered as known within 

15 or 20 per cent. The latter are much less fully tested, and estimates 

of their probable yield are based upon assumptions which further 

development may prove to be erroneous. Estimates of the western 

ore deposits vary in value because of inherent uncertainties due to the 

nature of the deposits and to the very unequal information concerning different districts.

AVAILABILITY.

Any estimate of the iron-ore supplies of the United States must 

separate the ores into two classes on the basis of availability. This 

separation is difficult, and opinions vary widely as to where the 

line should be drawn. Evidently the question is one of costs: 

(a) The cost of the ore delivered at the furnace and (&) the cost 

of reduction. Actual production, past and present, being determined 

by the interaction of various factors, affords the best criteria of 

availability.
74 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL EESOURCES.

The two factors which enter most directly into the cost of ore at 

the furnace are accessibility and mining conditions. Many iron-ore 

deposits are known in regions so remote from fuel supply and from 

transportation lines that they may be considered unavailable at 

present or so long as they are compelled to compete with more accessible ores. At the same'time they must be taken into account in considering the total reserves, for accessibility is only relative and no 

deposit, if sufficiently large to warrant the expenditure necessary for 

constructing roads, can be regarded as permanently inaccessible. 

Distance from fuel is, of course, a more serious 'drawback than 

absence of present means of transportation, while those supplied with 

water transportation will bear a longer haul than those carried entirely by rail.

Mining conditions may be such as to make the cost of raising the 

ore prohibitive at present. Such conditions are limiting depths 

beyond which mining, on account of the amount of water, may become 

very expensive, or thinness of the beds which necessitates a large 

amount of dead work! These conditions apply particularly to the 

Clinton ores and explain the difference between the total amount 

proved in these deposits and the amount considered at present available. Many'deposits ,of brown ore can be worked1 'cheaply in open 

pits for a certain distance from the surface, while'the cost'df'strip1 

ping or of timbering to hold back 'the inclosing clay prevents their 

working to greater depths.

Another kind of limiting conditions arises from the fact that in 

many cases the ore is mixed with foreign material from which it must 

be separated. Thus many of the brown ores consist of small concretions scattered through clay, and a large amount of material must 

be passed through the washer to obtain the ore in suitable condition 

for the furnace. The ratio of ore to clay in deposits now being 

worked varies from 1: 5 down to 1: 20. When conditions permit the 

lowering of this ratio still further, large quantities of ore will be 

available in material which can not now be worked at a profit. 

Similar conditions control the availability of many of the magnetic 

deposits, except that here the objectionable elements are other minerals that are closely associated with the iron and must be separated 

by magnetic methods. The concentrated material is a high-grade 

ore, and the ratio of available to nonavailable in these deposits depends wholly upon cost of the process of concentration which they 

will bear in competition with other ores.

The second consideration, affecting availability is the character 

of the ore itself. The content qf metallic iron in ores, used at present 

varies from 30 to 65 per ,cent. ' Th'is Vide variation is due in part

1 ' r'*M * .' * " ' .

to the nature of the other elements in the ore and in part to advantageous location. Thus the Clinton ores, containing as low as 30 per
' IRON ORES. .. .'-'" 75

cent iron, can be used with advantage, because the.! lime-which, they 

contain makes them practically self-fluxing. At the same .time they 

must be used near the point of production, since the low content'of 

iron will not permit long transportation in competition with richer 

ores. On the other hand, siliceous ores containing less than 40 per 

<:ent iron are not considered at present available unless their location 

near the fuel is exceptionally favorable, since the cost of transportation per unit of iron is excessive and since a large amount of fuel is 

required to remove the silica. But there are enormous quantities of 

siliceous ore carrying from 35 to 40 per cent iron, particularly in the 

Lake Superior district, and this must be taken into account as a 

future reserve, though not at present available.

In the case of the titaniferous magnetites the ratio betAveen the 

available and not available is difficult to determine. While these 

ores have been used only to a limited extent because of the difficulties

attending the fluxing of the titanium, it seems probable that these 

difficulties will be overcome and a much larger, use. made of them 

either by employing a special flux in the furnace ,or by reducing .the 

percentage .of titanium in .the, charge by concentration or .mixing 

with npntitanifei;ous.ores. . ... _v r , ,j ( . . . , .., .',., ,.,.,,.;.,!,, ,. 

The percentage, of other constituents, ,such.as phosphorus, sulphur:, 

copper, chromium, manganese, and. alumina,, will., determine the 

method and cost of .^eduction and. the quality of; the resulting iron. 

Hence these constituents, some, of which are highly deleterious, may 

determine the question of availability by limiting the conditions under 

which the ore can be reduced or the product used.

.Another factor is the nature of ownership. Where a large corporation controls a variety of ores and is equipped to assemble them and 

form any desired mixture or grade, ores may be used with advantage 

which would not be available if held by a smaller company not in 

a position to control the situation in a large way or compelled to 

dispose of a single kind of ore in the open market.

Because of the varying importance of these factors, future availability will obviously vary in a corresponding degree and the advantage which one district now possesses may pass to another. As 

the higher-grade ores of the Lake Superior region become depleted 

the lower-grade ores will be called upon with consequent increase in 

cost of transportation and smelting. The low-grade ores of the southeastern district, at present competing, with the high-grade Lake Superior ores, will then have a decided advantage because of proximity 

to fuel supply. ' ' '- '' > -v >

The notable present'tendency in the iron industry is the lower 

average iron content in the ores used. This tendency will undoubt: 

edly continue'in the future as'the more easily'accessible portions of 

the richer deposits are worked out. As a corollary to this is the ob-
76 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

served tendency toward a decentralization of the iron industry, and 

with a decrease in the iron content of the ore used, involving a corresponding increase in cost of transportation per unit of iron, there 

will be an increase in the proportion of fuel which goes to the region 

producing the ore. This will b'e accompanied by the general adoption 

of by-product coking. It is an instructive fact that in certain furnaces now operating in the Lake Superior district the profit corresponds approximately to the value of the by-products from the coke 

ovens. .

In making estimates all of these considerations, together with the 

best forecast that can be made of conditions as they will exist in the 

next ten years, have been taken into account in determining the ratio 

between available and nonavailable supplies.

GEOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION.

Iron being one of the most abundant elements, fourth in order of 

abundance, its natural compounds are found in practically all rocks 

and soils. To constitute an ore, however, certain of these minerals 

must be segregated into deposits of sufficient size and purity to permit 

economical working. Such deposits, considering the entire area of 

the country, are relatively infrequent. Iron ore is at present produced in only 29 of the 47 States and Territories, and about "79 per 

cent of the production (1907) was from two States Minnesota and 

Michigan. It is evident that the distribution of the deposits is extremely uneven.

For convenience of description of the ores and discussion of the 

estimates the known ore deposits will be taken up by groups based on 

distribution and kind. A few deposits are not included in any of 

these groups, but the total tonnage of ore which they contain is so

small as to be negligible in an estimate of the total for the entire 

country. The groups of deposits to be considered are the following: 

(1) Lake Superior ores; (2) Adirondack ores; (3) Clinton ores; 

(4) Appalachian metamorphic ores; (5) Appalachian brown ores; 

(6.) Appalachian carbonate ores; (7) West Tennessee brown ores; 

(8) East Texas brown ores; (9) Ozark ores; (10) Kocky Mountain 

metamorphic ores; (11) Igneous contact ores.

(1) LAKE SUPERIOR ORES.tt 

GEOLOGIC RELATIONS.

The Lake Superior ores, chiefly hematites with subordinate amounts 

of magnetite, furnish approximately 80 per cent of the annual ironore production of the country. Tlie total production from the region 

from its opening to the close of 1907 has come from the ancient folded

0 Based on information furnished chiefly by C. K. Leith.
IEON OKES. 77

and metamorphosed pre-Cambrian formations in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in proportions shown in the following table:

Geologic sources of Lake Superior iron ores.

State.

Minnesota (46.555 per cent) . . .

Wisconsin (3.308 per cent). . . .

District.

1 Mesabi ..............................

IMenominee, including Crystal Falls, 

I Iron River, etc.

Geologic horizon.

Keewatin.

Per cent.

7.105

Middle 

Huronian.

Per cent.

21.90

Upper 

Huronian.

Per cent. 

39.45

12.24 

.50 

15.46

1.98 

1.26 

.068

The iron formations are sedimentary deposits, usually interbedded 

with slate, quartzite, dolomite, and sometimes with basic extrusives. 

They consisted originally of chert, containing beds of iron carbonate 

or of dark-green ferrous silicate granules, called greenalite. As a 

result of surface oxidation of the iron carbonate and greenalite, the 

great bulk of the formation within the zone of observation now consists of chert minutely interbedded with limonite or hematite, giving a banded rock variously called ferruginous chert, taconite, or 

jasper. The average proportion of iron in these siliceous rocks is 

between 25 and 37 per cent. Numerous slate layers form subordinate 

proportions of the iron formation.

The iron ores constitute concentrations of ore in the exposed parts 

of the iron formation, produced mainly by the leaching out of the 

associated silica, thus leaving the iron in larger percentage, but also 

partly by solution, transportation, and redeposition of the iron 

when it was still in its soluble ferrous condition. The agents of 

alteration are surface waters carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide. 

The accessibility to the iron formation of these agents therefore 

determines the location, shape, and size of the ore deposits. The most 

favorable condition of accessibility is given by wide area of exposure 

of the iron formation, which is in turn a function of the dip. The 

flat-lying formation in the Mesabi Range exposes a greater surface 

to concentrating agents than the steeply dipping formation of similar 

thickness and character in the Gogebic range, with the result that 

the proportion altered to ore is much greater in the Mesabi district. 

A comparison of the actual areas of the different iron formations 

with their total shipments to date, and with their probable reserves, 

shows a very close relation between area and amount of ore developed. Also determining accessibility of the concentrating agents to 

the iron formation are numerous structural conditions, such ,as joints
78 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

or faults or impervious pitching basements, favorable to rapid circulation of water. Finally, the texture of the iron formation itself, 

whether dense or porous, may determine the activity of the circulation of the waters.

It is therefore apparent that the size, shape, depth, and structural 

relations of the Lake Superior ores are in widest variety. In the 

flat-lying formations of the Mesabi range the ore bodies have wide 

lateral extent as compared with depth, extremely irregular outlines 

partly controlled by jointing, abut irregularly on bottom and sides 

against unaltered portions of the iron formation, and when the glacial 

overburden is removed are accessible to surface operations with steam 

shovels. In steeply dipping beds they have greater vertical as compared with horizontal dimensions, usually abut not only against 

unaltered parts of the iron formation, but against well-defined impervious walls consisting of slate, quartzite, dolomite, or bosses or 

dikes of greenstone, and in such beds underground mining is necessary. The maximum depth to which mining has extended is a little 

over 2,000 feet; the maximum horizontal extent thus far worked in 

a single mine is less than a mile, but deposits are known to connect 

for nearly 10 miles. An adequate summary of the variety of structural features of the several districts can not be made within the 

limits of this paper.

CHARACTER OF THE ORES.

The hematites and limonites making up the great bulk of the Lake 

Superior ores range in texture from soft and powdery to hard and 

crystalline. Both kinds usually have large pore space, due to the 

removal of silica by leaching. Locally, however,, where the ores have 

been buried deeply in the zone of rock flowage, they have become 

dense, schistose, Specular hematites and magnetites lacking pore 

space. Where the iron formation has been intruded by large masses 

of igneous rocks the ores are magnetic. The ores range in grade 

from above 60 per cent in iron down to 25 per cent in the lean parts 

of the iron formation. The average shipment for 1906 for the entire 

region was 59.8 per cent in iron. The difference between the iron ore 

and the iron formation is simply in the proportion of silica present.

The ores mined in the Lake Superior region to date have generally 

run above 50' per cent in iron. The lowest grade shipped has 

been about 40 per cent, in the case of local ores in demand for mixtures and favored by cheap mining and transportation. In mining 

much material running 40 per cent or even less is taken out and 

mixed with higher-grade ores to give a medium grade. Such lowgrade material therefore does not figure obviously in the production. 

The percentage of iron in the ore mined from the region has fallen
IKON ORES. 79

slowly but steadily in recent years, but the major part of the shipment is .likely to remain above 50 per cent for some years to some. 

In the present estimate of available ores about 50 per cent of metallic 

iron has been taken as the minimum. It is fully appreciated that 

ores below this grade are even now locally available and will soon be 

used in larger quantities, but such ores as a whole must be considered 

still as belonging to the future supply. The ore supply of the Lake 

Superior district available under present conditions is therefore 

taken to include all ore above 55 per cent iron, estimated at 2,500,- 

000,000 tons, and 25 per cent of all ore containing between 45 and 55 

per cent iron, giving a total of 3,500,000,000 tons exclusive of the 

Clinton ores.

ESTIMATES OF LOW-GRADE OKES.

Difficulties beset estimates of the tonnage of low-grade ores available for the future. The lower limit of such grade must be chosen 

somewhat arbitrarily, and when it is chosen there is lack of sufficient 

analyses of the iron formation as a whole to separate the tonnage 

above the given grade. The mixing of high-grade and low-grade 

ores also complicates the situation. Extensive drilling operations 

have been directed mainly to determine the percentage of ore above 

50 per cent and little attention has been given to the grading of ores 

running below this percentage. The averages of all available analyses 

from portions of the formation outside of the ore at present available, 

made by the mining companies of the Lake Superior district, give 

the following results:

Character of the iron-bearing formations of tli,e Lake Superior district. 

DIAMOND-DRILL CORES.

State. ^ Holes.

77

24

30

Average 

iron 

content.

Pet cent. 

36.52

38.00

36.40

Analyses.

3,897

1,094

1,517

Total 

footage.

22,202

5,400

4,814

OTHER SOURCES.

Michigan: 

Trenches. .................................... ..... .........

Levels.... ............................ ...... ..... .........

41.53

38.40

94

905

975

« 7, 500

Approximate.

It seems entirely probable, in view of the fact that 40 per 'cent ore 

is even now locally in demand, that the depletion of the higher-grade 

reserves may in time require the use of 35 per cent ore. If so, the tonnage is enormous. Planimeter measurements of areas of the iron
80 CONSERVATION OP MINERAL RESOURCES.

formation, multiplied by the depths quite within the limits of actual 

mining at the present time, give the following results:

Tonnage of iron formations.

District

Michigan:

Minnesota:

Wisconsin:

Area.

So. miles . 

7.80

28.50

5.60

11.60

1.00

127.00

15.60

.70

197.80

10.80

6.64

30.00

47.44

245. 24

Depth.

Feet. 

1,250

1,250

1,250

1,250

1,000

400

1,250

1,250

inn

1 9>U1

1,250

Volume.

Cu. miles. 

1.950

7.100

1 400

2,900 9(in

10.000

3.900

.175

27.625

9n

1.66

7.50

9

QC

36.985

Quantity.

Tons. 

19,500,000,000

71,000,000,000

14,000,000,000

29, 000, 000, 000

2,000,000,000

100, 000, 000, 000

39, 000, 000, 000

1,750,000,000

276,250,000,000

93,600,000,000

369,850,000,000

It is not proved, however, that this enormous tonnage will average 

as high in iron as these figures from the mining companies would 

indicate. Indeed, many parts of the formations are known to run 

tower than. this. It is regarded safer, therefore, to use a smaller 

figure for the tonnage of ore running 35 f>er cent and over. Just 

what fraction of the total tonnage of the iron formations should be1 ' 

taken is a matter of more or less arbitrary choice. It is here put at 

72,000,000,000 tons, divided as shown in the following table:

Estimates of Lake Superior ores.

District.

Michigan: f

Minnesota:

Total ..........................................................'...

Available.

Long tons. 

110,000,000

95,000,000

80,000,000

3,100,000,000

60,000,000

15,000,000

40,000,000

3,500,000,000

Not available.

Long tons. 

15,900,000,000

3,900,000,000

7,360,000,000

39,000,000,000

1,005,000,000

310,000,000

4,525,000,000

72,000,000,000

. (2) ADIRONDACK ORES. 0 

GEOLOGIC RELATIONS.

The area of crystalline rocks forming the Adirondack district occupies the greater part of the State of New York north of the Mohawk Valley. The district contains a variety of iron ores differing 

in their character and geologic surroundings. Those found in sufficient abundance to be commercially important are nontitaniferous

0 Based on reports of the New York State Survey.,
IRON ORES. 81

magnetites, titaniferous magnetites, and red hematites. Some deposits of limonite also occur as bog ores, but they are not generally of 

sufficient size to be considered an available source of ore at the present 

time.

The rocks of the Adirondack district, with the exception of small 

patches of Paleozoic sediments, are entirely pre-Cambrian, and are 

either wholly crystalline or highly metamorphosed. They are provisionally classed in three groups: (1) Sedimentary rocks, marble, 

schist, and gneiss; (2) gneisses of undetermined origin, but probably 

in part, at least, sedimentary; and (3) igneous plutonic rocks, anorthosite, gabbro, syenite, and granite. The first group occupies a relatively small part of the area, but with its various members are associated all of the hematite deposits and many of the nontitaniferous 

magnetites.

NONTITANIFEROUS MAGNETITES.

These are the most widespread of the Adirondack deposits, but the 

more important ones occur in two groups on the eastern border of the 

district in the Lake Champlain basin and in the western part of the 

district in St. Lawrence County. In the first group are the wellknown Hammondville, Mineville, and Lyon Mountain deposits, and 

in the second the Benson, Jayville, Fine, and Clinton deposits.

The ores show great variation in their mineral and chemical composition, ranging from lean varieties, which consist of magnetite intermixed with the constituents of the wall rock, to those made up of 

practically pure magnetite. The richest, obtained principally from 

the Mineville group, average from 60 to 65 per cent iron, and considerable quantities have been obtained which approached the theoretical 

iron content of magnetite (72.4 per cent). The deposits carrying less 

than 50 per cent iron are generally considered too refractory for direct smelting and their utilization depends upon concentration. Large 

bodies of such ore occur in the Lyon Mountain, Arnold Hill, and St. 

Lawrence County deposits. The lowest grade of ore now worked 

carries about 35 per cent iron ore before concentration.

Both Bessemer and non-Bessemer ores occur, in some cases in adjoining deposits, though generally the ores from all deposits of a 

group show a fair degree of uniformity in respect to phosphorus 

content. The leaner ores are apt to be lowest in phosphorus, and 

concentrates produced at Lyon Mountain contain less than 0.01 per 

cent of that element with 65 per cent iron. The ores also carry a 

variable proportion of sulphur due to the admixture of pyrite and 

more rarely pyrrhotite.

The deposits occur in a variety of forms such as are common to the 

magnetites found in gneisses and schists elsewhere. In general they 

have a lenticular bedded form and are parallel to the foliation of the

86412 Bull. 394 09 6
82 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

inclosing rocks. They .partake of the same structural folds and 

faults as these rocks, and must therefore have been deposited before 

the regional compression occurred to which these structural features 

are due. While there has been much diversity of opinion regarding 

the origin of these ores, the view generally held at present is that they 

were introduced by processes connected with the intrusion of the 

igneous rocks.

The Adirondack magnetites were mined as early as the latter 

part of the eighteenth century and supplied many bloomeries and 

forges and, later, small charcoal furnaces. These have now all disappeared, and the ores are mostly shipped to the iron-making centers 

for smelting. There are, however, two coke furnaces in the region 

that are supplied by local mines. The total production up to the present time has been somewhat over 36,000,000 tons. Both open-cut and 

underground mining methods are employed, but chiefly the latter 

because of the high inclination of the ore bodies. A depth of 1,500 

feet has been reached in the workings at Lyon Mountain, and about 

2,000 feet at Barton Hill. Practically all of the ore is concentrated 

by the magnetic process, which yields concentrates containing from 

60 to 65 per cent iron and at the same time effects a partial elimination of the phosphorus and sulphur. In fact, the treatment of the 

richer ores is designed primarily to reduce the phosphorus, and the 

concentration is a subordinate object.

While a few of these deposits have been drilled with sufficient 

thoroughness to permit a fairty definite estimate of their contents, 

this is not generally the case, and in most cases even the extent of 

the outcrop is not accurately known. Lines of magnetic attraction 

indicate the presence of ore bodies concerning which little else is 

known, and finally large areas in the Adirondack Mountains, heavily 

forested and drift covered, have not been examined in sufficient

detail to determine whether or not they contain iron-ore deposits. 

For these reasons it is impossible accurately to determine the ore 

reserves. It is estimated that the known deposits of high-grade ore 

will yield 35,000,000 tons, and that the leaner deposits, carrying over 

35 per cent iron, will yield 75,000,000 tons of concentrates. The estimate of ore which is not now available because of great depth, or low 

grade, but which may be used eventually, is even more uncertain, but 

may be placed conservatively at 25,000,000 tons.

TITANIFEROUS MAGNETITES.

Under this class are included the ores which carry titanium as an 

essential ingredient. In general it amounts to at least 8 per cent of 

titanic acid ,(TiO2 ), while the average is perhaps 15 per cent. These 

deposits occur within the margins of the gabbro-anorthosite area, 

chiefly in Essex and Franklin counties. In their relations to the
IKON ORES. 83

inclosing rocks these deposits are sharply differentiated from the 

nontitaniferous magnetites which occur in the sedimentary and 

eruptive gneisses and schists. The titaniferous ores are believed to 

be the product of magmatic segregation, and hence intimately connected in origin with associated igneous rocks. The form of the 

ore bodies has not been accurately determined except in the case of 

a few of the smaller ones. The large bodies have nowhere been 

uncovered or sufficiently explored to afford an idea of their precise 

outlines. The richest ores contain little else than magnetite and 

ilmenite, and yield fully 60 per cent iron. From such pure aggregates there may be traced a continuous series of gradations by the 

entering of gangue minerals in increasingly greater proportion to the 

limiting wall rocks which hold only subordinate amounts of magnetite and ilmenite. The two minerals are often distinct in their 

crystallization, and show no tendency toward mutual intergrowth.

The use of ores containing high percentages of titanium is generally regarded as impracticable under present furnace practice because 

of the infusibility of the slags. They have, however, been smelted on 

a small scale in the Adirondacks, as well as in England and Sweden, 

and experiments have shown the feasibility of securing a fusible slag 

by properly proportioning the fluxes. A more promising solution of 

the problem is found in a reduction of the amount of titanium entering the furnace, both by concentration and by employing these ores 

as mixtures with nontitaniferous ores. Since the ilmenite is only 

feebly magnetic, it has been found practicable, at least on an experimental scale, to reduce the titanic oxide from 15 to 8 or 9 per cent by 

moderately fine-crushing and magnetic concentration.

These deposits, have been explored only far enough to prove that 

they contain a very large amount of ore which simply awaits the development of methods for overcoming the metallurgical difficulties 

due to the presence of the titanium. Assuming that these difficulties 

will be overcome, it is estimated that the known deposits in the Lake 

Sanford district alone contain at least 90,000,000 tons sufficiently 

accessible and high in grade to be now available, and that they may 

contain in addition 100,000,000 tons, which are not now but will be 

eventually available as an ore supply.

RED HEMATITES.

Hematite deposits of workable dimensions occur on the northwestern side of the Adirondacks in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties. They are associated with the folded pre-Cambrian sedimentary 

(Grenville) series of schists, limestones, and gneisses, which attain 

greater a real development in that section than elsewhere in the 

Adirondack region. The ores are mainly soft red hematites, with subprdinate specular ore, and occupy zones of replacement along the con-
84 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

tact of crystalline limestone and schist, and at times in the schist itself, 

with often a capping of Potsdam sandstone. A peculiar feature is 

the presence of a greenish mineral locally called serpentine, but of 

chloritic nature ^which seems to be an alteration product formed by 

reaction of the iron-bearing solutions upon the feldspathic schists and 

the occasional granitic intrusions of the walls. The source of the iron 

may be traced with some certainty to bands of pyrite and magnetite, 

which abound in the schists and which are subject to rapid weathering and to solution by ground waters. The principal mines have been 

opened along a narrow belt extending northeast from Antwerp nearly 

to the village of Gouverneur, but there are a number of outlying deposits that have been worked in former days for the supply of local 

furnaces. Mining was begun about 1835. Altogether the district has 

furnished probably 2,500,000 tons of non-Bessemer ore ranging from 

45 to 60 per cent iron. The largest mines are the Dickson and Old 

Sterling near Antwerp and the Caledonia and Spragueville. Of 

recent years the output has been shipped to New Jersey and Pennsylvania for reduction.

Aside from the' actual mine workings the district is practically 

unexplored, and it is impossible to draw any accurate conclusions as 

to the quantity of ore that may exist. Judging from the ore bodies 

developed in the mines recently operative, it seems safe, however, to 

place the resources at present available at 2,000,000 tons, while an 

equal quantity may be represented by other deposits that are not now 

workable by reason of their inaccessibility or other unfavorable circumstances.

Estimates of Adirondack ores.

Nontitaniferous magnetites:

Available.

Long tons. 

35,000,000

75,000,000

90,000,000

2,000,000

Not available. .

Long tons.

100,000,000

2 nnn nnn

(3) CLINTON ORES.

CHARACTER OF THE ORE.

i

The Clinton iron ore, so named from its typical occurrence at 

Clinton, N. Y., is an amorphous red hematite mixed with calcium carbonate, silica, aluminum silicate, and other minerals in minor quantities. It includes the varieties known as fossil ore and .oolitic ore.

It occurs in lenticular beds analogous to the strata of sandstone, 

shale, and limestone, with which they are interbedded.

The fossil ore consists of aggregates of fossil organic remains in 

which the original calcium carbonate has. be.e.n replaced partly or
IRON OSES. 85

wholly by ferric oxide. The fossils, which consist of broken and 

waterworn fragments, were evidently gathered into beds by the action 

of waves and currents, and subsequently cemented together by calcium 

carbonate and ferric oxide. More or less clay material was also included in the beds during their deposition, and this now forms thin 

s.eams of shale.

The oolitic ore consists of aggregates of flat grains with rounded 

edges about the size and shape of flaxseeds. These grains generally 

lie parallel to the bedding planes of the rock, and the mass is cemented 

by ferric oxide and more or less calcium carbonate. The flattened 

grains have a nucleus of quartz, generally very minute, about which 

successive layers of iron oxide, and, in many instances, thin layers of 

amorphous silica and aluminous material, have been deposited. One 

of the two varieties of ore generally predominates in a bed, but in 

certain localities both fossil and .oolitic materials are mixed in nearly 

equal proportions. The fossil ore, where, unweathered, as compared 

with the oolitic ore in the same condition, is apt to be the more calcareous, while the oolitic ore may carry higher proportions of silica 

and alumina.

A characteristic of the Clinton ore is that where it has been weathered or acted upon by surface waters the lime carbonate is dissolved 

out, thereby increasing the content of iron oxide, silica, and other 

constituents proportionately. Such altered ore is termed " soft ore," 

and it is usually porous and friable as compared with the unaltered 

material, which is termed " hard ore." The alteration of the ore beds 

takes place at the outcrop and extends to depths varying from a few 

inches to 400 feet, depending on the attitude of the beds and on the 

thickness and permeability of the overlying rocks. The quantity of 

the soft ore is relatively small in comparison with the hard ore, and 

owing to its higher content of iron and its greater accessibility, a 

large part of the soft ore has already been mined.

In general the hard and semihard ores range in percentages of major constituents as follows: Metallic iron, 30 to 45 per cent; lime, 5 to 

20 per cent; silica, 2 to 25 per cent; alumina, 2 to 5 per cent; magnesia, 1 to 3 per cent; phosphorus, 0.25 to 1.5 per cent; sulphur, a trace 

to 0.5 per cent; and water, 0.5 to 3 per cent. The ore is therefore 

of non-Bessemer grade. Small quantities of manganese are found in 

the Clinton ore in places, especially in the South. The content of 

this mineral seldom exceeds 0.25 per cent. In the soft ore the lime 

generally runs less than 1 per cent, so that the percentages of the 

other constituents are proportionately higher.

GEOLOGIC RELATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION.

The Clinton formation, of which the Clinton ore beds are a part, 

consists of lenticular, overlapping sedimentary beds, chiefly shale, 

sandstone, and limestone. In some places shale predominates, in
86 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

others sandstone, and less commonly limestone. One or more ironore beds are generally present, although over large areas none occur. 

The formation has a wide distribution in the eastern half of the 

United States. In the Mississippi Valley it is present in Wisconsin 

and Missouri, in the latter State having been recognized in a drill hole 

by the presence of a bed of iron ore over 8 feet thick at a depth of 2,000 

feet. In eastern Wisconsin the formation is represented by a bed of 

iron ore only, which varies in thickness from 1.5 to 25 feet. In Ohio, 

Indiana, and northeastern Kentucky the formation occurs generally 

with thicknesses of 35 to 50 feet, but containing ore only in the latter 

State. In northern New York the Clinton rocks extend in a eastwest strip from Niagara Kiver to Otsego County. Here the thickness 

ranges from 32 to 295 feet. In all these States the beds are approximately horizontal or dip at very low angles. In the Appalachian 

belt from, northern Pennsylvania southwestward to central Alabama 

the'Clinton is a well-developed formation, and the beds are generally 

inclined at angles of 10° to 90°. Its thickness decreases from 2,000 

feet in Pennsylvania to about 850 feet in Virginia, 300 to 750 feet in 

Tennessee, and 200 to 700 feet in Alabama and Georgia.

DISTRIBUTION.

While the total length of outcrop of all the areas of ore-bearing 

Clinton formation would reach several thousand miles, only a relatively small part of this outcrop contains ore workable under present 

conditions. The workability of an ore bed depends on its thickness, 

extent, composition, and attitude, and also upon its situation with 

respect to transportation routes, fuel, and markets. The first set of 

factors are of greatest importance, since few areas of good ore are so

inaccessible that they will not sooner or later be reached by railroad.

Local conditions also play an important part in determining the 

workability of an ore bed. For instance, in districts where several 

such beds occur in the formation, as in Alabama, only the thicker and 

richer ores are now worked, while others that would be at once exploited if they were in Pennsylvania are for the present neglected.

Wisconsin. In Wisconsin Clinton ore has been produced in Dodge 

County since 1849. The ore occurs at Iron Eidge in an irregular 

lens-shaped bed between the " Cincinnati shale " and the Niagaran 

limestone. Its thickness varies from 1.5 to 25 feet. At other points, 

within a radius of 10 miles, the same ore bed occurs and it is known 

to thin out to the east. Toward the west the ore has been eroded, 

so that the outcrop lies in a westward-facing scarp about 60 feet high, 

capped by Niagaran limestone. Open-cut and underground mining 

have been carried on here. The ore as originally mined ran low in 

lime and contained about 45 per cent iron. It was partially hydrated
IRON ORES. 87

and represented the " soft ore " of the outcrop. In 1906 the produc: 

tion of ore from Iron Ridge was nearly 90,000 tons, and in 1907 about 

22,000 tons. Recent exploration work has proved that a considerable 

reserve of hard ore remains in this district, amounting to about 

40,000,000 tons.

Kentucky. A bed of Clinton ore, averaging probably more than 2 

feet in thickness, occurs in Bath County, Ky., underlying an area of 

about 8 square miles. This ore lies nearly horizontal, but most of it 

is below too heavy cover to admit of mining under present conditions. 

It carries from 30 to 40 per cent iron and 13 to 16 per cent lime carbonate. At present the ore is mined by stripping where the cover is 

not more than 8 to 10 feet thick. The deposit has produced approximately 190,000 tons, and it is estimated that there are remaining 

25,000,000 tons, one-tenth of which may be available under present

conditions.

New York. The belt of ore-bearing Clinton within New York 

State extends from Rochester on the west nearly to Utica on the east, 

a distance of about 130 miles. .The width of outcrop of the formation 

reaches a maximum of 5 miles. The beds dip toward the south, from 

45 to 80 feet to the mile. Conditions are extremely favorable for 

underground mining and should permit work to a distance of 3 to 

5 miles from the outcrop wherever the ore is of sufficient thickness. 

The ore bed that is worked varies in thickness from 1.5 to 4 feet, Avith 

an average of about 2.5 feet. It carries 35 to 45 per cent of iron, with 

an average, where worked, of about 40 per cent. The phosphorus is 

high, from 0.25 to more than 1 per cent, and the sulphur, while variable, runs from traces up to 0.5 per cent. The ore has been worked 

in Wayne, Cayuga, and Oneida counties.

An estimate made by the New York State Survey of the tonnage 

contained in this district, mainly in these three counties, gives a 

total of 600,000,000 tons. Ore beds less than 1.5 feet thick and at a 

depth of more than 500 feet, as well as those carrying less than the 

average content of iron, have been excluded from consideration. 

Much of this ore, however, is not available under present conditions.

Pennsylvania. The length of outcrop of the Clinton formation in 

Pennsylvania is very great owing to its repetition in the many anticlinal folds within the central part of the State. In the counties of 

Snyder, Mifflin, Juniata, Blair, Huntingdon, and Bedford, three or 

four thin beds of red ore occur, ranging in thickness from a few 

inches to more than 2 feet. The ore on the outcrop is usually soft and 

rich enough to work by stripping, but the hard ore under cover is 

in most places too thin to be worked at present. In a few places, 

however, where the beds are from 1 to 2 feet thick, underground 

drifts and slopes have been driven for short distances in the hard ore.
88 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

The soft ore carries 40 to 50 per cent of iron and from a trace to 5 or 

G per cent of lime. The hard ore carries 20 to 35 per cent of iron, 

and in places as much as 25 per cent of lime.

Less than 20,000 tons a year of Clinton ore are now being produced 

in Pennsylvania, and it is probable that the reserves of this ore at 

present available in the State are not much in excess of 5,000,000 tons.

Virginia -and north Tennessee. The ore beds in the Clinton in 

Virginia are generally too thin to be considered important reserves 

after the soft ore shall have been mined out. In the west-central part 

of the State beds at Lowmoor range in thickness from 16 to 21 inches, 

and at Iron Gate from 8 to 12 inches. The soft ore carries 46 to 57 

per cent of iron. Nearly 90,000 tons were shipped in 1907 from mines 

in this district, and at this rate of production most of the easily accessible soft ore will probably be exhausted within ten or twelve 

years.

The Clinton formation, outcropping along the foot of Cumberland Mountain, is ore bearing from Cumberland Gap, Va., to La 

Follette, Tenn. Near Cumberland Gap there are three ore beds ranging in thickness from 6 inches to 2.5 feet. Only the upper bed, the 

thickness of which ranges from 15 to 20 inches, is workable. SouthAvestward toward La Follette the ore increases in thickness to 3.5 

feet. Here practically all the soft ore has been mined out, so that 

only a hard ore, carrying 26 to 32 per cent of iron, remains. It is 

estimated that about 16,000,000 tons of such ore are still available 

in the Cumberland Gap-La Follette district.

It is possible that future exploration of the extensive areas of 

Clinton formation within Virginia and West Virginia may reveal 

additional ore reserves.

Rockwood-Chattanooga-Gadsden district. This district embraces 

an area about 30 by 125 miles in the Appalachian valley region of east 

Tennessee, northwest Georgia, and northeast Alabama. Steeply dipping Clinton strata outcrop in narrow strips on both sides of Walden 

Ridge and Lookout Mountain and in the Whiteoak Ridge and other 

synclines of the Tennessee Valley. Ore is mined at North Chattanooga, Rockwood, Cardiff, Euchee, Welker, and Ooltewah, Tenn., 

and has been mined extensively at Inman. The important mining 

localities in Georgia are at Rising Fawn and Estelle, and in Alabama 

at Battelle, Portersville, Crudup, Attalla, and Gadsden.

The workable ore beds range from 2 to 5 feet in thickness and 

carry from 30 to 40 per cent of iron, 10 to 25 per cent of lime, and 

0.5 to 0.7 per cent phosphorus. The use of much of the ore that is 

low in iron and high in lime depends upon the continuance of supplies of brown ore. The latter is mixed in the blast furnace with red 

ore that contains more than sufficient lime to be self-fluxing.
IRON ORES. 89

Estimates based upon fairly complete examinations place the available Clinton ore of the Eockwood-Chattanooga-Gadsden district at 

86,570,000 tons, and the ore that will ultimately become available at 

440,000,000 tons.

Birmingham district. The Birmingham district includes the 

Clinton ore-bearing areas of Alabama from Springville southwest 

beyond Woodstock. As in Tennessee and Georgia, the Clinton formation in Alabama outcrops in narrow strips on the flanks of synclinal mountains. The dips range from 10° or 15° to vertical; The 

most important outcrop is along the crest of Ked Mountain for about 

25 miles, near Birmingham. Other areas of minor importance occur 

along West Red Mountain near Birmingham. The thickness of the 

more important ore beds ranges from 2.5 to 12 feet. The ore carries 

j'rom 30 to 40 per cent of iron, 10 to 25 per cent of lime, 0.3 to 0.6 per 

cent phosphorus, and from a trace to 0.1 per cent sulphur.

Estimates of tonnage of available ore for the Birmingham Clinton 

ore field indicate a supply of probably 358,470,000 tons, and of ore 

not at present available of about 438,000,000 tons.

SUMMARY AND ESTIMATES.

The Clinton formation has a wide distribution in the central and 

eastern portion of the United States, but contains commercially important ore beds in only a part of its area. The most important deposits are in the Birmingham, Chattanooga, and New York State 

districts, while less extensive deposits occur in Virginia, Wisconsin, 

Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.

It is evident from the above description that the quantity *of ore 

contained in any area of the Clinton formation may be calculated 

with a fair degree of accuracy, provided sufficient data are available 

as to its dip and as to variations in thickness and quality of the ore 

beds. An assumption must be made as to depth-limiting workability 

under a variety of structural conditions, and since this is a matter 

of opinion it will vary somewhat widely and introduce correspondingdifferences in the results. Conditions of blast-furnace practice locally 

may define the quality of a workable ore. In places where brown 

ores are available for mixing with Clinton ores, an ore of the latter 

class can be used as a flux, although it runs so low in iron and so high 

in lime that alone it would not be acceptable. The estimates of avail- 

,able ores made by various experts do not, however, differ materially. 

In case of the total ore which is not now available, but which may be 

mined eventually, the variance in estimates is much greater, since 

more unknown factors enter into the problem.

The estimates given below are based upon detailed examinations 

of the more important districts by the United States Geological Sur-
90 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

vey for the Birmingham and Chattanooga districts, and by the State 

Survey for the New York district, with a study of all obtainable drill

records.

Estimates of Clinton ores.

District. Available.

Long tons. 

358,470,000

86,570,000

30,000,000

10,000,000

10,000,000

5,000,000

2,500,000

Not available.

Long tons. 

438,000,000

440,000,000

570,000,000

50,000,000

30,000,000

50,000,000

42,500,000

(4) APPALACHIAN METAM ORPHIC ORES.

This group includes the deposits of magnetite and specular hematite associated with the crystalline and metamorphic rocks of the 

Piedmont and Appalachian mountain belts, which extend from southern New York to central Alabama. The ore deposits are not uniformly 

distributed throughout this area, but are confined to certain portions 

where geologic conditions have been favorable for their accumulation. The most important districts are (1) the highlands of 

southern New York and northern New Jersey; (2) the James River 

district, Virginia; (3) the Cranberry district, North Carolina; (4) the 

Piedmont district, North Carolina; (5) the Yorkville district, South 

Carolina; (6) the Talladega gray ore district, Alabama. The lastnamed,, district is included in this group for convenience, although it 

differs materially in its geologic relations from the others.

The ore deposits of this group have the form of lenticular beds or 

elongated pods, which are interlaminated with the gneisses, schists, 

or crystalline limestones. The individual deposits vary in thickness 

from a fraction of an inch up to 50 or even 80 feet, but the majority 

of the workable deposits are from 4 to 15 feet thick and are apt to 

show rapid variations by pinching and swelling on both the strike and 

the dip. They vary in composition from practically pure iron ore 

to a material containing a large proportion of gangue minerals. In 

general, the larger deposits contain the smaller proportion of iron 

and can be worked only by the employment of some method of concentration.

The deposits rarely occur singly, but are more often disposed in 

rather narrow belts separated by wider belts of barren gneiss and 

schist. Since the ores were undoubtedly derived from a deep-seated 

source, there is no reason to anticipate a failure in depth, although 

pinches and swells are to be expected in the course of deep mining, 

and the cost of mining will necessarily increase with depth.
IRON OEES. 91

The gray hematites of the Talladega district and certain hematite 

deposits of Virginia and Georgia are here included for convenience, 

though they occur under entirely different geologic conditions from 

those above described. These hematites have the appearance of regularly bedded deposits, associated with sedimentary rocks which have 

suffered only slight metamorphism. Whether or not the}'' were deposited at the same time as the inclosing sediments has not been definitely determined. They possess much greater uniformity, both on 

the dip and along the strike, than the magnetites in the crystalline 

rocks, and for practical purposes may be regarded as original bedded 

deposits.

In view of the irregularities in thickness of the magnetite beds, 

which can not be determined in advance of thorough prospecting, it 

is impossible to make any accurate calculation of the amount of ore

which they contain even when their area at the surface is known, and

this is rarely the case. The following estimates, therefore, are only 

approximate, particularly the amount assigned to the nonavailable 

class:

Estimates of Appalachian metamorphic ores.

Ores.

Magnetites, including some titaniferous magnetites and some hematite.

Available.

Long tons. 

47,500,000 

8,000,000

Not available.

Long tons. 

74,500,000

(5) APPALACHIAN BROWN ORES. 

GEOLOGIC RELATIONS.

This group embraces those deposits of brown ores associated with 

the Appalachian'belt of closely folded sedimentary rocks which 

extends continuously from northern Vermont southwestward to central Alabama. It is bounded on the east by the older crystalline and 

metamorphic rocks of the Appalachian Mountains, and on the west 

by the younger " Coal Measures." It is underlain by limestones, dolomites, shales, sandstones, and quartzites, ranging in age from Cambrian to Carboniferous. The beds, originally deposited in approximately horizontal layers, have been folded and faulted so that they 

now occupy all possible attitudes. This has given rise to conditions 

favorable to the rapid weathering of the rocks. The steeply dippingsandstones and quartzites form sharp ridges, while the more easily 

eroded limestones, dolomites, and shales form the intervening valleys, 

their surfaces being generalty covered with a deep mantle of residual 

materials. These rocks, particularly the shales and some of the limestones, contain small quantities of iron minerals, sulphides, carbonates, and silicates, and in the process of weathering and erosion, by 

which many thousand feet of strata have been removed, the iron
92 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

originally contained in these widely disseminated minerals has been 

concentrated, where conditions were favorable, as the hydrated oxide 

forming the deposits of brown ore. These deposits, while presenting 

great diversity in form, fall into three classes, known as mountain 

ores, valley or limestone ores, and Oriskany ores.

MOUNTAIN ORES.

These deposits are so called because they always occur upon the 

flanks or at the base of a sandstone, chert, or quartzite ridge, and 

throughout Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama they are 

most extensively developed along the extreme eastern margin of the 

valley belt where the Cambrian quartzite forms a high ridge flanking 

the crystalline rocks. The quartzite beds dip steeply beneath the 

overlying shales and limestones, and iron derived from the latter 

during the process of weathering has been concentrated downward 

upon this impermeable foot wall. Similar conditions favorable for 

ore concentration occur elsewhere in the Appalachian belt where the 

Cambrian quartzite in isolated ridges dips beneath the overlying' 

shales, as at Anniston, Ala., and also at a few points where the 

lower Carboniferous chert has formed an impermeable foot wall, as 

at Sugar Valley, Ga. The deposits present great diversity in form, 

varying from fissure veins and replacement zones in the sandston^ 

and shale, through blanket deposits resting on the quartzite, to irregular pockets scattered through the residual clay. The last are the 

most abundant and characteristic. Their size can rarely be determined in advance of development, even by systematic prospecting, 

and estimates of their available tonnage varjr between wide limits.

VALLEY OR LIMESTONE ORES.

These are associated with the great limestone and dolomite formations which underlie much of the Appalachian belt. They also are 

derived from the iron minerals originally disseminated through the 

rocks and have been concentrated during the process of weathering 

and erosion. Their location depends on the original abundance of 

these minerals in the rocks and on favorable conditions for concentration afforded during erosion, in some cases probably by the 

fracturing, of the beds and the consequent free underground circulation of water, and in others by the location of an easily soluble bed 

of limestone toward which drainage from surrounding areas brought 

the iron and deposited it as bog ore. They are always embedded in 

the residual mantle composed of the insoluble portions of the underlying rocks. The deposits vary in form, but generally consist of 

concretionary masses ranging in size from those containing several 

tons down to pellets the size of a pea, disseminated through the residual clay.
IRON OEES. 93

ORISKANY ORES.

These deposits are more regular in their occurrence, 'being limited 

to a definite horizon in the Helderberg limestone immediately beneath the Qriskany sandstone. They are confined to a comparatively 

small portion of the valley belt, chiefly in southwestern Virginia with 

a few deposits in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The iron was 

originally disseminated in the overlying shales, and wherever these 

shales occurred in sufficient thickness and the limestone bed occupied 

a favorable attitude its lime carbonate has been replaced by the iron 

oxide for a greater or less distance below the surface. The deposits 

frequently extend continuously for several miles along the outcrop, 

being made up of a series of lenses which may reach 75 feet in their 

thickest portions and thin down to a foot or less where adjacent lenses 

come together. The greatest depth to which the ore has been found 

is about 600 feet. Where the replacement has been complete and 

extensive, therefore, it has the form of a bedded deposit and the ore 

content can be estimated with some certainty. The deposits consist 

either of fairly solid ore or of irregular masses and seams of ore embedded in clay.

DEVELOPMENT AND ESTIMATES.

The Oriskany deposits are mined both by stripping on the outcrop 

and by regular underground mining. The mountain and valley ores 

are nearly always mined in open pits, in the larger operations by 

steam shovel, and in a few cases by the hydraulic method. Where 

hand mining is done, a part of the ore is sent direct to the furnace 

without other treatment than hand picking, but where the steam 

shovel is used everything is passed through the washer. In most 

cases sorting tables and jigs are employed in addition to the washer. 

By these means the associated materials, consisting of clay, chert, 

and other rock fragments, are removed from the ore. The average 

iron content of the ore as shipped is about 45 per cent, and the phosphorus is generally above the Bessemer limit. The deposits of this 

group, being widely disseminated and easily mined in open pits, furnished a large part of the ores used by the small charcoal furnaces 

in the early development of the iron industry in the United States. 

With increase in capacity of furnaces a more reliable ore supply has 

been sought, and many districts which were formerly heavy producers have been temporarily abandoned. The ore is still in demand, 

however, chiefly for mixture with the calcareous Clinton ores, and its 

production will doubtless increase in the future beyond any point 

previously reached. '

From the above description of these brown-ore deposits it will be 

readily understood that extreme difficulty must attend any attempt to 

estimate their total tonnage. It is unsafe to base an estimate on the
94 CONSEKVATION CF MINEEAL BESOUECES.

number of known occurrences of the ore multiplied by an average 

content derived from the known yield of certain deposits which have 

been worked out, for the best deposits are the ones most apt to be 

 exploited first. The estimates given below are based in part on 

systematic examination and measurement of all known .deposits in 

certain districts and in part on general considerations of distribution 

and geologic occurrence. The amounts given in the second column 

of the table, representing ore not now available, are confessedly little 

better than guesses and future exploration may show them to be 

much too low. It should be stated further that estimates made by 

competent experts differ from the figures here given by a factor varying from 0.7 to 3.

Estimates of Appalachian brown ores.

Available.

Long tons. 

1,000,000

10,000,000

35,150,000

19,250,000

Not available.

Long tons. 

1,500,000

12,000,000

136,000,000

32,000,000

(6) APPALACHIAN CARBONATE ORES.

This group of deposits includes the beds of carbonate ores and 

their oxidized outcrops which occur in the Carboniferous rocks within 

a broad belt stretching from western Pennsylvania through Ohio 

into northeastern Kentucky, and probably extending also into Tennessee and Alabama. The rocks occupying this belt are chiefly sandstones and shales, with occasional thin beds of limestone. The beds 

are nearly horizontal, and the topography is such that the outcrop 

of any stratum is extremely' sinuous and may have a length many

times the shortest distance between two points. This combination 

of structure and topography has an important bearing on the possible 

utilization of the iron ore.

The group embraces several varieties of ore locally distinguished 

as limestone ore, block ore, kidney ore, and black-band ore, each of 

which is accompanied by a corresponding variety of oxidation product. All of the varieties are non-Bessemer ores. The limestone 

ores are associated with thin beds of limestone, the most widely distributed being the Vanport and Maxville. The ore beds lie immediately above the limestones, which they sometimes entirely replace. 

They are usually only a few inches thick, but occasionally expand to 

several feet. For varying distances from the outcrop the original 

iron carbonate has been oxidized to a dense brown ore, with loss of 

carbonic acid and increase in proportion of iron. The unaltered 

carbonate contains 30 to 35 per cent iron, and the alteration product 

from 43 to 47 per cent.
IRON ORES. 95

The block ores are fairly regular bands of iron carbonate, interstratified with shale or fine sandstone. They are more persistent 

and uniform in thickness than the other varieties. In Kentucky 

three persistent beds are recognized, having a total outcrop of over 

450 miles. The quality of the ore varies inversely with the thickness 

of the beds, the thinnest beds carrying the best ore. The unaltered 

carbonate carries from 29 to 34 per cent iron, and the brown ore on 

the outcrop from 33 to 43 per cent.

The kidney ores, as their name implies, are concretionary in form 

and occur in certain beds of clay shale, rarely forming continuous 

layers. They grade into the black-band ores, which are usually more 

or less closely associated with coal beds and contain carbonaceous 

matter which gives them a black color. These concretionary forms 

o-enerally contain the purest iron carbonate and on oxidation at their 

outcrop yield a correspondingly pure limonite, or brown ore.

In the early history of iron making in the United States this ore 

belt in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky contained a large number 

of small charcoal furnaces and the aggregate amount of ore produced 

was very considerable. With the disappearance of the forests the 

iron industry in this region declined, and the use of these ores has 

practically ceased. The production was confined largely to the 

oxidized surface ores, which not only were more easily accessible but 

gave the best results in the primitive furnaces. While the deposits 

of this group contain a large aggregate tonnage, practically all 

of it must be classed as not at present available. The principal 

reason that the ore can not now be worked at a profit is the fact 

that the nature of the deposits does not permit operations on a 

large scale. At only a few points are the beds sufficiently thick and 

persistent for underground mining, and stripping is therefore the 

method used. The distance which stripping can be carried into the 

hillside depends on the slope and the thickness of the bed. An average width of the belt from which the ore can be mined has been 

assumed as 100 feet, and the average thickness of the ore bed from 10 

to 12 inches. The aggregate length of outcrop of the several ore 

beds has been taken as follows: For Pennsylvania, 866 miles; 

Ohio, 2,056 miles; and Kentucky, 1,260 miles. With these assumptions the total tonnage of carbonate and associated limonite ores 

which may ultimately be produced in these three States, and in 

Tennessee and Alabama, is as follows:

Estimates of Appalachian carbonate ores.

Available.

Long tons.

Not available.

Long tons. 

46,000,000

200,000,000

60,000,000

2,000,000
96 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES. 

(7) WEST TENNESSEE BROWN ORES.

This group embraces the ore deposits within a broad belt extending 

from the northern border of Alabama and Mississippi across western 

Tennessee and Kentucky. This region is a plateau of moderate elevation which has been dissected by the Tennessee River and its tributaries. The rocks underlying the ore-bearing territory are lower 

Carboniferous cherty limestones. The ore deposits closely resemble 

the limestone ores of the Appalachian Valley. They vary in size from 

scattered concretions' embedded in surface cherty clay to bodies having a depth of 120 feet or more and containing upward of half a 

million tons. The larger deposits are confined to slight depressions 

in the plateau surface, in which deposits of waterworn bowlders 

suggest the former presence of streams. The" ore was doubtless derived from the accumulation during the process of weathering and 

erosion of iron contained in minerals disseminated through the 

higher formations. These ores have been mined for many years, 

supplying a number of local charcoal furnaces and being shipped for 

mixture with the calcareous Clinton ores of the Chattanooga and 

Birmingham districts.

In the absence of detailed examination of this ore belt, estimates of 

ore tonnage contained in these deposits must rest upon a very small 

foundation of ascertained fact. A few of the deposits have been 

studied, as those at R-ussellville, Mannie, and Goodrich, and the estimates for the entire district are based upon these disconnected observations. These estimates place the available ore at 10,000,000 tons, 

and the ore not now available, chiefly because of the excessive cost 

of transportation and of working scattered deposits, at 15,000,000 

tons.

(8) EAST TEXAS BROWN ORES.

This group of deposits occurs in the northeastern portion of Texas 

and the adjacent portions of Louisiana and Arkansas. They differ 

materially in their geologic relations and in the problems of utilization from the brown ores previously described. The region is underlain by Tertiary formations, chiefly unconsolidated sands, clays, and 

greensands. The ore forms a fairly uniform layer, rarely averaging 

over 2 feet in thickness, and covering large areas. It is at places exposed at the surface and is elsewhere covered by soil and sand to a 

depth of 6 feet or more. The ore averages about 46 per cent of iron, 

and is above the Bessemer limit in phosphorus. It is generally high 

in both silica and alumina. The deposits are probably derived from 

the oxidation in place of beds and nodules of iron carbonate, although 

it may be in part due to the concentration of iron derived from the 

greensand and other iron minerals disseminated through adjacent 

formations. While these deposits contain in the aggregate a large
IKON OKES. 97

amount of ore of fairly good grade, its utilization presents somewhat serious difficulties. Owing to the thinness of the deposits' the 

ore can not be excavated with steam shovel or other mechanical 

devices. The scarcity of water in the region will prevent hydraulicking and also economical washing of the ore, so that only the lump 

ore can be utilized.

These deposits have been mined at a number of points and have 

supplied a local furnace for some years. The same region is underlain by beds of lignite, one of which at a depth of about 50 feet has 

a thickness of over 4 feet. Should it prove practicable to use this 

lignite in blast-furnace practice, directly or as a gas producer, its occurrence in the immediate vicinity of the ores would prove highly 

advantageous in their utilization.

In the absence of detailed surveys it is not possible to closely estimate the area of the workable deposits. The total area known to be

underlain by the ore-bearing formation is about 500 square miles, and 

of this probably 50 square miles contain a bed averaging 2 feet in 

thickness, which is taken as the limit of profitable working at the 

present. time. Upon this basis the district is. estimated to contain 

260,000,000 tons of available ore, and it is probable that it contains 

twice this amount of ore that is not now available but will be utilized 

eventually.

(9) OZARK ORES." 

GEOLOGIC RELATIONS.

The Ozark district embraces the southern half of Missouri and a 

narrow strip along the northern border of Arkansas. It consists of 

a broad, unsymmetrical, domelike uplift, by which the older rocks 

are brought to the surface near the center of the district and, dipping , 

outward in all directions, pass under successively younger formations - 

toward its circumference. The oldest rocks in the district are igneous, 

porphyry and granite, on the irregularly eroded surface of which 

the Cambrian formations were deposited. The greater part of the 

district is occupied by cherty, magnesian limestone, with subordinate 

sandstones and shales.

The district contains four classes of iron ores in deposits of sufficient size to be of commercial importance. These are (1) coarse 

specular hematite, occurring in veins in porphyry and in associated 

conglomerate beds; (2) fine specular hematite, occurring in pockets 

at the contact between Cambrian sandstones and limestones; (3) 

brown ore, limonite, occurring in pockets in the residual clay and 

chert derived from the weathering of limestones; and (4) red hema: 

tite, occurring as bedded deposits with Carboniferous shales and sandstones. In addition the " Coal Measures " contain occasional thin

" Based on reports of the Missouri State Survey. 

86412 Bu 11. 394 09 7
98 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

beds of iron carbonate, but these are not known in deposits of commercial size. Each of these classes of ore being associated with certain 

geologic formations, their distribution is dependent on the structure 

of the district. The porphyry ores are confined to a small district in 

Iron County, practically to the two localities, Iron Mountain and 

Pilot Knob. The fine hematites are grouped within an area about 

50 miles in diameter, chiefly in Phelps and Crawford counties, where 

the Koubidoux sandstone occupies the surface. The limonite deposits form two irregular groups, the first occupying the basin of 

the Osage Kiver and the second extending along the southeastern 

margin of the district. The deposits of the red hematite are less 

numerous than the other kinds, and occur chiefly along the northern 

margin of the district.

SPECULAR PORPHYRY HEMATITE.

The interest in these deposits is chiefly historic, since they are now 

practically exhausted and thorough testing in the most "favorable 

localities has entirely failed- to reveal additional deposits. These 

were the first iron ores worked west of the Mississippi Eiver and 

supplied several local furnaces, the first of which was built about 

1815. They continued to produce up to 1893 and have had a total 

production of 4,500,000 tons. The history of the development and 

exhaustion of these deposits is instructive as illustrating the fallacy 

of the popular belief that many ore bodies are inexhaustible and 

showing that they are very definitely limited in the amount of ore 

which they will yield.

SPECULAR SANDSTONE HEMATITE.

These deposits consist of irregularly circular pockets from 300 to 

500 feet in diameter, located in the sandstone and extending downward into the underlying limestone. The ore occurs both as bowlders

mixed with fragments of sandstone, chert, and residual clay and 

as a solid, indistinctly bedded mass. The unaltered ore is a dense, 

fine-grained blue or gray hematite, which near the surface has been 

changed largely to soft red hematite or to limonite. The better 

grades contain 55 to 67 per cent of iron and are generally low in 

phosphorus. In addition there are large amounts of siliceous ore 

which are not available under present conditions. The yield of individual deposits may be in excess of half a million tons, and unless 

erosion has cut into deposits of this size they may afford little or no 

indication of their presence at the surface. In the absence of thorough testing, surface indications are therefore1 unreliable as a basis 

for estimates of the ore content of these deposits. A large amount of 

uncertainty must be present in any estimate of total tonnage, and the 

figures given are regarded only as roughly approximate. These 

deposits at present form the chief source of iron-ore production in 

the Ozark district.
IEON OEES. 99

BROWN ORES.

Deposits of this class occur in very large numbers as irregular 

pockets in the residual material overlying various limestone formations. They are due to the concentration of iron contained in minerals originally, disseminated through the rocks which have been 

removed and were concentrated during the process of weathering and 

erosion. They are in part also derived from the solution and redeposition at lower levels of other iron ores, as the specular and red 

hematites. Over 500 localities are listed at which these deposits 

occur, and while they vary widely in the amount of ore contained, the 

aggregate tonnage must be very considerable. Owing to the small 

idze of many of these deposits, their distances from transportation 

places them in the class of ores not at present -available. Also, in a 

considerable proportion of the deposits, the ratio of ore to clay, is too 

low for profitable working at present.

BED HEMATITE.

These ores occur as regularly bedded deposits in certain portions 

of the lower Carboniferous formations along the northern border of 

the Ozark district. They are variable in thickness and horizontal 

'Sxtent. The deposits are practically undeveloped, and owing to the 

low grade of the ore and the thinness and variability of the beds, they 

can not at present compete with other ores that are higher in grade 

and are more cheaply mined.

SUMMARY.

The estimates of tonnage contained in the various classes of ore 

deposits in the Ozark district are summarized in the following table:

Estimates of Ozark ores.

Available.

Long tons. 

15,000,000

30,000,000

Not available.

Long tons. 

5,000,000

45,000,000

5,000,000

(10) ROCKY MOUNTAIN METAMORPHIC ORES.

This group embraces the deposits of magnetite and specular hematite associated with crystalline schists and gneisses at various localities in the Rocky Mountain region. They are similar in most particulars to the deposits of the same ores in the crystalline metamorphic belt of the Eastern States. They consist of lenticular beds conforming in dip and strike ( to the foliation of the inclosing rocks and 

varying greatly in thickness within short distances, both in depth 

and along the outcrop. -Associated with these beds, and evidently
100 CONSERVATION Or MINERAL RESOURCES.

derived from them, are occasionally found secondary fragmental deposits, which are sometimes overlain by later sedimentary or igneous 

formations.

The best-known deposits of this group occur in the Hartville district, Wyoming, and in the Llano district, Texas. They also occur 

at various points in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona, 

and in general may be expected wherever there are considerable areas 

of crystalline gneisses and schists. They have been extensively 

worked in the Hartville district, supplying a part of the ore for the 

furnaces at Pueblo, Colo., and being used also to some extent for 

fluxing silver ores. It is probable that a much larger proportion.of 

the deposits of this group are as yet undiscovered than of any other 

group of iron-ore deposits. In view of the extremely meager information, estimates of their contents have little value. The ore is generally high grade, though sometimes siliceous, but a large proportion 

of the deposits are not at present available by reason of remoteness 

from transportation lines and distance frorrv suitable fuel for their 

reduction.

(11) IGNEOUS CONTACT ORES. 

GEOLOGIC RELATIONS.

This group is based exclusively upon its geologic relations, and 

the deposits are widely distributed, though the most of them are 

located in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific States. The essential 

characteristics of the deposits are the following: They are steeply 

dipping, lens-shaped bodies, which closely follow the contact of an 

intrusive igneous mass and an intruded limestone. They occur 

partly within the igneous rock as dikelike veins and partly within 

the limestone, but generally at the immediate contact. The limestone is always altered for a variable distance, sometimes several hundred feet from the contact, the alteration consisting in extreme 

silicification and the development of lime-bearing metamorphic minerals. The ores are magnetite, or more generally an intimate mixture of magnetite and hematite. They are often altered at the surface to red hematite and to some extent to limonite. The original 

bedding planes of the limestone are sometimes preserved in the ore 

body. The gangue consists of quartz and aluminous silicates, in part 

the recrystallized impurities of the limestone and in part minerals 

introduced along with the iron. The ores are believed to be due to 

hot solutions rising from a deep-seated source through fissures in the 

igneous rock at a period closely following its complete or partial 

solidification.

CORNWALL DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA.

The principal eastern representative of this group is in eastern 

Pennsylvania, where the ore, chiefly magnetite, has been mined since 

the early part of the eighteenth century. These deposits, of which
IRON OEES. 101

the Cornwall mine is considered the type, occur at the contact of intrusive masses of Mesozoic diabase and Cambrian limestone. The 

more easily accessible portions of the deposits have been mined out, 

but they are estimated to contain 50,000,000 tons of ore, of which 

about 15,000,000 tons are considered available under present conditions.

IKON SPRINGS DISTRICT, UTAH.

These are the best known of the western representatives of the 

group. They are located in southwestern Utah, about 250 miles from 

Salt Lake. The ore, which consists of both magnetite and specular 

hematite (70 per cent of the former and 30 per cent of the latter), 

occurs at or near the contact of laccolithic intrusions of andesite in 

Carboniferous limestone. The aggregate surface of the known ore 

bodies is 5,430,000 square feet, and the calculated tonnage to. a depth

of 130 feet is 40,000,000 tons. While this is the greatest depth at 

which the ore has been actually observed in prospect pits, a careful 

consideration of its geologic relations leads to the conclusion that 

it extends to considerably greater depths, and probably twice the 

above tonnage may be taken as the amount which is present but not 

now available. Practically no development has taken place except 

the sinking of a large number of prospect pits.

OTHEK DISTRICTS.

Ore deposits belonging to this group are known to occur at numerous localities throughout the West, but they have not generally been 

examined in sufficient detail to permit accurate estimates of tonnage 

being made.

In Utah deposits occur at Bull Valley, about 25 miles southwest of 

the Iron Springs district and under similar geologic conditions. 

In California they are found in the Cave Canyon and other districts 

in San Bernardino County, in the Eagle Mountain district, Riverside 

County, in Shasta County, and elsewhere. In Nevada large deposits, 

estimated to contain at least 7,000,000 tons of magnetite and hematite, 

averaging 63 per cent of iron, are reported to occur in the Lovelocks 

district, in Humboldt and Chur.chill counties. Deposits also occur 

in Lyon County. In Washington deposits which probably belong 

to this group, although their relations are not known in detail, occur 

at a number of localities in the northeastern part of the State, in 

Stevens County. The ores are chiefly magnetite and hematite, 

though in part altered to limonite.

In Colorado iron-ore deposits occur near Ashcroft, in Pitkin and 

Ghmnison counties, and in the White Pine and Cebolla districts, in 

Ghmnison County. Those of the Ashcroft district occur on both 

sides of the Elk Mountains, at elevations between 11,000 and 12,000
102 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

feet above tide. The deposits are associated with limestones and 

igneous intrusives. They are of considerable size, the one on the 

northwest side of the divide being at least 300 feet on the strike and 

from 40 to 122 feet thick. Its total depth is not known, but it is 

proved to be at least 100 feet. The greater part of the ore is high in 

iron and sulphur, but low in phosphorus.

In New Mexico iron-ore deposits occur at Chupadera Mesa and 

at Fierro, in Grant County. The latter locality has been worked for 

some years, furnishing, a large amount of ore for the Pueblo furnaces. 

The ore is associated with limestones and igneous intrusions, forming 

lenses at or near the contact between the two. It is accompanied 

by metamorphic minerals, as epidote and garnet, which are developed in the contact zone in great abundance. The ore is magnetite with subordinate amounts of hematite, and usually contains a 

small amount of copper. The greater part of the easily accessible 

high-grade ore has been mined out.

COMMERCIAL CLASSIFICATION AND SUMMARY OF ESTIMATES.

While the foregoing classification and grouping of the iron-ore deposits is a convenient one for purposes of description and for discussion of the basis and value of tonnage estimates, the grouping does 

not correspond with commercial conditions, and the estimates already 

given are therefore summarized by commercial grades and districts 

in the following table:

Estimates of iron-ore supplies of the United States.

Commercial districts (States).

Total............................

Magnetite ores.

Nontitaniferous.

Available.

Long tons. 

160,000,000 

012,500,000

a- 51, 485, 000 

008,950,000

292,935,000

Not available.

Long tons. 

111,500,000 

23,000,000 

4,500,000,000

a 115, 440, 000 

11,800,000

4, 701, 740, 000

Titaniferous.

Available.

Long tons. 

90,000,000

90,000,000

Not available.

Long tons. 

100,000,000

25,000,000

1,500.000 

2,000,000

128,500,000

" Includes some hematite.

1. Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio.

2. Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, 

Alabama, east Tennessee.

3. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.

4. Northwest Alabama, west Tennessee, west Kentucky, .Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, east 

Texas.

5. Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, west Texas, 

Arizona.

6. Washington, Oregon, California.
IKON OEES. 103

Estimates of iron-ore supplies of the United Slates Continued.

Commercial districts (States).

1. Northeastern .......................

G. Pacific Slope. ......................

Total...........................

Commercial districts 

(States).

2. Southeastern ..........

4. Mississippi Valley. .... 

5. Rocky Mountain ......

6. Pacific Slope..........

Total..............

Hematite ores.

Specular and red.

Available.

Long tons. 

2,000,000 

8,000,000 

3,500,000,000 

15, 000, 000 

4,275,000

3,529,275,000

Brown ores.

Available.

Long tons. 

11,000,000 

54, 400, 000

366,666,666 

2,000,000

367, 400, 000

Not 

Available.

Long tons. 

13,500,000 

168,000,000

560,000,000 

1, 625, 000 

105, 000

743, 230, 000

Not available.

Lonjl tons. 

2,000,000 

53,000,000 

67,475,000,000 

10,000,000 

2, 100, 000 

10,000,000

07, 552, 100, 000

Clinton.

Available.

Long tons. 

35,000,000 

463,540,000 

10,000,000

508, 540, 000

Carbonate ores.

Available.

Long tons.

Not 

Available.

Long tons. 

248,000,000 

62,000,000

310,000,000

Not available.

Lonq tons. 

620,000,000 

970, 500, 000 

£0, 000, 000

1,020,500,000

Total supplies.

Available.

Long tons. 

298,000,000 

538, 440, 000 

3,510,000,000 

315,000,000 

57,700,000 

68, 950, 000

4,788,150,000

Not

Available.

Long tons. 

1,095,000,000 

1,276,500,000 72,o:-:o,ooo,ooo

570,000,000 

120,665,000 

23,905,000

75,116,070,000

1. Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio.

2. Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, 

Alabama, east Tennessee. '

3. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.

4. Northwest Alabama, west Tennessee, west Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri,'Arkansas, east 

Texas.

5. Montana, .Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, west Texas, Arizona.

6. Washington, Oregon, California.

FOREIGN IRON-ORE SUPPLIES.

In addition to the ore supplies included in the table given above, 

certain foreign deposits are so situated that they must depend, at 

least to a considerable extent, upon the American market, and are 

therefore to be considered practically a part of the available reserves. 

The most important oi these sources of foreign supply are located in 

Canada, Newfoundland, Cuba, and Mexico. None of these countries 

has an abundant fuel supply, and therefore either the fuel must be 

imported or the ore exported. The history of the iron industry indicates that tne latter is most likely to occur, particularly .when the 

industry is already established and the chief market for the finished 

product is near the fuel supply. This tendency may be interrupted 

by artificial means, such as bonuses and tariffs, but such interference 

with the natural course of industrial development is only temporary, 

and in the long run the industry will gravitate to the point of the 

lowest cost of production.
104 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

CANADIAN ORES.

Recent explorations have shown the existence of considerable areas 

of the iron-bearing formations on the north shore of t Lake Superior. 

The total tonnage of the iron formation in the Animikie, Michipicoten, and other north-shore districts is calculated at 93,600,000,000 

tons. If the same proportion of this total be considered low-grade 

ore as in the Michigan and Minnesota districts it will amount to 

about 20,000,000,000 tons. Since these north-shore districts are not 

as yet thoroughly prospected, the ratio between high and low grade 

ores can not be definitely determined, but it is almost certainly much 

lower than in the Michigan and Minnesota districts. The best estimate of ore now available in these Canadian districts is 9,000,000 tons.

Deposits of iron ore of the igneous contact type are known to 

occur in British Columbia, and those on Texada Island have been 

mined to some extent. These deposits are estimated to contain at 

least 30,000,000 tons of ore of present commercial grade and probably 

a considerably larger amount of low-grade and deep ore not now 

available.

NEWFOUNDLAND ORES. .

The most important of these are Clinton ores occurring on Belle 

Isle. Their area is definitely known and the doubtful factors are the 

proportion of ore below present commercial grade and the amount of 

available ore in beds known to extend under the ocean. The supply 

of available ore has been estimated at 30,000,000 tons, and the amount 

not now available may be several times this amount.

MEXICAN ORES.

Large deposits of iron ore are known to occur in various parts of 

Mexico. They are chiefly of the igneous contact and gossan types,' 

and no estimate of any value can be made of their available tonnage. 

Remoteness from centers of iron production will prevent their extensive exploitation for the present, and they are therefore to be 

regarded as wholly within the unavailable class.

CUBAN ORES.

By far the most important foreign source of iron ore, measured by 

the extent of the supplies and their accessibility^ is Cuba. The deposits are of two kinds, specular hematites of the Santiago district 

and brown limonites of the Mayari, Moa, Baracoa, Cubitas, and Pinar 

del Rio districts. The hematites have been worked extensively since 

1884, and for a number of years have furnished more than 50 per cent
IRON ORES. 105

of the total iron-ore imports. They are estimated to contain about 

9,000,000 tons of ore, about half of which is actually measured.

The limonites are widespread residual deposits derived from the 

weathering of igneous rocks. The ore contains from 43 to 52 per 

cent of iron, phosphorus below the Bessemer limit, and between 1 and 

% per cent of chromium. These deposits are as yet practically undeveloped, but the more important ones have been fairly well prospected, and it is estimated that they contain an aggregate of 3,000,- 

000,000 tons, at least one-third and possibly one-half of which may 

be regarded as now available. Most of the deposits are located near 

the northern coast of the island, so that they have the advantage of 

cheap water transportation to all parts of the Atlantic seaboard. 

They are without question destined to play an important role in the 

iron industry of the United States.

SUMMARY OF FOREIGN SUPPLIES.

The total estimated foreign supplies of ore sufficiently high-grade 

and accessible to mining and transportation to be at present available, 

and so located as to affect the iron industry of the United States, are 

shown in the following table: - Estimated foreign iron ores.

Canada: Long tons.

British Columbia, magnetite chiefly______________ 30,000,000

Lake Superior district, hematite chiefly____________ 9,000,000

Nova Scotia, Clinton hematite_________________ 4,000,000

Newfoundland, Clinton hematite___________________ 30,000,000

Cuba:

 Santiago district, hematite.___________________ 5, 000, 000 

Mayari, Moa, Baracoa, Cubitns, and Pinar del Rio districts

(limonite) _______________________________ 1, 500, 000, 000

Total ____________________________,__ 1, 578, 000, 000

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

The total imports of iron ore since 1889 have been 3 per cent of 

the domestic production for the same period. They have shown 

great annual fluctuations, responding quickly to changes in' industrial conditions. Since 1904 there has been a steady and rapid increase in imports, and this increase may be expected to continue in 

the future even more rapidly with the expanding development of 

the Cuban limonite deposits. *
106 CONSERVATION" OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

The extent to which foreign ores are now supplying the market is 

shown by the following table of imports:

Imports of iron ore from foreign countries, 1889-1907.

Year.

1880...........................

1890...........................

1S91. ..........................

1892...........................

1893................:...........

1894...........................

1895...........................

1836...........................

1897...........................

1898...........................

1899...........................

1900

1901...........................

1902...........................

1903...........................

1904...........................

1905...........................

1906......................'.....

1907............................

Total...................

Cuba.

Long tons. 

243, 255

351,814

257, 189

307, 115

349, 977

140,025

367,255

380, 551

383, 820

165, 623

360, 813

431, 265

526, 583

696, 375

613, 585

364, 630

539, 935

639, 362

657, 133

7, 776, 305

Newfoundland and 

Labrador.

Long tons. 

14, 450

6,320

20, 800

29,250

77,970

140, 535

&79,360

81, 920

6 86, 730

5,400

5,600

& 125, 395

89,685

Quebec, 

Ontario, 

etc.

Long tons. 

4,091

22,211

2,126

8,606

372

443

5,588

163, 383

203, 824

169, 681

77,887

104,096

57,890

26, 878

847,076

Spain.-

Long tons. 

298,568

512, 933

323, 771

236, 957

99 640 IS' 067*

77,594

121, 132

66, 193

13,335

145, 206

O CO tiQA

180, 810

153, 527

94, 720

36,810

191,861

171, 870

296, 318

3 9Qft fiOfi

Other 

countries.o

Long tons. 

293,209

353,552

329, 778

253, 907

76, 962

11, 772

79, 304

160, 323

10,707

8,250

00 fW<

66, 749

16,814

29,824

15, 724

2,886

4,159

65,873

159, 154

Total. .

Long tons. 

853, 573

1, 246, 830

912, 864

806,585

526, 951

167,307

COX 1 CO

682, 806

489,970

187, 208

674, 082

CQ7 QQI

966, 950

1, 165, 470

QQA A Aft

487, 613

845, 651

1,060,390

1, 229, 168

0 Belgium. Brazil, British Columbia, England, France, French Africa, French West Indies, 

Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Brunswick, Norway, Nova Scotia, 

Oceania, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey in Asia, Turkey in Europe, Venezuela, etc.

6 Includes Newfoundland only.

The exportation of iron ores has fortunately never assumed large 

proportions, as shown by the following table:

Exports of iron ore from the United States, 1899-1907.

Year.

1899. .......:....'.......-........................................................

1900. ............................................................................

1901.............................................................................

1902. ............................................................................

1903. ............................................................................

1904. ............................................................................

1905. . ...........................................................................

1906. . ...........................................................................

1907.............................................................................

Total .....................................................................

Quantity.

Long tons. 

40,665

31,^460

64,703

88,445

80,611

213, 865

208, 017

265, 240

278, 208

1,271,214

Value.

$7C, 287

154, 756

163, 465

294, 168

458, 823

530, 457

771 839

3, 468, 945

This export consists chiefty of Lake Superior ores shipped to 

Canadian furnaces for mixture with local ores. It contains also some 

high-phosphorus ores from the Adirondack district shipped to Germany. This movement has practically ceased, owing to increased 

home demand for these ores.
IRON OEES. 107 

WASTE IN MINING AND REDUCTION. .

Where iron ore occurs in the form of bedded deposits and is mined 

underground, waste is apt to occur from the same causes as in coal 

mining. These are the leaving of pillars, often unnecessarily large, 

to support the roof, the leaving of low-grade ore in the mine where it 

can subsequently be recovered only with difficulty, if at all, and the 

breaking down of an overlying bed where the. lower of two beds in 

the same territory is mined first. These sources of waste are confined 

largely to the Clinton ores, and the available facts are insufficient for 

closely estimating its amount, but the proportion of recovery varies 

with local conditions between 75 and 90 per cent and is undoubtedly 

increasing with improvement in mining methods. In computing 

the available tonnage of the Clinton ores an average recovery of 75 

per cent has been assumed. Portions of the Clinton ore beds at

present considered of no value because of shale partings and consequently left in the ground might be mined at many points if the shale 

could be separated from the ore economically. Improvement in cleaning and concentrating methods will undoubtedly make the recovery 

of much ore of this character possible. In the steeply dipping magnetite and hematite beds practically all ore up to the required grade 

is mined out, and the ground is generally left in such condition that 

the mines can be reopened for the recovery of lower-grade ores.

In surface workings waste is confined largely to small operations 

where quick returns are required, and systematic development is impossible. In such cases much ore is lost by dumping barren strippangs and low-grade ore together, so that it can be recovered only with 

difficulty, if at all. Where the operations are on a large enough scale 

to warrant the installation of mechanical excavators, and a proper 

ore-dressing plant, this waste does not occur and practically all the 

ore in a deposit is recovered. Some waste of finely divided ore occurs 

in the process of washing brown ores to remove the associated clay, 

a.nd there is still room for improvement in operations of this kind. 

If it becomes necessary to mine material which is below the grade of 

present requirements, but which contains enough iron values to make 

it a possible ore in the future, such material is stacked so that it will 

be available at any future time. This policy has been most consistently followed in the Lake Superior district, and when such lowgrade ores are required large amounts will be available merely at the 

cost of loading on the cars. '

In the early days of iron making an appreciable part of the iron in 

the ores went into the slag and was permanently lost. Blast-furnace
108 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

practice, however, has been so greatly improved in recent years that 

this source of waste is eliminated and practically all of the iron in the 

ore is now recovered.

PRODUCTION AND USE OF IRON ORES.

The beginning of the iron industry in America dates from 1645, 

when a furnace and forge were built at Lynn, in the province of 

Massachusetts Bay. In the. century following a large number of 

small .furnaces and bloomeries were operated in the New England 

colonies, using bog ores almost exclusively, and during this period 

Massachusetts was the chief iron producer. In 1734 the richer brown 

ores of western Connecticut and southern New York were opened and 

largely replaced the bog ores. The manufacture of iron was begun 

in eastern Pennsylvania in 1716, and a few years later in northern 

New Jersey, using the rich magnetites of that region. The industry 

had a rapid growth, notwithstanding the restriction placed upon it, 

and at the time of the Kevolution there were over 140 furnaces and 

bloomeries in operation in this district.

In the fifty years preceding the Revolution a number of furnaces 

and forges were in operation in Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, located for the most part on the tide-water streams of the 

coastal plain and using the brown ores associated in small quantities 

with the clays and sands of the coastal formations. The deposits of 

magnetite in the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont were also worked 

during this period to a slight extent.

After the close of the Revolution the iron industry expanded 

rapidly, following the westward progress of settlement, and had 

reached western Pennsylvania and the Appalachian ,Valley of Virginia and Tennessee before the close of the eighteenth century. In

the first third of the nineteenth century it had reached as far west as 

Missouri and north to Michigan. During this period conditions 

favored a wide distribution of the industry. Charcoal was the only 

fuel used, and this could always be obtained in the immediate vicinity 

of the ores. Transportation facilities were very poor, and the small 

furnaces so situated as to supply the local demand, even working on 

inferior ores, could compete with the older establishments at a distance. About 1840 a revolution was effected in the iron-making industry by the introduction of anthracite and bituminous coal as a 

furnace fuel. The capacity of the furnaces was rapidly increased, and 

with improvement in transportation facilities the industry was concentrated at a relatively few points advantageously located with reference to the new fuel supply. Under the changed conditions the ore 

was brought to the fuel, hence only the best ore and the largest deposits were worked, and many districts, as Ohio and Kentucky, which
IKON ORES. 109 i 

bad been heavy producers, were practically abandoned. With the 

decrease in average iron content of ores going into the furnaces, 

due to the depletion of the richest deposits, there is at present 

a notable tendency toward decentralization of the industry and 

a consequent reopening of abandoned ore deposits, though it will 

never revert to the conditions which prevailed during the charcoal 

period.

The statistics of iron production during the early years of the industry were not collected, and the total amount of iron ore consumed 

can not be determined. Not until 1889 were annual statistics of ore 

production collected, though they are available for the two preceding census years 1870 and 1880, and the annual production of intermediate years may be derived from the known production of pig iron 

as far back as 1870. Basing an estimate upon the average pig iron

production shown for census years prior to 1870, the total iron ore 

produced from 1810 to 1869 was approximately 49,656,000 tons, and 

on the annual production of pig iron from 1870 to 1888 it was 153,- 

758,000 tons. These amounts added to the 475,162,000 tons produced 

from 1889 to 1907"give a grand total of 678,576,000 tons produced 

since 1810. The amount produced during the Colonial and Kevolutionary periods and up to the third census in 1810 is so small in comparison with the total production since that time as to be a negligible 

quantity.

In deducing the iron ore production from the production of pig 

iron, it should be borne in mind that a small proportion of this iron 

was^made from imported ores and also that some pig iron is made 

from other materials than natural ores, as blue billy, zinc residues, 

rolling-mill cinder, scrap, etc. On the other hand, iron ore is used 

for other purposes, as in the manufacture of paint, as a fix or fettling 

in puddling furnaces, and as a flux in silver smelting, and the amount 

so used practically offsets the amount of material other than iron ore 

charged into the blast furnaces.

The production of iron ore from 1870 to 1907, inclusive, is shown on 

the accompanying diagram (p. 110), along with the production of 

pig iron and steel for the same period.

The curve representing the production of pig iron shows more 

fluctuations than the ore curve, and that representing production of 

steel more than the pig-iron curve. In other words, the production 

C'f steel responds most promptly to varying industrial conditions. 

Thus the production of steel in 1907 shows practically no increase 

over 1906, while the rate of increase in ore is above the average for 

the preceding eighteen years. This is explained by the fact that the 

industrial depression of 1907 came so late in the year that it only 

slightly affected the output of iron ore, particularly in the Lake
110 CONSEBVATION OF MINEEAL EESOUECES.

Superior district, where mining is more active in summer than in 

winter. It is practically certain, however, that the output of ore for 

1908 will show a decided decrease similar to, and probably larger, 

than that which marked the years 1893-94 and 1904. The years 1892,

1870 1875 I860 1885 1890 1895 1900 1905

FIGURE 2. Curve showing the production of iron ore, pig iron, and steel in the United 

States, 1870-1907, in long tons.

1902, and 1907 occupy maximum points in the curve, and each is followed by a decided drop and rapid recovery far beyond the preceding maximum. It may be safely predicted that the curve will resume 

its upward trend in 1909 after the drop of 1908.
IKON ORES. Ill

The distribution of the production since 1889 among the varieties 

of ore enumerated in the chemical classification is shown in the following table:

Production of iron ores in the United States, ~by varieties, .1.889-1007.

Year.

m9... ..................................

1890.....................................

1891 .....................................

1892 .....................................

18,93 .....................................

1894 .....................................

1895.....................................

1890.....................................

1897.....................................

1898.....................................

1899.....................................

IJiOO. ....................................

15)01 .....................................

I<i02.....:...............................

1W3

1SI04. ....................................

1005 .....................................

UM............... ......................

1(107. ....................................

Total..............................

Percentage of totals for nineteen years. . .

Percentage of total for 1907. ..............

Magnetite.

Long tons. 

2, 506, 415

2,570,838

2,317,108

1,971,965

1,330,886

972,219

1,268,222

1,211,526

1,059,479

1,237,978

1,727,430

1, 537, 551

1,813,076

1,688,800

1,575,422

2, 469, 294

2,679,067

7.1

5.2

Hematite.

Long tons. 

9, 056, 288

10, 527, 650

9, 327, 398

11, 646, 619

8,272,637

9,347,434

12, 513, 995

12, 576, 288

14,413,318

16, 150, 684

20,004,399

22,708,274

24,006,025

30,532,149

* 30,328,654

23, 839, 477

42/481,375

46,060,486

82.4

89.1

Brown ore.

Long tons. 

2,523,087

2, 559, 938

2, 757, 564

2,485,101

1,849,272

1,472,748

2,102,358

2,126,212

1,961,954

1, 989, 681

2,869,785

3,231,089

3,016,715

3,305,484 Q nsn IQQ

2,781,063

2,957,477

10.1

5.7

Carbonate.

Long tons. 

432,251

377, 617

189, 108

192,981

134, 834

87,278

79 0.9Q

91,423

83,295

55,373

81, 559

76,247

51,663

27,642

04 099

in 910

01 QQQ

17 996

99 '(SQ

2 /V71 QOQ

0.4

Total.

Long tons. 

14,518,041

10, 036, 043

14, 591, 178

16, 296, 666

11,587,629

11,879,679

15, 957, 614

17,518,046

19, 433, 716

27, 553, 161

28,887,479

35,554,135

9K niq wo

27 644 330

. 51,720,619

475, 102, 127

The present relative importance of the several varieties is shown 

by the percentage and also the increasing importance of the hematite' 

as compared Avith the other varieties. The combined total productions of brown ore and carbonate for the nineteen years is 2,000,000 

tons less than the total production of all varieties for the year 1907.

The distribution of production for 1906 and 1907 among the six 

commercial districts is shown in the following table:

Production of iron ores in the United States, l)y commercial districts, in .1906

and 1907.

District.

Total................................................

190f

Quantity.

Long tons. 

2,582,666

' 6,208,140

38,035,084

117,570

806,268

(a)

47, 749, 728

>.

Percentage oftotal.

5.40

13.00

79.66

.25

1.70

100.00

190'

Quantity.

Long tons.

2,822,822

6, 197, 360

41, 638, 744

230, 435

831,258

(a)

51,720,619

r.

Percentage of 

total.

5.45

12.00

80.50

.45

1.60

i no no

" The small production of California and Washington is included in the production of 

the Rocky Mountain district.

These figures indicate the commanding position of the Lake Superior district in the iron industry with 79.66 and 80.60.per cent of the 

total production for the two years.
112 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES. 

DURATION OF THE IRON-ORE SUPPLY.

Predictions of the date of exhaustion of the iron-ore reserves involve a number of unknown factors, each of which adds to the uncertainty of the result. Among these factors the following may be 

mentioned:

1. The uncertainties of the estimates of reserves and the difficulty 

of fixing the ratio of the two classes have been fully explained in the 

sections devoted to the description of the ore deposits.

2. The extent to which imported ores will supplement the domestic 

supply can not be foretold, but it will be an increasingly important 

factor.

3. The extent to which the reserves will be increased by the discovery of new ore bodies can not be estimated, but it is highly improbable 

that all the important iron-ore deposits are now known.

4. The ores of the first class will not be entirely exhausted before 

utilization of the second class begins, and changing conditions, particularly of transportation and metallurgy, will continually shift 

the line dividing the two classes.

5. The stock of metal which can be reworked is constantly increasing and must eventually reduce the demand for metal obtained 

directly from the ores.

6. The substitution of other materials for metal now used for certain purposes, particularly for construction, will reduce the consumption to an extent which can not be even approximately estimated, and, 

on the other hand, the proportion of structures into which iron enters 

as an important constituent will undoubtedly increase.

7. The per capita consumption of iron ore has shown a rapid increase since the beginning of the iron industry. For 1907 and the

four preceding census years it has been as follows: 1870,180 pounds; 

1880, 313 pounds; 1890, 560 pounds; 1900, 806 pounds; and 1907,1,344 

pounds.

8. The increasing cost of iron due to the increase in cost of fuel 

and the use of lower-grade ores requiring an increased amount of fuel 

per ton of iron smelted, will induce greater economy in the use of the 

metal; on the other hand, improvements in metallurgy will tend to 

secure a larger yield of metal for a given expenditure of fuel and 

power and may substitute low-grade fuel for the higher-grade coal 

now required in the blast furnace.

The most striking feature of the iron-ore production curve is the 

remarkable rate of increase shown in the period covered. Taking the 

production since 1870 by decades and estimating the last two years 

of the present decade, 1908 and 1909, the percentage rate of increase 

for each decade over the one preceding is shown in the following 

.table:
IKON GEES. 113 

Production of iron ore "by decades and rate.of increase.

Decade.

1370-1879.....:..............................................'....................

1380-1889. ......................... .....:................'........................

1390-1899. .......................................................................

11)00-1909. . ......................................................................

Quantity.

Lonq tons. 

43/770,527

91,043,854

Percentage of 

increase.

108.0

80 1

138.0

a Approximate.

Each of the above decades, as shown by the production curve, contains a depression in which there was an actual decrease in production, 

so that they may be taken as fairly representing the tendency of the 

industry. These rates of increase are such that they do not permit 

the construction of a curve on which predictions for the future can 

be based. A comparison of the first and second rates, 108 and 80.1, 

Avould indicate a rapid decrease in the rate of increase, which, if continued, would have placed the date of maximum production about 

1930. But a comparison of the second and third rates, 80.1 and 138, 

would indicate a rapid increase in the rate of increase. If the average 

rate of increase by decades, 108.7 per cent, should be continued, it 

would require the production in the next three decades of 6,088,000,000 

tons. But the ore supply how available in the United States is estimated at 4,788,000,000 tons, which is only 78 per cent of the amount 

needed on this assumption. It is evident, therefore, that the present 

average rate of increase in production of high-grade ores can not 

continue even for the next thirty years, and that before 1940 the production must already have reached a maximum and begun to decline, 

and a very large use must be made of low-grade ores not now classed 

as available. The second condition, with its consequent greatly increased cost of iron, is the only thing which can prevent a decline in 

the iron industry, measured by the amount of pig iron produced, 

within the next thirty years, unless there is in the meantime very 

greatly increased importation of foreign ores.

In view of the many factors entering into the problem, the tendency of which is not always determinable, to say nothing of the 

Aveight that should be given them, any further prediction as to the 

date of exhaustion of the iron-ore supplies is so uncertain as to be 

wholly unprofitable and unwarranted.

. 86412 Bull. 394 09 8
RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES IN GOLD, SILVER, COPPER,

LEAD, AND ZINC.

By WALDEMAB LINDGREN.

INTRODUCTION.

DISTRIBUTION OF ORES.

The ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc occur as a rule in 

localized deposits of varying form, depth, tenor, and geologic relations. There are no wide areas underlain by strata of ore with maintained characteristics. The ore deposits are exceptional occurrences. 

They are concentrated, it is true, in a number of localities, but the 

bodies are ordinarily of very irregular form, and it is difficult to 

predict what each new level in a shaft, each new drift on a level, will 

disclose. Some of the large companies mining copper, lead, or zinc 

ores have extensive reserves blocked, out by actual development work 

or by borings, but the ore developed is rarely sufficient for more than 

a few years' work. The majority of the companies would undoubtedly decline to furnish detailed information on this subject.

The distribution of values is even more capricious in precious-metal 

mines than in base-metal mines, and in the case of gold the number 

of companies operating lode mines with large reserves can be counted 

on the fingers. Concerning deposits of gold-bearing gravels or 

placers, a somewhat more accurate statement can be made as to the 

probable extent of resources. These remarks serve to make clear the 

impossibility of ascertaining even the approximate extent of the total 

supply of metallic ores. The best that can be done is to forecast in 

a rough way the probabilities of the immediate future on the basis 

of the experience of the past. In doing so, it is well to bear in mind 

that many of the predictions ventured on this subject during the last 

fifty years by able men have proved very wide of the mark.

The conclusions reached in this report are based chiefly on investigations by the geologists of the United States Geological Survey.

MINERAL LANDS OF THE UNITED STATES.

The mineral-bearing lands still owned by the United States are

largely confined to the Cordilleran States. The mineral lands of

the Southern Appalachian States are privately owned, and as far as

the total production is concerned they cut a small figure. Like114 -
GOLD, SILVER, COPPEE, LEAD, AND ZINC. 115

wise, the copper-bearing lands of Michigan and the lead-zinc lands of 

Missouri and other States of the central valley have passed into 

private hands. There remain the States of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California, as 

well as the Territories of Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico, in which 

there still exists a large aggregate area of mineral land belonging to 

the United States. The extent of the mineral land of the United 

States still owned by the Federal Government is an unknown quantity 

because (1) the mineral lands have never been segregated and surveyed, and (2) a very large acreage is simply held by assessment 

work, and the present laws do not require that such claims shall be 

surveyed or registered. It is true that the majority of claims on 

Avhich valuable mines have been developed have passed to patent. 

But there are thousands, in fact, hundreds of thousands of claims on 

which mineral has been discovered, which are held by annual assessment work, and of which the General Land Office has no record 

whatever. Even many important producing mines, and practically 

all placer mines of Alaska, are thus held. This condition is made 

much worse by the fact that according to present laws anyone 

individual or company can locate an unlimited number of claims 

provided the assessment work is performed. As no assessment work 

is required until a year to two years after discovery, this rule works 

out so that a newly discovered camp is completely covered by locations 

by the first comers, and its growth may be seriously interfered with. 

In case of specially valuable discoveries the early arrivals are thus 

granted an unreasonable privilege which is always abused. The process is well known throughout the West, and is popularly known as 

" claim hogging."

The first steps toward ascertaining the area of mineral land still 

belonging to the United States would seem to be; (1) Survey and 

segregation of mineral lands; (2) registration of all mineral claims 

at the land office of the district.

Any estimates on the basis of available data are useless.

The first requirement, segregation of mineral lands, is no doubt 

easier to demand than to execute. There is no possibility, "as with 

coal deposits, to segregate large areas with the confident knowledge 

that the mineral exists below them. For instance, a mountain range 

may present a favorable aspect from a geologic standpoint for the 

occurrence of metals, and yet no deposits may be found in it except 

perhaps within one limited area. However, the possibility always 

remains that some careful and deeper prospecting may reveal ores in 

the part hitherto considered barren.

A. worse complication is involved when the land is valuable for 

several purposes. It may be good agricultural land; even if situated 

in the mountain regions it may, as is frequently the case in Cali-
116 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

fornia, be valuable for horticulture and viticulture, or for pasture. 

Here is a conflict between permanent and temporary value. The 

land will always produce fruits, but the gold deposit below it will, 

in *all probability, be exhausted in a limited time, very soon, indeed, 

in the case of many buried gravel channels. Such conflicts have 

caused much loss and annoyance in California. How can these two 

values be compared and measured ?

A difficulty even more troublesome arises when the land is valuable 

for both its mineral and its forest. Here, however, we have to 

measure two more commensurate values, both of more temporary 

character than in case of agricultural lands. The value of the forest 

can usually be measured with some accuracy. The.value of the 

mineral on the same land can usually not be measured with exactness. Very often the former will exceed the latter, as far as surface 

developments go, and then the question arises whether it is justifiable 

to interfere with free prospecting and search for metals in order to 

more effectively preserve the forests. 

It would seem that the present interminable conflicts could be 

avoided only by a separation of the mineral and forest rights, while 

retaining for agricultural patents the right to possible later discoveries underneath the ground. The forest lands have great value, and 

as long as human nature remains what it is even the bona fide miner 

will continually attempt to gain possession of them by unduly extending his mineral locations. Many mining districts are covered 

with.a scant growth of forest, barely enough for the miner's needs 

for timber and fuel. Such lands should not be classified as forests.

WASTE.

The prevention of waste in mining and reduction processes is a 

most important subject. Whatever our views of future necessities, it 

is clearly not right to carelessly waste the metallic treasures of the 

earth, and in this direction much can be accomplished. The loss is 

rather in processes of concentration and reduction than in mining. 

In some cases pillars of ore are left, but the shape of the deposits is 

generally such that all the ore can be extracted without much loss. 

In industries like copper mining, where the term " ore" has rapidly 

changed its meaning within the last decade where, in other words, 

ore containing 1, 2, or 3 per cent of copper can now be mined profitably where it was formerly considered waste it is clear that large 

bodies must be left now which later may possibly be extracted with 

profit. But this ore is, of course, not lost unless the whole mine goes 

to wreck.

In concentrating and milling the greatest losses occur and the 

percentage of these is largest in the low-grade deposits. In the 

earlier days of gold and silver milling enormous amounts of rich
GOLD, SILVER, COPPER, LEAD, AND ZINC. 117

tailings were sent down the creeks and gulches and permanently lost, 

largely because of conviction that the values could not be recovered, partly perhaps because of disinclination to let it be known that 

the tailings contained any values. Matters have changed in this 

respect, and tailings are now generally stored Avith a view to possible 

reworking. No doubt the States could aid this practice of economy 

by legal requirement of such storage, a policy which besides is desirable in order to avoid contamination of the water supply.

The losses of gold, silver, copper, and lead in smelting are generally 

not large, and, moreover, the slag is necessarily and easily stored. In 

many cases the slags of earlier years have been worked over.- By far 

the greatest losses take place in the concentration of copper, lead, and 

zinc ores. They probably reach their maximum in zinc ores or in 

copper ores with soft metallic minerals like chalcocite, and here often 

attain 30 per cent or even 40 per cent. These operations are also 

conducted on a large scale, making storage of tailings difficult, but 

the same principle should be applied by legal requirements wherever 

possible. Somewhat better conditions now prevail in Missouri than 

formerly, but some years ago it was not at all uncommon to have 

losses in zinc concentration reaching 40 per cent.

No doubt it will be impracticable, under our system of government, to compel mine owners to prevent unnecessary waste by prescribing certain working methods. Probably no European state has 

ever gone so far. - Storage of tailings will probably prove to be the 

best remedy if it can be legally enforced.

It is perhaps in the utilization of by-products that we have, most 

to learn, but the standpoint is naturally taken by miners and smelting 

men that if it can not be done with profit it had better not be done at 

all. I refer specially to the smelter fumes and to the extremely large 

quantities of sulphur and arsenic that are driven off in the air, sometimes with great damage to the surrounding agricultural districts. 

The case of arsenic is especially interesting. The statement is made 

by F. L. Hess ° thatEnormous quantities of aisenic in fumes continually escape from the smelters 

of the country, while at present comparatively little arsenic is saved. Harkins 

and Swain (Jour. Am. Chern. Soc., vol. 19, 1907, pp. 970-998) state that in 

August, 1905 (when the experiments were made), from the Washoe smelter, 

which works exclusively upon Butte copper ores, 59,270 pounds of arsenic trioxide per day were passing through the stack. This is equivalent to 10,817 short 

tons per year, and is exclusive of what arsenic trioxide was saved from the flues. 

At 5 cents per pound, the lowest price for which white arsenic sold in 1907, 

this waste product of one year would be valued at $1,081,700. The waste 

arsenical fumes at this plant alone amount to more than six times the domestic 

saving of arsenic trioxide, and to much more than the combined production and 

imports of arsenic in the United States each year.

a Mineral Resources U. S. for 1907, separate on "Antimony and arsenic," p. 1).
118 CONSERVATIONS MINERAL RESOURCES.

At the Butte reduction works and the Great Falls smelter other great quantities of more or less arsenical Butte copper ores are treated, from which no saving of arsenic is known to have been made, and from which the losses must be 

very great.

In Utah both the Bingham and the Tintic copper ores are arsenical, and 

no saving has yet been made from them, though immense quantities of ore are 

smelted.

It is recognized that in handling a low-priced product like arsenic, saving 

can not be carried to extreme refinement without becoming unprofitable. However, arsenic is now being extracted from sulphuric acid at a number of establishments in England, and both products are cheap articles. I-f even one-half 

of the arsenic wasted were saved, the market in this country would be glutted. 

However, without taking account of the possibility of greater demand, if there 

were a greater supply at a somewhat lower price, there will in time probably 

be some plan devised for the bettor saving of smelter fumes, through the 

operation of which it will be unnecessary for this country to import arsenic 

while so much is continually being wasted.

Smelter fumes occupy a similar position to tailings in mills, but 

they can not, of course, be stored. On the contrary, they spread over 

the country, frequently damaging the vegetation near the smelter, 

and the compulsory saving of the sulphur and arsenic contained will 

probably soon, in most cases, be required by law.

In many cases the waste in mining and milling is the result of 

ignorance. Dissemination of knowledge and investigation of methods 

by bureaus of the Federal Government and the States will do much 

to check the waste.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

The individual reports on the separate metals will show that the 

resources in each case are very large, but that they can not (with 

few exceptions) be measured with any accuracy. To give definite 

figures representing our metal supply is quite out of the question. 

It will be shown that our resources of silver, copper, and zinc are 

large and that a moderate rate of increase in production can be maintained probably for the next twenty years at least. In case of lead 

it is not probable that the production can be greatly increased.

While it is true that, with a continuation of the present increasing rate of production, the known reserves, workable under present conditions, may be exhausted before the middle of the present 

century, this prediction should not be announced without important 

qualifying clauses. The nature of the case prevents a full knowledge 

of our resources. They are developed by mining operations only, 

and exploration does not materially anticipate unusual demand. Ten 

years ago a review, of our metallic wealth would have revealed a 

far greater shortage in the supply of metals than is now believed to 

exist, and it is probable that, in case of some metals at least, ten years 

from now our resources will be known to be greater than they are at
GOLD. 119

present. The higher grade of ores of copper and lead are growing 

scarce, but improvements in technologic processes, by lowering the 

cost of reduction, have added great quantities of lower-grade material to our available ore supply, and will probably continue to do so. 

With increasing demands quantities of old metals will be returned to 

use. The importance of this factor is great, but it is difficult to 

measure. In case of gold it does not seem likely that, on the basis 

of present developments and processes, our production can be made to 

greatly exceed $110,000,000 per annum for the next twenty years. 

And on the same basis it would seem likely that after some such period 

the gold production would gradually decrease.

If we were sure that the development of the world would proceed 

indefinitely on the same lines as those of to-day; that metals would 

have the same value; that the same metals would be used for the 

same purposes; then it might be possible (to use an expression of 

Professor De Launay a )«" to strike a balance between us and our 

descendants." We have not this knowledge. We may forecast what 

is likely to happen and what our needs will be in the metal industry, 

for the next ten, twenty, possibly fifty years. The conditions and 

developments in the more distant future are completely beyond us.

It is reasonably certain that the industrial development of the 

world will continue on an ever increasing scale. But who can tell 

us what methods and materials will be used, and what new discoveries in little explored continents will disclose? Substances now 

eagerly sought may then be of little value; reserves established by 

the States may be useless and simply serve to restrict the present 

development. Legislative interference with production of metals is 

likely to be futile and probably can not in the long run successfully 

interfere with the operation of economic principles based on laws of 

supply and demand.

GOLD.

PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

Since 1892 the gold production of the United States has increased 

at a very rapid rate. An output of $60,000,000 was recorded in 1852 

and 1854, shortly after the discovery of the California placers. From 

that time the production decreased gradually to $30,000,000 in 1883 

and 1884 and then rose slightly, remaining at about $33,000,000 from 

1885 to 1892. The effect of the Cripple Creek discoveries and of the 

application of the cyanide process became apparent after 1892 and 

the production steadily mounted to about $80,000,000 in 1902. A 

serious falling off in Colorado reduced the total in 1903 to $73,500,000, 

but during the next four years in consequence of the discoveries in

a De Launay, L., La conqufite mingrale, Paris, 190S, p. 379 et seq.
120 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Alaska and the development of the dredging industry in California, 

there was a renewed rise which culminated in a production of over 

$94,000,000 in 1906.

In 1907 the output fell to $90,400,000, but a considerable increase 

is probable for 1908. The causes of the decrease in 1907 were the 

generally disturbed financial conditions, labor troubles, and a scarcity of water in Alaska.

The output t)f the "United States is shown in the accompanying 

diagram. (See PI. VI.)

PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD.

The rapid increase in the annual production of gold of the world is 

a feature which has been the subject of much discussion in its relation 

to the monetary systems and financial affairs generally. The facts 

are best brought out in the diagram. (See PI. VII.) California and 

Australia.in the early fifties brought the production rapidly to $180,-" 

000,000 from about $10,000,000 in 1830. The output in the earlier 

part of the century was largely derived from Russia. The gradual 

decay of placer mining in California and Australia -reduced the yield 

for the world to nearly $100,000,000 about 1886. In the period from 

1885 to 1890 numerous discoveries in South Africa, in Western Australia, and in Colorado changed the aspect of the industry.

The cyanide process, which gave better extraction at reduced cost, 

was introduced about this time. In South Africa especially this 

process has proved of the utmost importance. A little later discoveries were made in Alaska, Nevada, the Canadian Yukon, Mexico, 

Rhodesia, and West Africa, notwithstanding the assertion made by 

many that no further important supplies of gold were likely to be 

found.

Thus, since 1887 the production of the world has been trending 

upward, except for the temporary decline due to the Boer war, and in 

1907 was about $412,000,000. It will be observed that Africa now 

(1907) contributes about $151,000,000, or one-third of the world's 

production, and of the African output about $133,000,000 comes from 

a small district in the Transvaal.

Barring new and unexpected discoveries it is believed that the 

 world's production will not increase hereafter at the recent rapid 

rate of advance. It is believed that the maximum production has 

nearly been reached in the Transvaal, although the present output can 

be maintained for a long time, probably for more than thirty years. 

The output of Australia from present indications is more apt to 

decline than to increase.

As indicated by the diagram, the production of Russia forms a 

solid and constant substratum on the permanence of which it is fair 

to rely. A continued increase in the United States is scarcely to be
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 394 PLATE vi

PRODUCTION OF GOLD OF THE UNITED STATES AND OF THE PRINCIPAL STATES AND TERRITORIES

FROM 1885 TO 1907.
GOLD.

expected, although the recent history of gold mining in Nevada 

shows what unsuspected riches may lie for decades within easy reach. 

It is true that there are large unprospected territories in South 

America which with developing lines of communication may produce 

much gold, but on the whole the probabilities of the immediate 

future are rather in favor of maintenance of the present level of 

output than of a further sensational advance.

RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

The diagram (PI. VII) shows that the United States production 

can, for present purposes, be divided into five parts. In 1907 Colorado, Alaska, California, and Nevada in the rank indicated contrib-^ 

uted each from $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 to the total output. The' 

remaining fifth part, approximately $19,000,000, came from Utah, 

South Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Idaho, and Oregon, the amount 

from the remaining States (southern Appalachian region, New 

Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming) being negligible.

IDAHO AND OREGON.

Great constancy has been shown by Idaho and Oregon in their 

* gold output, which for each State generally is below $2,000,000 per 

annum and may be* expected to continue on the same basis for many 

years to come. The product is from placers and gold-quartz veins.

SOUTH DAKOTA.

In South Dakota the output has varied since 1889 from $3,000,000 

to $7,000,000. Of this about $5,000,000 is derived from the Homestake mine, the most productive gold mine in the United States. The 

total yield of this mine approaches $60,000,000. A large tonnage of 

low-grade ore (about 1,400,000 tons per annum) is treated in a mill 

with 1,000 stamps. The deposit, as far as known, does not approach 

exhaustion; the shafts have not attained great depth. The blanket 

deposits in limestone may be exhausted at an earlier date than the 

Homestake, though the reserves appear to be fairly large. It is 

likely that South Dakota will be able to maintain its production for 

a long time.

ARIZONA.

Arizona has for many years supplied from $1,000,000 to $3,000,000, 

which is derived about equally from the copper ores of United Verde, 

Globe, and Bisbee on one hand, and the gold-quartz mines of Yavapai, Mohave, and Yuma counties on the other hand. From neither 

source is much falling off to be expected for the next ten years; a 

moderate increase is more probable.
122 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

MONTANA.

Montana has long maintained a steady gold production ranging 

from $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. For some years $1,000,000 has been 

derived from the Butte copper ores, and an equal amount from 

cyaniding the quartzose ores of Fergus County. The latter supply, 

however, has recently shown a" sharp decline- The balance of the 

State total has come from a great number of small gold and silver 

mines in several counties. It is not likely that the production of 

Montana in the near future will sink below $3,000,000.

CALIFORNIA.

The California production is notable for its constancy. Since 1885 

the State has annually supplied from $12,000,000 to $19,000,000 in 

gold. The rise noted in the diagram during the last few years is 

largely due to the development of the dredging industry. In 1907 

the State produced $16,900,000, which, disregarding some minor 

sources, may be divided as follows: Quartz mines, $9,400,000; copper mines, $350,000; placer mines, $6,800,000. The production from 

quartz mines has of late decreased, but it may be relied upon to continue, with fluctuations,- for a long period. There are few very large 

mines, but there are many which have shown ability to maintain 

moderate production for many years past. Few°of the mines have 

ore developed for more than two or three years, and even approximate figures as to future reserves are out of the question. On the 

other hand, a long-continued and steady output gives assurance of a 

continuance for a long period of years, with probable ultimate 

diminution. The gold from Copper ores will increase, and may in a 

few years reach $1,000,000.

The placer-mining industry of California presents some interesting features. For many years the production from this source gradually decreased. This was largely due to the prohibition of hydraulic 

mining in the drainage areas of Feather, Bear, Yuba, and American 

rivers on account of the damage done to farming lands and to the 

harbor of San Francisco.

In the last ten years gold dredging has been developed to a high 

degree in consequence of the improvements in dredge construction 

and of the discovery that a large area near the mouths of the rivers 

flowing from the gold-bearing region of the Sierra Nevada is available for such mining. The output from the dredges in 1907 was 

somewhat over $5,000,000. Very sanguine predictions have been 

made as to the amount of land available for dredging in California 

and in the Rocky Mountain States, and to some degree they are 

justified. The fact remains, however, that the production of the 

Rocky Mountain States from dredging is as yet very small (about
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

PRODUCTION OF GOLD OF THE WORLD AND OF THE PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES FROM 1800 TO 1906.

(After E. Biedermann,")
GOLD. 123

$300,000 in 1907), and it is believed that there are no extensive areas 

which at all compare with those at the base of the Sierra Nevada. 

It is estimated by the most competent authorities that the known 

dredging lands in the great valley of California amount to 18,000 

acres. If an average depth of 45 feet, corresponding to 72,600 cubic 

yards of gravel per acre, and an average content of 12 cents per cubic 

yard, or $8,712 per acre, be assumed, then 18,000 acres would ultimately yield $156,800,000. Up to 1905 about 700 acres had been 

worked. This crude estimate may be considerably off the mark, but 

it serves to show that a large amount of gold is contained in the 

dredging lands, and that the industry will be of great importance 

for the next quarter century at least. The total dredge production 

of California since 1900 is about $18,000,000.

It has been stated that the production of the placer mineSj outside of the dredges, has receded pretty steadily for many years, and 

that this is due to the practical prohibition of hydraulic mining in 

the basins of the principal rivers draining into the great valley. 

The gold reserves in these gravels are undoubtedly very large. Were 

these mines allowed to operate, several million dollars per annum 

could undoubtedly.be added to the California production. Estimates 

by the United States engineer officers indicate that in the basins 

of the Yuba, American, and Bear rivers 1,500,000,000 cubic yards of 

gold-bearing gravel would ultimately be available by expensive development work, consisting of tunnels, ditches, etc., the amount at 

present available being about 500,000,000 yards. Adding to this estimate 100,000,000 cubic yards for the Feather River and the southern 

rivers draining into the San Joaquin, we would have 1,600,000,000 

cubic yards, much of which is poor, but which may be assumed to 

average 6 cents per cubic yard.

According to this rough estimate nearly $100,000,000 in gold would 

be available if the hydraulic mines of the central gold region were 

permitted to work. Siskiyou and Trinity counties now yield $600,000 

per annum from their hydraulic mines. The extent of the reserves 

in these counties is less well known, but they are believed to be large.

No State or Territory (except Alaska) compares with California 

as to the probable extent of gold reserves. There is reason to believe that California can maintain a production of $15,000,000 per 

annum for the next fifty years, and that then it probably would not 

be exhausted. Ultimately, of course, the gold reserves would become 

smaller, as has been the experience of the European countries in which 

gold mining once flourished. Eventually the gravels will be worked 

out, the dredging ground exhausted, the quartz mines impoverished 

or difficult to work on account of increased expense at depth. But 

this is looking far into the future. What the accompanying industrial conditions will then be is beyond our ken.
124 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

ALASKA.

Though recently discovered, the mineral resources of Alaska have 

proved to be enormous. The total production of gold has risen 

rapidly and almost continuously since 1890. It reached $21.400,000 

in 1906, but fell to $18,500,000 in 1907, and may decline somewhat 

further in 1908. This recession is, however, only temporary, for it 

is believed that the resources in placer gold are very large. The total 

gold output of Alaska since 1880 is about $122,000,000. Of this 

about $25,000,000 was produced from quartz mines in southeastern 

Alaska, which annually yield about $3,000,000. The Treadwell 

Island group of mines is the principal factor, with an ore production 

of 1,400,000 tons per annum and a recovery of about $2.50 per ton. 

The deposit can be compared only to that of the Homestake mine 

in South Dakota, and, so far as known, the ore body shows no contraction or serious diminution of tenor in depth. The greatest depth 

now attained is 1,650 feet. Probably no obstacles to mining at far 

greater depths will be encountered, and the present production seems 

assured for many years. There are other important quartz mines in 

process of development.

The placer fields of Alaska are chiefly in the Yukon basin and in 

Seward Peninsula. Mr. A. H. Brooks has shown' that in the latter 

region the gravels contain a total of about $300,000,000. There is 

probably as much in the Tanana (Fairbanks) and Yukon basins and 

the largest part of this will probably be extracted by dredging. With 

better communications and with the development of technical methods, 

gravels of lower grade can be worked, although the lowest grade of 

material possible to handle must remain very much higher than for 

corresponding gravels in California. While in the latter State 10 

cents per cubic yard will yield a profit, 50 cents will probably be the 

lowest limit for some time to come in Alaska, where steam thawing 

must be resorted to as a rule.

The copper deposits will add a certain, though not very large, 

amount to the gold production and it is not impossible that workable 

gold-quartz mines will be discovered in Seward Peninsula and on the 

Yukon.

As far as visible supplies are concerned Alaska stands easily first 

in the United States and will yield a large annual production of gold 

for a long period of years.

COLORADO.

Until 1892 Colorado was of comparatively small importance as 

a gold producer. From three to four million .dollars were contributed with great regularity from the Gilpin-Clear Creek field

" For a more detailed report on the Territory, see pp. 172-207.
GOLD. 125

and the San Juan region. The former field continues its production 

steadily with few changes; the depth attained is comparatively small 

and a continued yield of about $2,000,000 may be expected for an 

indefinite time. The San Juan .region came into prominence some 

fifteen years ago with the development of the Telluride, Ouray, 

and Silverton mines and now. yields annually $5,000,000 to $6,000,- 

000. Some mines bid fair to continue for many years; others show 

signs of exhaustion, but the region has great possibilities and a longcontinued production may be expected. In most cases reserves of 

" developed " or " probable " ore are not large. One prominent gold 

mine in this region now has reserves for two years in sight; but 

few have more and many have less.

The unexpected discovery and development of the Cripple Creek 

district in 1890 brought Colorado to the front as a gold-producing 

State and rapidly increased the State's output from an average of 

$4,000,000 to nearly $29,000,000 in 1900. In 1907 the gold production of Colorado was about $21,000,000. The new district proved extremely rich, but the largest ore bodies have now been worked out 

down to the depth of the lowest drainage tunnel. The quantity of ore 

above that tunnel has been enormous. Including 1907, Cripple Creek 

has produced $179,000,000. The maximum production of $18,000,000 

was reached in 1900. In 1907 the output was $11,000,000. The future 

of Cripple Creek is largely dependent upon the character of the 

veins below the present tunnel level. A new tunnel 700 feet below 

the present drainage level is now being driven, but it will be at least 

two years before it will have reached the producing area. It is believed that the deposits will be less rich at greater depths, but the 

tunnel is likely to open many important ore bodies and its completion 

should be followed by an increase in the output, which may be maintained for many years. But it should be remembered that we know 

little about the conditions or the size of the ore shoots below the 

bottoms of the present shafts.

The conditions in Colorado are very different from those in California and Alaska. There are few extensive gravel beds which may 

be confidently predicted to yield millions of dollars. Basing an 

opinion as to the output of the future simply on the records of the 

past, one may say that the State will probably be able to maintain a 

production of $15,000,000 to $18,000,000 for a long period, and that 

the ultimate exhaustion of its lode mines is probably far distant.

NEVADA.

The gold-mining industry of Nevada has been characterized by 

sudden outbursts of high production followed by periods of depression. The bonanzas of gold and silver ores of the Comstock, Eureka, 

Tuscarora, and Pioche in the seventies were rapidly exhausted; then
126 CONSERVATION OP MINERAL RESOURCES,

followed two decades from 1883 to 1903 of small gold production 

ranging from $1,000,000 up toward $4,000,000. The discovery of 

Tonopah and Goldfield brought another sudden rise in production, 

and in 1907 it attained $15,000,000, of which $11,000,000 was derived 

from the two new gold camps. The State has been very extensively 

prospected during the last eight years, and "many new camps have 

been discovered, which, with improvement of methods and communications, will add their quota to its output. ,

To this State applies in a still higher degree what has been said 

about Colorado. The known reserves of ore are generally small, while 

their grade is high. One important mining corporation states in its 

report that it has reserves of about $8,000,000 in value, but this is 

exceptional. Other mines now producing will probably be exhausted 

in a short time. On the whole, however, it is likely that the aggregate output from the many mining camps already discovered will be 

sufficient to keep the production of the next ten years at least close to 

the $10,000,000 mark.

The copper mines of Ely will soon afford a steady yield of 

$300,000 to $500,000 per annum in gold as a by-product. Discoveries 

of deposits of great importance are always possible in Nevada.

CONCLUSIONS.

In the preceding paragraphs it has been shown that the reserves 

in gold of the United States are great, but that they can not be appraised with anything approaching exactness. Only in case of the 

placers is a rough estimate possible. It has been shown that the 

resources in placer gold are chiefly in Alaska and California. Based 

on present methods of working and present wages the -recoverable 

amount of gold in these placers would perhaps approximate $1,000,- 

000,000. The other States have also resources in placer gold, but they 

are of importance only in Montana, Idaho, and Oregon, and even in 

these States they are small compared to Alaska and California.

The placer gold won in the United States in 1907 amounted to 

about $24,000,000, and it is believed that this quantity can be supplied for a long succession of years. Ultimately the placers will be 

exhausted.

The amount of gold derived from copper ores in 1907 was only 

about $5,500,000, but this represents a stable and even increasing 

quantity which is -to be relied upon at least for the next quarter century and most likely much longer. The gold derived from lead ores 

is much less (only about $2,100,000), and will probably slowly 

decrease for the next ten or twenty years.

From quartzose gold and silver ores $55,000,000 was recovered in 

1907. No calculation can be made as to total reserves available, and 

the figures, could they be collected, Avould be of little use. Mines will 

be exhausted, but IICAV ones are coming in. Ore shoots are worked
GOLD. 127

out, but others are found. Most of the mining districts have as yet 

attained only a very moderate depth, and it may be said that the 

resources of siliceous gold ores are very far from being exhausted. 

Just how long they will last nobody can tell. In a general way ore 

deposits are more likely to decrease than increase in richness as depth 

is attained, and at the same time the operating costs are likely to 

become higher. It would seem that this ultimate decline is rather 

far off at the present time. Certain parts of the western country, 

particularly Nevada, Washington, and Idaho, still suffer from inadequate railroad communication, and each new line as a rule 

leads to the opening of a number of deposits which previously were 

unprofitable.

New discoveries are always possible and in some regions are probable. Methods of working are steadily improved.

Unless very important new discoveries are made it is thought unlikely that the production of gold in the United States will rise much 

above $110,000,000. Nor is it likely that it will sink below $60,000,- 

000 within a long period of years.

The gold-bearing gravels and the dredging lands of California and 

other Cordilleran States have long ago passed into private hands. 

Only in Alaska are there any considerable amounts of such public 

lands left. It is believed that it would be in the highest degree inad- 

. visable to withdraw from location any part of the placer lands of the 

public domain.

Regarding lode mines it must be remembered that land classed as 

mineral and part of the public domain may or may not be valuable. 

The value can, as a rule, be established only by expensive prospecting 

operations. To withdraw such mineral lands or to put a royalty on 

the product would be unwise.

WASTE.

There is comparatively little waste in the mining of gold ores. In 

the concentration of base ores the loss of gold is large, probably 30 

per'cent, but there is a relatively small amount of gold involved. In 

the usual combined process of amalgamation and concentration followed by cyaniding or in chlorination the loss is small; the recovery 

is generally about 90 per cent. In the recovery by smelting the loss 

of gold is extremely small and practically all of it is collected in lead 

or in copper matte. In electrolytic refining of copper and lead the 

loss is negligible.

At the same time it would be advisable to make storage of mill 

tailings compulsory. The. reworking is sometimes profitable and can 

be done at little expense.

Much has been said about the loss in placer mining and in hasty 

operations in rich ground, as in Alaska; this is undoubtedly heavy, as 

attested by the repeated working of such ground. Even in better con-
128 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES. .

structed plants there is some loss of fine gold, but the recovery is 

probably 95 per cent. In plants of the best kind, for instance hydraulic installations with undercurrents or dredges with the most 

improved appliances, the recovery'may be' considerably higher. It 

should be added, however, that few exact data concerning these losses 

are available.

CONSUMPTION.

The consumption of gold in the United States approximately equals 

the production; at least this appears to be true for the last thirty-five 

years.

In 1906, according to the Director of the Mint, the quantity of 

gold used in the arts, exclusive of gold coin and old material, had a 

value of about $29,000,000. (Total amount used in the arts. 

$39,000,000.) The quantity used has doubled since 1900. In 1906 

gold was coined to the amount of about $79,000,000.a The total gold 

used for coinage and the arts in the United States in 1906 had thus 

a value of $108,000,000, or $14,000,000 more than the domestic product. 

The records show that a balance of $109,000,000 was imported during 

the same year, so that for 1906 $203,000,000 would represent the consumption of gold in the United States. The amount "imported in 

1907 was, however, unusually large.

For the period 1901-1905, according to Mr. Biedermann's 6 figures,. 

the addition to the gold stock of the United States was $412,000,000, 

and this figure is $8,000,000 less than the domestic production for 

the five years. According to this the United States retained practically all of the gold produced within its territory for this time.

The total metallic stock of gold held in the United States on December 31, 1906, was, according to the estimate of the Director of 

the Mint, about $1,600,000,000. The production of the United States 

since 1873 is $1,650,000,000.

The total stock of gold coins in the world in 1905 was $8,050,- 

000,000. Adding to this $2,000,000,000 as the probable amount used 

in the -arts, we have a total of $10,000,000,00'0. Against this the total 

£old production of the world since 1860, according to the Director of 

the Mint, is $7,652,000,000.

The gold production of the world for the five-year period, 1901- 

1905, amounts to about $1,688,000,000. 6 This has ultimately been 

divided between the nations as follows: United States, $412,000,000; 

France, $378,000,000; Germany, $242,000,000; India, $177,000,000; 

Great Britain and Austria, each $112,000,000.

a Probably $6,000,000 of this consisted of mutilated domestic coins and scrap. 

0 Biedermann, E., Die Statistik der Edelmetalle, etc.; Zeitschr. Berg, Hiitteu u. 

Salinenwesen, Bd. 56, Heft 1, Berlin, 1908.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 394 PLATE VIII

I860 1885 1890 1895 1900 1905 1910 1915

IN FINE OUNCES 

200,000,000

100.000,000

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580 1885 1890 1895 1900 1905 I9IO 1915

PRODUCTION OF SILVER OF THE WORLD AND OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1880 TO 1907.
SILVER. 129

The flow of gold to India and Egypt has often been emphasized in 

the press. No doubt such importations are manufactured into jewelry or are hoarded and are permanently lost to commerce and industry. The above figures will show, however, that such hoarding 

has not caused the great demand for gold during recent years. The 

real cause is the heavy absorption of the metal by the commercial 

nations in order to fortify their monetary position. The introduction of the gold standard has forced those great nations to create large 

gold reserves. This process has been going on for the.last twenty 

years, but from now on the demand for gold for this purpose will

probably slacken.

SILVER. '

PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

The silver production of the United States became of importance 

about 1860 and increased rapidly up to 1892, when it attained 63,500,- 

000 fine ounces. The decline in the price had begun in 1875, and in 

the year of maximum output the price had fallen to 88 cents per fine 

ounce. Since 1892 the yield of silver has remained practically constant, averaging about 55,000,000 ounces. In 1907 it was 56,500,000 

ounces, but the present year will witness a considerable decline. The 

lowest price of silver was about 47 cents, in 1902. The price rose to 

70 cents in 1907, but has again declined to 50.cents, in October, 1908. 

The general result has been that a great number of mines which extracted silver ores have closed down, but the compensating factor 

that an increasing quantity has been obtained as a by-product from 

lead and copper ores has kept the output steady. The lower line in 

the diagram shows the course of the production of the metal in the 

United States.

PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD.

The world's production of silver was 92,000,000 ounces in 1885, and 

about 178,000,000 ounces in 1907. The upper line in the diagram 

represents the world's 'production in the same time, and it well illustrates its constancy. (See PI. VIII.) The United States and Mexico 

are the most important contributors to the production of the world, 

the supply from each source being from 55,000,000 to 65,000,000 

ounces. The rehabilitation of the mining industry of Mexico, which 

has taken place in the last twenty years, has gradually increased its 

output to more than double that of 1885. The remaining third of 

the world's production is mainly derived from New South Wales, 

Germany, Peru, and Bolivia, In many countries the output of silver 

is receding, owing to low price and difficulty of competing with the 

United States. To offset this, the silver output of Canada has lately 

been increasing at a rapid rate, and in 1907 attained nearly 20,000,000 

ounces.

86412 Bull. 394 09 9 . ' - .
130 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL EESOUECES. 

RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

The silver-producing States had in 1907 the following rank: Colorado, Montana, and Utah, each producing slightly over 11,000,000 

fine ounces; Nevada and Idaho, each yielding about 8,000,000 ounces; 

Arizona, 3,000,000 ounces; and California, 1,500,000 ounces. None of 

the remaining States produced over 600,000 ounces.

An analysis of the statistics of 1906 is published in Bulletin 340 

of the United States Geological Survey. From this it appears that 

the total output, disregarding the small amount of silver obtained 

from placer gold, was derived as follows: From lead, copper, and 

zinc ores, 40,100,000 fine ounces; from quartzose gold and silver ores, 

16,500,000 ounces. A large proportion of the base-metal ores contained only, a small amount of silver, which might be properly regarded as a by-product. Quartzose gold ores also contain silver 

which is recovered as a by-product and from this source 4,000,000 

ounces were obtained in 1906, making one-quarter of the total from 

quartzose ores.

Looking at the question from another standpoint, it was found that 

from ores which carry predominating silver values, and which thus 

may be classed as silver ores, 19,500,000 fine ounces of silver were obtained. This is somewhat more than one-third of the total output of 

56,500,000 ounces. It must be taken into consideration, however, that 

at least one-half of these ores could be profitably mined only because 

other metals besides silver were present. Only 1,500,000 ounces were 

obtained from ores containing no other recoverable metals.

From these data tlie present small importance of silver mining as a 

distinct and separate industry is clearly perceived. The pure silver 

ores are not scarce, but at the present price of the metal they can not 

be profitably treated unless containing at least about 20 ounces per ton.

The lead ores of the Eocky Mountain region are as a rule richer in silver than the copper ores. In the lead ores of the Mississippi Valley silver is either absent or contained in extremely small quantities. Should 

the quantity of lead ores mined in Colorado and Utah gradually 

diminish, which seems probable, a corresponding diminution of the 

silver supply would follow. On the other hand, copper will probably 

for many years be mined on an increasing scale, and although the 

copper ores are poor in silver, the great tonnage" handled will add 

much silver to our annual output and compensate for the possible 

loss from the decrease in the supply of lead ores. The zinc ores do 

not contain much silver; those of southwestern Missouri are free from 

silver, and the Rocky Mountain ores rarely contain more than a few 

ounces per ton. .

From all this it is evident that the present supply of silver is 

assured as long as the mining of lead and copper ores, as well as of 

quartzose gold ores, continues on the present scale. Should there ever
U. 6. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 894 PLATE IX

1885 1890 1895 1900 1905 19 10 1915

POUNDS

800,000.000

600,000,000

400,000.000

SOQOOO.OOO

1880 1885

A

1890 1895 1900 1905 1910 I9J5

PRODUCTION OF COPPER IN THE UNITED STATES FROM 1882 TO 1907.
COPPEE. 131

be a scarcity of silver, with accompanying rising price, the Eocky 

Mountain region beyond doubt contains a large supply of quartzose 

low-grade silver ores which could be profitably extracted with silver 

above 70 or 80 cents per ounce.

CONSUMPTION.

The United States consumes only a part of the silver produced. 

The domestic consumption is divided between coinage and industrial 

uses for the manufactures and arts. The demands for the latter use 

have doubled since 1898, and at present the amount consumed is 20,- 

000,000 ounces, of which about 4,000,000 ounces represent old material 

remelted. For coinage the mints consume variable amounts ranging, 

during the last ten years, from 4,500,000 ounces to 23,000,000 ounces. 

In 1906, 7,700,000 fine ounces were coined. The total domestic consumption of the yearly product of the mines may be placed at 25,000,- 

000 ounces. The remainder, about 32,000,000 ounces, is exported 

As is well known, the larger part of the export is taken by India and 

China. The demand by India is in the aggregate an enormous sum 

and is increasing at a rapid rate. For 1906-7 the total imports of 

silver by India were over 118,000,000 ounces, an increase of 34,000,000 

ounces over 1905-6. On the other hand, the generally much smaller 

demand from China fell off, and during 1906 that country actually exported silver. The larger part of the silver which goes 

to India is, as well known, permanently lost to our industrial world 

by hoarding. Since the Indian government has succeeded in establishing the permanent value of the rupee at 16 pence (on basis of 

1:21.85) it is likely that the decline in price of silver wiirbe checked, 

but the supply appears to be so great that a vigorous recovery can 

hardly be expected.

COPPER."

PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

The copper-mining industry of the United States has developed at 

a rapid rate. In 1888 the production was 226,000,000 pounds of the 

metal. After eight years, in 1896, it had doubled. After ten years 

again, in 1906, it had nearly quadrupled, attaining almost 918,000,000 

pounds. Eeactionary tendencies developed in 1907, but the output 

of 1908 attained 943,000,000 pounds.

It is impossible to predict the final character of the curve of production (PI. IX), but if we draw a straight line from the point on the 

diagram representing the production of 1883 to that of 1908, we shall 

with some probability have the trend of the production for future 

years. It is altogether improbable that the increase will continue at 

an increasing rate; more likely the rate will gradually diminish; a

straight line will probably express its trend for the next ten years, at

_________________________________i_________

0 Prepared with the assistance of Mr. L. C. Graton, of the U. S. Geological Survey.
132 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

least. On this basis the production would be about 900,000,000 pounds 

in 1910, and 1,160,000,000 pounds in 1920. The following table will 

give a good idea of the growth of the industry since 1845. It shows 

that the rate of increase during the present decade is considerably 

smaller than it was during the decades 1881-1890 and 1891-1900:

Magnitude and growth of copper production in the United States from 1845 to

1907, inclusive.

Year,

1845.........................................

1846.........................................

1847.........................................

1848.........................-..:.-..-.-..:..

1849.........................................

1850.........................................

1851.........................................

1852.........................................

1853..........................................

1854.........................................

1855. ........................................

1856.........................................

1857.........................................

1858.........................................

1859.........................................

I860.........................................

1861.........................................

1862. ...................................:....

1863.........................................

1864.........................................

1865.........................................

1866.........................................

1867.........................................

1868. ........................................

1869.....................:...................

1870............................ .............

1871.........................................

1872........:................................

1873.........................................

1874....................:....................

1875.........................................

1876......:..................................

1877..........................................

1878.........................................

1879.........................................

1880.........................................

10fi1

1882.........................................

1883.........................................

1884.........................................

1885.........................................

1886.........................................

1887.........................................

1888.........................................

1889.........................................

1890...........:.............................

1891 .........................................

1892.........................................

1893.........................................

1894.........................................

1895.........................................

1896.........................................

1897.........................................

1898.........................................

1899.........................................

1900.........................................

1901 ...................:.....................

1902.........................................

1903 .........................................

1904 .........................................

1905.........................................

1906..........................................

1907.........................................

Total production, 1845-1907. ...........

Average annual increase, 1882-1907... . .

Production.

Pounds. 

224, 000 

336,000 

672, 000 

'1,122,000 

' 1,568,000 

1,456,000 

2,016,000 

2,464,000 

4, 480, 000 

4. 990, 000 

6,720;000 

8, 960, 000 

10,752,000 

12,320,000 

14, 112, 000 

16,128,000 

.16,800,000 

21, 160, 000 

19,040,000 

' 17,920,000 

19, 040, 000 

19,936,000 

22,400,000 

25, 984, 000 

28, 000, 000 

28, 224, 000 

29,120,000 

. 28,000,000 

34, 720, 000 

39, 200. 000 

40,320;000 

42,560,000 

47,040,000 

48, 160, 000 

51, 520, 000 

60, 480, 000 

71,680,000 

90,646,232 

115,526,053 

144, 946, 653 

165, 875, 766 

156,735,381 

180, 920, 524 

226, 361, 466 

226, 775, 962 

259,763,092 

284, 121, 764 

344, 998, 679 

329, 354, 398 

354, 188, 374 

380,613,404 

460, 061, 430 

494, 078, 274 

526,512,987 

568, 666, 921 

606, 117, 166 

602,072,519 

659, 508, 644 

698,044,517 

812,537,267 

888,784,267 

917, 805, 682 

868, 996, 491

12, 163, 637, 913

Increase.

Pounds.

112,000 

336,000 

450,000 

426,000 

0112,000 

560, 000 

448, 000 

2, 016, 000 

510,000 

1.730,000 

2, 240, 000 

1, 792, 000 

1, 568, 000 

1,792,000 

2,016,000 

672,000 

4,360,000 

02,120,000 

ol,]20,000 

1,120,000 

896,000 

2,464,000 

3,584,000 

2,016,000 

224, 000 

896,000 

a 1, 120. 000 

6, 720; 000 

4, 480. 000 i, 120; ooo

2,240.000 

4,480,000 

1,120,000 

3,360,000 

8,960,000 

11,200,000 

8,966,232 

24,886,221 

29, 420, 600 

20,929,113 

09,140,385 

24,185,143 

45, 440, 942 

414, 496 

32,987,130 

24, 358', 672 

60, 876, 915 

ol5, 644, 281 

24, 833, 976 

26, 425, 030 

79, 448, 026 

34. 016, 844 

32,434,713 

42, 153, 934 

37, 450, 245 

04,044,647 

57,436,325 

38, 535, 873 

114,492,750 

76,247,000 

'29,021,415 

048, 809, 191

13,880,233 

2, 034, 333 

30, 282, 201

Per cent.

50.0 

100.0 

67.0 

40.0 

»7.1 

23.1 

22.2 

81.8 

12.5 

33.3 

33.3 

20.0 

14.6 

14.5 

14.3 

4.1 

20.0 

«5.5 

o5.9 

6.3 

4.7 

12.3 

16.0 

7.7 

1.0 

3.2 

«3.8 

24.0 

12.9 

2.9 

5.6 

10.5 

2.4 

7.0 

17.4 

18.6 

12.5 

27 A 

25.5 

14.4 

o5.5 

15.4 

25.1 

.2 

14.5 

9.4 

21.5 

04.8 

7.5 

7.4 

. 20.9 

7.4 

6.6 

8.0 

6.6 

o0.7 

9.5 

.5.8 

16.4 

9.4 

3.3 

05.3

15.0 

17.2 

9.9

Average annual 

increase by decades.

Pounds.

242,400 

1,467,200

1,209,600 

3,225,600 

18,930,349

34,635,407 

37,554,189

Per cent.

50.0 

27.0

6.1

7.2 

14.8

9.1 

5.5

« Decrease.
COPPER. , . 133 

PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD.

The world's production of copper has also increased rapidly, but 

not at the rate attained by the United States. From 274,000 metric 

tons in 1890 it has grown to 711,000 tons in 1907. To this amount 

the United States contributed, respectively, 118,000 and 386,000 

metric tons. The paramount importance of this country is easily perceived.

The world's production, outside of that of the United States, increased as follows:

Metric tons.

1890 _______________________ .___________________ 156, 000 

1895 _________________________________________ 165, 000 

1897 -____-________________________________ 182, 000

1900 _______________________ _ ______________1_ 219, 000 

1905 ____________ ___ ________________________ 297, 000

1907 _____________________^.___________________ 325, 000

From this it will be seen that the increase was slow from 1890 to 

1895, and that it then began to mount rapidly, doubling in the twelve 

years from 1895 to 1907.

No single country compares in importance with the United States. 

The supply from the Rio Tinto mines in Spain and Portugal is almost 

constant at 50,000 metric tons per annum; that of Germany and Chile 

likewise, with, respectively, 20,000 and 27,000 tons. Australia, 

Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia have shown rapid growth in 

the copper industry; among these Japan leads with an output of 

49,000 metric tons in 1907. For the next few years increased production may confidently be expected from Canada, Mexico, and 

Russia. Copper deposits of enormous extent are reported to have 

been discovered in central Africa. Their product is not likely, however, to compete with other sources for several years.

RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

For many years the bulk of the copper production has been divided 

between Michigan, Montana, and Arizona. In each of these States 

the increase has been rapid and continuous since 1880, but for a series 

of years, beginning with 1891, Montana far exceeded the other two 

States. In 1895, for instance, Montana produced 50 per cent; Michigan, 34 per cent; and Arizona, 12.6 per cent of the total output. During the last few years there has been a tendency to equalization, caused 

by the rapid advance of Arizona. In 1907, of a total of 869,000,000 

pounds, Arizona yielded 257,000,000; Montana, 224,000,000; and 

Michigan, 219,000,000 pounds. Utah comes next with a production 

of 66,000,000 pounds. California yielded 34,000,000 pounds; Tennessee, 20,000,000 pounds; Colorado, 14,000,000 pounds; New Mexico 

and Idaho each, 10,000,000 pounds; Alaska, 7,000,000 pounds; Wyo-
134 . CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

ming, 3,000,000 pounds; and Nevada, 2,000,000 pounds. These 12 

States are the only ones which will have to be considered in more 

detail. The less important will first be disposed of.

COLORADO.

Colorado can be dismissed in a few words because the copper is 

largely recovered as a by-product from many mines with mixed ores, 

chiefly, in fact, from the Leadville mines. The State has no important copper mines and it is not likely that its production will 

exceed the figure of 1907, when special incentive to the recovery of 

this metal was given by abnormally high metal prices.

IDAHO.

Idaho has three copper districts of some importance the Coeur 

d'Alene, the White Knob, and the Seven Devils. With copper prices 

at 13 cents the last two districts will probably not be able to attain 

a large yield. At present the greatest part of the production comes 

from the Snowstorm mine in the Coeur d'Alene district. With copper at 15 cents, or higher, the reserves of the State will be materially 

augmented and the present production could probably be increased.

WYOMING.

The State of Wyoming produces copper from the Encampment 

district, near the Colorado line. The deposits are fairly large and 

there is probably a considerable amount of low-grade ore in the 

district. Low-grade copper deposits are known to exist in Albany, 

Fremont, and Natrona counties. The State will never rank among 

the greatest producers in the country, but may be able to maintain 

a production of a few million pounds per annum.

NEW MEXICO.

New Mexico possesses large bodies of Jow-grade copper ores in 

the Burro Mountains and at Santa Kita. Exact figures can not be 

given, but with copper prices at 15 cents the Territory will probably 

be able to maintain its present output (10,000,000 pounds in 1907) for 

a long period of years. Many of the other mining districts, especially the Mogollon and the Organ, will continue to contribute to the 

total output. The copper-bearing sandstones of upper Carboniferous 

to Lower Cretaceous age are developed in New Mexico upon an enormous scale. They are present in the Zuni, the Nacimiento, the Mora, 

the Oscura, and many other ranges. Past experience has shown that 

with copper at 13, 15, or even 20 cents, these extensive deposits can 

not be profitably worked, except on a small scale for selected rich 

ores; but with prices above 20 cents they should come into the range 

of probable resources.
COPPEE. 135

ALASKA.

The Territory of Alaska contains at least three copper districts 

of importance, the Kasaan Peninsula, Prince William Sound, and 

the Copper River region. From the first and second districts an 

output of 7,000,000 pounds was obtained in 1907. The deposits are 

irregular. The ores of the first district are of low grade but easily 

smelted. At copper prices of 13 cents the outlook is doubtful, but 

at a higher rate the peninsula may yield a considerable amount for 

a number of years. The deposits on Prince William Sound are considered promising, but are too little developed to allow a judgment as to future possibilities. Probably they will furnish a fair 

amount of copper. The Copper River deposits are likewise as yet 

in the prospect stage, but may in time develop into an important copper-mining district. The most promising property is at present the 

Bonanza mine, a large body of high-grade chalcocite ore. No' data 

are as yet available as to its continuation in depth.

TENNESSEE.

At Ducktown, Tenn., the Tennessee^ Copper Company and the 

Ducktown Sulphur, Copper, and Iron Company are producing an 

aggregate amount of 18,000,000 to 20,000,000 pounds of copper per 

annum. The reserves of ore are believed to be sufficient for at least 

ten years. It is said that the former company has now developed and 

produced ore to the extent of 3,300,000 tons. About 389,000 tons of 

ore were mined by this company in 1907.

We now come to a consideration of the States which at present 

are of paramount importance in the production of copper. They 

are Michigan, Arizona, Montana, Utah, Nevada, and California.

MICHIGAN.

Michigan, which up to the present time has been the largest contributor of all the States to the total copper output of this country, began production in 1845 and has been steadily and increasingly productive ever since. The output in 1907 was over 219,000,000 pounds. The 

entire production has been drawn from the Lake Superior copper 

district of the northern peninsula, and the productive area is a belt 

1 or 2 miles wide by about 70 miles long. Developments are more 

extensive than in any other copper district. The grade of the ores 

has steadily declined and now averages only about 1.1 per cent 

recovered. Costs of operations are extremely low, however, and the 

greater part of the present output can be maintained under the current copper market. The tonnage of ore that is reasonably assured 

is enormous and probably exceeds that in any other district; it 

is now being depleted at the rate of almost 10,000,000 tons annually.
136 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

One company alone estimates 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 tons remaining 

in one lode (the " Calumet" conglomerate) in its ground that has 

been worked since the sixties of last century. Another lode (the 

Kearsarge) is being mined for 12 miles along its strike almost without 

break, and to depths on the incline ranging down to about 5,000 feet. 

A third very important lode (the Baltic) is being found much more 

extensive than formerly known, and, like the Kearsarge, promises to - 

yield an enormous output before exhaustion. Two other lodes (the 

Osceola and Pewabic) are of much importance and maj^ be. safely 

counted on for large production for many years. , Several of the 

smaller producing lodes will long continue to contribute to the State's 

supply, and some of the extensive development in the northern end of 

the district is likely to. bring out important resources.

The conglomerate ores, which so far have yielded more than half 

the total output and are decidedly richer than the amygdaloid 

ores, will probably cease to be productive, at the present rate of 

working and under normal prices, at the end of fifteen years twenty 

at most. But the amygdaloid ores, which are much more cheaply 

worked and in this way offset their lower yield, are able to maintain 

the district as one of the great copper regions of the world for many 

years to come. The deepest Avorkings have now attained a vertical 

depth of practically one mile, and as the workings are extended farther down, the increasing cost of operation and the decreasing grade 

of ore will ultimately make mining unprofitable. While this condition seems not far in the future at certain local points, its effect on 

the general output of the district will, to judge from present tendencies, be felt at a very remote time.

Copper is known to occur for many miles beyond the southwestern 

end of the productive belt, but the development of important resources there is as yet problematical. It is probable that at best 

that section can achieve important output only under higher prices 

than can be reasonably expected for many years.

ARIZONA.

The foundation of the present production of Arizona, which in 

1907 was about 257,000,000 pounds, was laid in 1873, when mining 

began in the Morenci district. Within a few years the Bisbee district became a producer and the ores of the old silver district at 

Globe became chiefly valuable for copper. Shortly afterward the 

United Verde mine at Jerome became an important producer. The 

production of these four districts increased steadily and rapidly, and 

in 1907 they produced jointly over 240,000,000 pounds, or more than 

the total yield of any other State. While there are a large number
COPPER. . 137

of other producing districts in the Territory, of which two or three 

are of decided promise, these four principal centers of production 

must be chiefly relied on for many years if Arizona is to maintain 

her output.

The Bisbee district produced about 110,000,000 pounds in 1906, and 

practically all of it came from ores of relatively high grade. Most of 

the output was from secondar}^ or enriched ores, and was produced 

at a cost low enough to maintain the district as an important producer with prices decidedly lower than at present. The principal 

companies are known to have good reserves blocked out, but figures 

as to tonnage and tenor are not available. There is a fair outlook for 

adding laterally to the productive area. The lowest workings are 

about 1,600 feet deep, and the bodies of good grade encountered at 

that depth are an encouraging indication of the future possibilities 

of the camp.

The high-grade ores of the Morenci district have been largely 

exhausted, and for a number of years the chief source of production 

has been the comparatively low-grade concentrating ores formed by 

secondary enrichment. The production in 1907 was about 63,000,000 

pounds. A large tonnage is still doubtless available for extraction, 

but at a depth which only in a few places exceeds 400 feet the workable ores give way to the original pyritic deposits that are of too low 

grade to be profitably worked under any conditions that can at present 

be reasonably forecast. The ground that is possibly copper bearing has not yet been entirely prospected, and during the past three 

years of good prices the principal operators have conserved the bettergrade ores. But it seems probable that the district has about reached 

its climax in annual output, and that a sustained period of low prices 

might cause the production to decline sharply.

At Bisbee and at Morenci the precious metals occurring with the 

copper are not sufficiently plentiful to have appreciable effect on 

conditions of production.

The Globe ores likewise were formerly of high grade, but the district, which produced 35,000,000 pounds in 1907, is relying more and 

more on its medium and low grade ores. The bulk of the present 

output is from enriched ore. Lean pyritic ore has been reached at a 

depth of about 800 feet, but the secondary ore of workable grade has 

been developed in places to the present maximum depth of about 

1,200 feet. There is reason to believe that some of the underlying 

sulphide ore may be profitably extracted, but as a source of important 

contribution to the copper supply this is very uncertain. Keceritly 

the Miami Copper Company has developed a very important lowgrade deposit of the well-known type, consisting of disseminated sec-
138 CONSERVATION OP MINERAL RESOURCES.

ondary sulphides. The company estimates 4,200,000 tons of 2.9 per 

cent ore developed and 2,200,000 tons of probable ore in addition, 

with good prospect of increasing this tonnage. They estimate that 

in all probability a total of at least 250,000,000 pounds of copper can 

be taken from the mine as at present developed at a cost of 9 cents 

per pound. Production from this property is expected to begin in 

the near future. In the vicinity of Globe there is without doubt a 

large tonnage of ore, partly of good grade, not as yet altogether 

systematically developed. Promised improvement in local transportation and bettered metallurgical conditions resulting from increase of 

sulphide ores produced in the district will almost certainly be followed by increased production from this outlying territory, but the 

magnitude and persistence of this supply can not now be foretold.

The Jerome district, in Yavapai County, produced 33,000,000 

pounds of copper in 1907. As in former years, nearly all this came 

from the United Verde mine. The ore body is a great lens of 

pyrite and chalcopyrite in schists and has been opened by workings to the 1,000-foot level, beyond which depth the ore is reported 

to continue. There is undoubtedly a large tonnage yet to be extracted 

above this level. Gold and silver are present to the extent of about 

1.4 cents per pound of copper, and the copper percentage is high, 

the ore ranking with the Bisbee ores as the richest now mined on a 

large scale in the United States. Prospecting in the surrounding 

region has not as yet disclosed any other deposits of importance.

At the Silver Bell district, in Pima County, important developments 

have been made and improvements are nearly completed to largely 

increase the production of 1907, which was over 5,000,000 pounds. 

Contact-metamorphic sulphide ores of both smelting and concentrating grade have been opened and the tonnage exposed is reported to be 

large. In the Mineral Creek district of Pinal County the Eay Consolidated Copper Company has opened a disseminated chalcocite body 

in porphyry, and estimates indicate that about 3,000,000 tons of about 

2.4 per cent tenor have been already developed and can be profitably 

worked with copper selling at 12 cents. A large tonnage of lowgrade garnet-chalcopyrite ore is reported as existing in the Saddle 

Mountain region, in Gila County, but it is not certain that it can be 

worked at the present metal market. A large quantity of low-grade 

ore consisting of copper minerals disseminated in sedimentary rocks 

is known in the Grand Canyon region, but development has been 

slight and no generally satisfactory method of reduction has yet been 

found for application at recent prices of copper.

These four regions have not yet been studied by members of the 

Geological Survey, and further definite information, is not available.
COPPEE. 130

A few million pounds of copper are produced annually in Arizona 

incidental to the recovery of precious metals. This will doubtless 

continue, and the probability is that the quantity will increase somewhat. While this source of supply will be relatively independent of 

the price of copper, it probably can never be of much importance.

The prospect of discovering new important copper fields in Arizona 

is perhaps brighter than in any other State or Territory.

MONTANA.

The importance of Montana as a copper-producing State began in 

1880 with the advent of railroad transportation to Butte, the only 

large copper district of the State. Production increased with great 

rapidity, and in 1887 the district was the most productive in the 

world. It has held that rank almost steadily to the present time, as 

Montana led in the production of copper until 1907, when it was surpassed in this respect by Arizona. The production of the State in 

that year Was about 224,000,000 pounds, nearly all of which was 

derived from Butte. The ore bodies of Butte are secondarily enriched portions of pyritic replacements and impregnations of zones 

of crushed granitic rock. In the early years the ores were of 

extremely high copper content and carried much silver. Now the 

greater part of the production is from rather low-grade concentrating ores, and the recovery from all ores is but little over 3 per 

cent copper: The yield of precious metals is more than 2 cents per 

pound of copper. The principal output is from a very small territory, and prospecting in the outlying ground during the last few 

years has failed, in most cases, to give encouraging results. A large 

tonnage of ore is undoubtedly still available for extraction, but lean 

pyritic material has been encountered in a number of places at about 

the same depth (the 1,600-foot level of certain mines) and most of 

the good ore bodies that occur at greater depths, down to 2,600 feet, 

are probably to be regarded as localizations of enrichment along 

certain easily permeable channels. The cost of producing copper 

is high and the output at the rate of 1905 and 1906, or even of 1907, 

probably can not be maintained for a long period on copper at 13 

cents per pound.

UTAH.

The production of Utah has increased greatly during the last few 

years. In 1903 the output was approximately 30,000,000 pounds, 

while in 1906 it had attained 66,000.000 pounds, with prospect of Still 

further increase. The Utah copper is mainly derived from the Bingham district, though smaller quantities are obtained from the Tintic
140 CONSEBVATION OF MINERAL. KESOUECES.

and Frisco districts. All these ores yield also much gold and silver, 

and their extraction is therefore to a certain extent independent of 

the price of copper. A production of about 50,000,000 pounds could 

undoubtedly have been maintained for a series of years, as new reserves were constantly discovered. The recent discovery and utilization of the low-grade Bingham porphyry ores, probably the largest 

single body of copper ore known in the United States, will, however, 

advance Utah still further in the rank of the copper-producing 

States. The two largest companies which treat this ore estimate the 

aggregate reserves of ore blocked out or partially developed at 120,- 

000,000 tons, which, provided that all of this ore can be extracted, 

should yield a very large quantity of copper, besides a considerable 

amount of gold and silver. The yield thus far is somewhat below 

2 per cent copper. The copper can be produced cheapty, it is claimed 

at 8 cents per pound. The tonnage to be treated per day in the plants 

of the Utah Copper Company and the Boston Consolidated Copper 

Company is over .9,000 tons, or 3,150,000 tons per annum. At this 

rate the ores would last about thirty-eight years. In addition a large 

amount of ore of somewhat lower but probably workable grade is 

partly developed.

NEVADA.

Until recently Nevada was of little importance as a copper-producing State, but the development of the Ely and Mason Valley 

districts have materially changed the outlook. At Ely low-grade 

but enormously large copper deposits have been opened and will begin production in 1908. The three companies working at Ely, the 

Nevada Consolidated Copper Company, the Cumberland-Ely Mining 

Company, and the Giroux Consolidated Mines Company, report an 

aggregate of about 28,000,000 tons of developed and probable ore 

containing about 2 per cent copper with some gold and silver. The 

mills erected will have a total capacity of 4,500 tons per day, or 

1,500,000 tons per annum. The proved reserves would therefore last 

about nineteen years. The total cost of mining and reduction will, it 

is believed, be low; it is claimed less than 10 cents per pound of 

copper. It is thought that the output of the Nevada Consolidated 

will be at the rate of 24,000,000 pounds per annum. In the Mason 

Valley district near Yerington important bodies of ore have also 

been opened and will probably soon contribute to the output of 

Nevada.

CALIFORNIA.

The copper production in California began in Calaveras County 

about forty years ago, but the industry there soon declined and it 

was not until 1897, when the Shasta County mines began copper pro-
COPPER. 141

duction, that the output of this State became important. The production in 1907 was over 33,000,000 pounds.

The Shasta County copper region, which in 1907 produced about 

28,000,000 pounds, embraces four districts within an area about 6 by 

20 miles. Rich copper-silver ores were first worked at some of the 

mines, but these have been exhausted, and practically the whole output is at present derived by smelting massive pyritic ores, which 

yield on the average about 3.6 per cent copper and nearly 3 cents in 

gold and silver per pound of copper. The ore bodies are large replacement bodies, mostly in porphyry, and in most cases are flat-lying 

lenses; in a few cases the ore bodies are more nearly vertical. A very 

large tonnage is now blocked out and in process of extraction. One company has several million tons practically developed, and four other 

companies have proved up large reserves. One of the largest bodies 

has been practically worked out and the limits of most of the others 

are now known. Additional deposits may be discovered from time 

to time, for the region has not been thoroughly prospected, but the 

probability is that the best deposits existing are already known. Some 

of the mines probably have ore of too low grade to be continuously 

worked with profit under the current prices for copper, and others 

are dependent for present operation on the simultaneous production 

of sulphuric acid from the ores. Under favorable metal prices the 

production of the region is likely to increase rapidly and then after 

a number of years to decline sharply.

The only other copper-producing district of any importance in California is in Calaveras County, where sulphide ore of good grade is 

found in schist. The production has varied greatly from year to year. 

In 1907 it was somewhat over 4,000,000 pounds. Details as to the 

probable future of this region are not available, but the outlook is 

generally considered good.

There is a long stretch of country in the western foothills of the 

Sierra Nevada where copper is known to occur mostly as lenticular 

sulphide bodies in schist or slate. Small production has been made 

from time to time. At most points developments are meager and the 

future is unknown, but there is reason to believe that with proper application of capital, improved transportation, and good copper prices, 

this district might make a considerable output.' At the Dairy Farm 

mine, in Placer County, on this belt, a large body of sulphide ore has 

been blocked out and extraction will probably begin in the near 

future. The ore is not of high grade; and no figures regarding the 

extent of the developed ore are available.

Small production comes from Inyo and San Bernardino counties, 

in the southern part of the State, but developments as yet do not warrant relying on that region for an important copper supply.
142 ' CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

CONCLUSIONS.

The visible reserves of copper ore in the United States are much 

larger than those of lead ore. Moreover, they are very much larger 

now, at the maximum of production, than they have ever been before. 

And yet, upon perusing the preceding notes it is evident that few companies have reserves for as much as ten years and that only in one 

case are they believed to be sufficient for thirty-eight years. On its 

face this condition seems discouraging, at least when we compare it 

with the enormous reserves established in the investigation of thecoal-mining industry. As has been explained in the general part of 

this discussion, copper deposits differ so completely in their occurrence from coal beds that known reserves like those of coal can not be 

expected. Each year will, however, surety find extensions of reserves added to those already discovered and large new deposits of 

low-grade copper ores will also undoubtedly be opened. These possibilities are well illustrated by the discovery within the last two years 

of a 7,000,000-ton ore body near the old camp of Globe, Ariz., which 

one might reasonably suppose to be well prospected.

All these data of available reserves are based on copper at about 

13 cents per pound. A large part of them would prove unprofitable 

to extract should the value of the metal sink much below that figure. 

Should copper increase to 15 or 20 cents per pound the reserves of 

many mines would unquestionably be vastly increased. Should it 

go above 20 cents per pound, still more extensive reserves would be 

available in the cupriferous sandstones of the Southwest. These conclusions, again, are based on present methods of working and recovery. Should further great improvements be made in these processes 

the limits indicated by the prices might be materially altered.

The copper resources .of the United States are believed to be large 

enough to respond for a number of years to a demand increasing at 

the rate of 30,000,000 pounds per annum. It is to be anticipated that 

should this demand continue for a long period the scarcity of ore 

would ultimately be felt and result in a rising price for the metal. 

This again would undoubtedly cause the substitution of other metals, 

like aluminum, for copper whenever possible.

All these considerations have left the foreign supply out of the 

question. If recent reports are correct, central Africa contains 

enough copper to supply the world for years to come.

The whole problem of the copper supply contains so many unknown 

quantities that final and definite judgment is impossible. In the last 

analysis, however, it comes down to the question whether it is better 

for a country to reserve its copper for the future, when its value is an 

unknown quantity, or to extract the ore at as rapid a rate as possible
COPPER. 143

when profit is assured. It is believed that the latter method is the 

best, if at the same time avoidable waste is prevented.

CONSUMPTION.

Only a part of the copper produced is consumed in the United 

States; exports have been maintained on an increasing scale for the 

last thirty years. At the present time some, but not much, copper ore 

is imported to our smelters. On the other hand, there is a large 

output of foreign raw copper which is refined in the United States. 

In 1907 the total foreign copper refined in this country amounted to 

248,000,000 pounds, or one-third of the domestic production of refined 

new copper, which for the same year was 784,000,000 pounds.

There is no duty on copper or copper ores to interfere with the 

natural operations of supply and demand. The copper industry has 

developed in a natural and free manner and no single concern has yet 

obtained control of the market.

The domestic consumption has increased from about 350,000,000 

pounds in 1900 to 685,000,000 pounds in 1906. In 1907 it had decreased to 485,000,000 pounds. To this should be added the consumption of copper recovered from scrap, which was about 60,000,000 

pounds in 1907, making a total consumption of about 545,000,000 

pounds.

The uses are principally for wire or other electrical purposes, brass, 

castings, and sheet copper. There is no such great amount permanently lost as in lead and zinc, and a large quantity of scrap will be 

available with increased production and consumption.

WASTE.

It is not believed that the waste in the mining of copper ore is excessive. Ores too poor to extract at prevailing prices are, of course, 

left in the mine. But with present methods of extraction, whether 

timbering, filling, caving, or steam-shovel methods, there is little 

profitable ore left in the mines.

Much larger are the losses in concentration. The principal valuable mineral in the concentrating ores is chalcocite, which is easily 

slimed; the loss may be 30 per cent of the metal contained, and it 

is not always easy to avoid it. Storage of tailings should be enforced, even though in many cases the grade of the ore is so low 

that there is little present probability of utilization. The waste in 

copper smelting is not large and the slags are easily available for 

resmelting; at many reduction works old slags are used as a fluxing 

material.
144 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

The diagram (PL X) shows graphically the annual production of 

lead in the United States for the last twenty-eight years. From 

129,000 short tons, in 1885, the production increased at a moderate 

rate to 1895, when it was 170,000 tons, an average increase of about 

3,700 tons per annum for eleven years. The second epoch, from 1895 

to 1907, presents radically different conditions. The output rose rapidly and steadily, except for small setbacks in 1899 and 1905, at an 

average increase of almost 15,000 tons per annum, or about four times 

as rapidly as in the previous eleven years. In 1895 the total was 

170,000 tons; in 1907, 365,000 tons. The increase since 1895 has been 

at an almost even rate, by average, as clearly . indicated on the diagram. Should this rate of increase be maintained, the production of 

1910 would be 410,000 tons, and that of 1920, 560,000 to 580,000 tons.

PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD.

In 1907 the world's production of lead was about 965,000 metric 

tons, while that of the United States amounted to 317,500 metric tons, 

or about one-third of the whole.

The world's production of lead has not advanced at so rapid a rate 

as that of the United States. From a total of about 721,000 metric 

tons in 1897 the production has increased to about 965,000 tons in 

1907. If we consider all countries except the United States, the figures for the same period of eleven years would be 541,000 tons and 

648,000 tons, an average annual increase of 9,700 metric tons. Upon 

closer examination it is found that from 1897 to 1903 the total production of all countries, excluding the United States, increased 

rapidly in fact, at the remarkable rate of 23,000 tons per annum. 

On the other hand, a steady decrease has taken place since that time, 

from 702,000 metric tons in 1903 to 647,000 metric tons in 1907, 

equivalent to a rate of 11,000 tons per annum. And this has 

happened in the face of advancing lead prices.

Considering the foreign supply in more detail, the greatest output 

comes from Spain (186,000 tons in 1907) . The quantity has remained 

approximately constant from 1897 up to the present time. Spain's 

resources of lead are known to be great, but it may be seriously 

doubted whether the present production can be materially increased. 

Germany contributed about 143,000 tons. Up to three or four years 

ago a steady increase, had been shown in Germany, but in the last

» Prepared with the assistance of Mr. C. E. Siebenthal, of the U. S. Geological Survey..
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLET 394 p^£ x

1880 1885 1890 1895 1900

SHORT TONS 

500,000

400,000 

300,000 

200,000 

100,000

0 

l 

r

/

^^M

'

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J

* <

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80 1885 1890

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of

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1895 1900

1905 1910 1915

,,'< T

,.. '{'!*

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1905 1910 1915

PRODUCTION OF LEAD IN THE UNITED STATES FROM 1880 TO 1907.
LEAD. 145

few years, in spite of rising quotations, the production has receded. 

Australia yielded 97,000 metric tons, mainly from Broken Hill, but 

its output has been decreasing rapidly during the last few years 

from the maximum of 141,000 metric tons reached in 1903. Practically the same may be said of Mexico. From Mexican ores about 

72,000 metric tons of lead were obtained in 1907. The rich ore deposits of Sierra Mojada and other places are being exhausted.

The facts given above are significant. They show that the lead 

deposits of the world are being heavily drawn upon and that, barring 

new discoveries of great importance, which are somewhat unlikely, a 

further reduction in the world's output is likely. This reduction will 

probably be accompanied by a rise in the price of the metal. An 

advance of a few cents per pound will no doubt create new and large 

ore reserves in many countries.

RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

Of the 365,000 tons of lead produced in the United States in 1907, 

Idaho and Missouri yielded 236,000 tons, or nearly two-thirds. The 

output of 1907 was divided approximately as follows:

Short tons.

Southwestern Missouri____________________________ 24, 600 

Southeastern Missouri_____________________________ 98,400 

Idaho_______________________________________ 113,000 

Utah____________________________________.___' 62,000 

Colorado _____________________________________ 51, 000 

Other States __________________________________ 16, 000

Total _____________________________________ 365, 000

In the following pages the production and possibilities of each 

State are taken up in sequence.

MISSOURI.

In southwestern Missouri lead is now mainly obtained as a byproduct from crude zinc ores which average about one-half of 1 per 

cent in lead. The heavy lead ores occurred near the surface and. are 

now almost exhausted. The present production of lead is mostly derived from the extensive flat ore bodies in the lower Carboniferous, 

known as the sheet ground. The portion of the. sheet ground which 

has been mined up to date, say, in the last ten or twelve years, while 

comprising probably the richest part, constitutes not over the onehundredth part of the probable sheet-ground territory. Much of this 

territory is, however, not workable at present ore prices. Large and 

economical plants will be one of the necessities of the future. Decreased cost of production and higher ore prices may lead to the

S6412 B oil. 394 09 10
146 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

opening of still deeper disseminated deposits which the drill has 

shown to exist at Joplin, Webb'City, and Granby, and which have 

also been opened 10 miles south of Joplin. It is believed that the deposits of southwestern Missouri will be sufficient to keep up the 

present production for fifty years at least.

The production of southwestern Missouri remained fairly constant 

at 27,000 to 35,000 tons of lead concentrates per annum from 1894 to 

1905. In 1906 and 1907 an advance took place, and in 1907 about 

39,000 tons of concentrates were obtained.

In southeastern Missouri a pure lead ore is mined, containing 

an average of about 5 per cent of metallic lead. The important 

ore bodies occur disseminated within a Paleozoic limestone at depths 

of 100 to 600 feet in fairly well defined runs or ore bodies, some 

of which are over 5,000 feet in length. The production has been 

maintained for many years. In 1892 about 42,000 tons of concentrates and shipping ore were obtained. In 1901 this had increased to 110,000 tons. During the last few years the output has 

increased rapidly, and in 1907, 157,000 tons of concentrates were produced. This rapid advance is chiefly due to the enlarged plants of 

the St. Joseph Lead Company and affiliated interests, capable of 

handling 3,900 tons of ore per day, and to the 2,400-ton concentrating 

mill recently erected by the Federal Lead Company, which is allied 

to the American Smelting and Refining Company. No data are 

available giving the results of the extensive prospecting operations 

by diamond drills undertaken by these companies, nor has the 

region been covered by the investigations of the United States Geological Survey. Statements obtained from well-informed engineers 

indicate that the ore-bearing area covers from 30 to 40 square miles. 

While this ore-bearing area is large, it is by no means inexhaustible. 

It is believed that the maximum of production, will be reached in a 

few years. The supply will, however, undoubtedly last for a great 

number of years, and it is undoubtedly true that there is a great 

extent of unprospected territorjr with possibilities of ore deposits 

at a considerable depth, especially on the south and southwest sides 

of the St. Francis Mountains.

In Idaho the Coaur d'Alene district is the principal source of production. Discovered about 1885, this district has rapidly and continuously increased its" production until it now exceeds 100,000 tons' 

of metallic lead per annum. The deposits are strong fissure veins in 

quartzite. The principal properties are controlled by the Bunker 

Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company and the Federal Mining and Smelting Company, the latter affiliated with the
LEAD. 147

American Smelting and Eefining Company. The district has been 

studied by Mr. F. L. K-ansome, of the Geological Survey,0 who expresses his belief that th'e district gives promise of long-continued 

activity. Mr. Ransome also states that the ore shoots, extend to great 

depth with remarkably little change in the character of the ore. The 

Bunker Hill and Sullivan mine, which has distributed over $9,000,000 

in dividends, may reasonably be expected to continue its present rate 

of production for a score or more of years. Similar conclusions 

apply to several other mines. New discoveries will probably be made, 

as, indeed, in the last few years two important mines have been 

added to the producers. The total production of lead and silver will 

probably continue to increase for several years. The Bunker Hill 

and Sullivan, the greatest single producer, yielded in 1907 about 

35,000 short tons of leadv On its lowest level the ore shoot is said

to be as rich as in any of the upper workings, and there seems to be

no reason why mining operations could not be extended for several 

thousand feet below this level. The underground workings have now, 

according to a recent circular to stockholders, undercut and partially 

developed 3,000,000 tons of ore, expected to contain 11 per cent of 

lead and 4.82 ounces of silver per ton, a total of about 330,000 tons 

of lead. A few of the deeper mines are now, according to Mr. Kansome, extracting ore much leaner than this and may cease to be 

profitable in a few years. There is also the probability that in 

general more zinc and less lead will be found as the mines attain 

greater depth. But on the whole the prospects decidedly encourage 

the belief that the Cceur d'Alene district will be able to maintain or 

somewhat increase its present production for some twenty-five years 

at least.

UTAH.

Utah has long been an important producer, of lead, chiefly from 

three districts, the Park City, Bingham, and Tintic. The Frisco 

district has lost its one-time prestige in respect to this metal. The 

total output of Utah now (1907) stands at 64,000 tons, and for a 

number of years has remained fairly constant. The Park City district is the most productive, yielding about 23,000 tons per annum. 

The lead ore is contained in strong fissure veins and replacement 

bodies which promise a long-continued output. The bulk of the 

remainder, or about 40,000 tons, has until recently been derived from 

the Bingham and Tintic districts, but in late years the American 

Fork and Stockton districts have greatly increased their production. 

Utah is rich in lead ores, and its output bids fair to be continued 

on the present scale for many years to come. On the other hand, 

there is little probability of a greatly increased output. Nobocty is in

" Prof. Paper No. f>2, II. S. Ooolosio.il Survey.
148 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

position to furnish even approximate figures as to the reserves;"it 

may be said, however, that few of the lead mines have reserves for 

more than two or three years ahead.

COLORADO.

Since 1879 Colorado has always been one of the most important 

lead-producing States. The production reached a maximum when 

the great ore bodies of Leadville were discovered about twenty-five 

years ago. It has fluctuated considerably, ranging from 40,000 tons 

to 80,000 tons of metallic lead between the years 1881 and 1908. During the last few years it has slowly declined and in 1907 was estimated 

to be 51,000 tons. Leadville has always been the most prominent 

district and its production was greatest when the enormous bodies 

of carbonate ore were worked, from 1880 to 1890. During recent 

years the output of Leadville has remained fairly constant at about 

23,000 tons, or one-half of the total production of Colorado. The 

rich oxidized ores are almost exhausted. The deeper ore bodies are of 

great size but are poor in lead. It is largely owing to the utilization 

of zinc ores that Leadville has been able to maintain its production; 

the tonnage of zinc-lead ores, poor in lead, is now about one-third of 

the tonnage of the lead ores and the siliceous ores. Undoubtedly a 

large output of lead can be maintained for many years, but it will 

probably slowly decrease. The rest of the Colorado lead is mainly 

derived from Aspen and Creede. The former district is slowly decreasing in importance. Eegarding the latter, the information at 

hand is not extensive, but it is believed that the district is in position 

to maintain its output for a number of years.

From the preceding it appears that there is little chance of increase 

in the lead production of Colorado. More probably it will gradually

decrease. The State is rather throughly prospected, and the chance

of new discoveries is correspondingly small.

OTHER STATES.

None of the other States yield enough to become a seriously considered factor. The total output from them was 16,000 tons in 

1907. Probably many districts will increase in importance; others 

will fall out. For a number of years to come we may count with 

some confidence on this amount as their aggregate total. The 

Eureka mines in Nevada, once prominent, are now being reopened, 

but thus far no ore bodies similar in importance to the old bonanzas 

have been reported. The railroads now being built in the State will 

open a considerable territory, which will yield a fairly large amount 

of lead from newly developed smaller districts or from rehabilitated 

old districts like Pioche. Discoveries of new lead-producing districts like Leadville or Park City or the Cceur d'Alene are of course 

always possible, but they do not seem very likely.
LEAD. 149

Summing up these data, it is believed that the lead production of 

the United States can be maintained at the present figures for a number of years possibly twenty years but that after some such time it 

would be more likely to decrease-. Barring new discoveries of great 

value, a continued increase of production,, like that Avhich has taken 

place in the United States since 1895, is very improbable. With 

increasing demands for consumption the price of lead would gradually rise, and in such case of course each cent permanently added to 

the price of the metal would make available large additional ore reserves, but even at an increased price there is little probability of an 

indefinite increase on the scale of the last few years.

CONSUMPTION.

For the last ten years the United States has consumed all of the 

domestic lead produced, and in addition a variable but small amount 

has been imported. The consumption has practically kept step with 

the production.

A feature of much interest is that over one-third of the lead is used 

in the manufacture of white lead and consumed as paint. This feature is shown in the diagram. (See PL X.) In 1907, 135,000 tons 

of metallic lead were so used. White lead is used more than any 

other substance for paint, although the manufacture of zinc white and 

zinc-lead white has taken great steps forward "during the last few 

years. Of course the lead so used is absolutely lost, and it does seem 

as if for these purposes some other material might be substituted for 

so valuable a metal, especially when, as shown above, the ore reserves 

are relatively low. Probably no other nation uses lead paint to the 

same extent as the United States; partly because here wood construction prevails; partly because our greater prosperity allows the use of 

more expensive paint. With general substitution of brick, stone, or 

cement (of which our resources are inexhaustible) for wood (of 

which our supply is rapidly diminishing), the demand for lead white 

would greatly decrease. Anything that could be done to encourage 

this change would be desirable.

With increasing production and price a greater quantity of scrap 

Avill each year be remelted for consumption. In 1907, according to 

returns made to the United States Geological Survey, at least 

25,000 tons of lead were thus returned to consumption; the latter 

is thus in reality at least 25,000 tons greater than the figures of 

production would indicate.

WASTE.

There is little .waste in the mining of lead ores. Neither is there 

much waste in.the smelting of the ores; besides, the slags are of
150 CONSERVATION OR MINEEAL RESOURCES.

course always available for retreatment, if necessary. The loss in 

smelting and refining is usually estimated as 5 per cent, although this 

figure is probably somewhat too high.

The greatest waste takes place in the concentration of lead ores. 

It is not nearly so great as in case of copper and zinc, but doubtless 

often amounts to 15 or 20 per cent. The best way to mitigate this 

feature would be to compel all owners of concentrating works to 

store their tailings.

The improvements in both concentration and smelting have been 

very great in the last fifteen years, and this fact has, of course, enabled 

the miners to handle lower grades of ore. A lead ore containing 4| 

per cent of metallic lead is now worked in southeastern Missouri, and 

ore containing 5£ to 6^ per cent (with 2 to 3 ounces of silver) in the 

Coeur d'Alene district. Further reduction in costs is. probable, but 

is not likely to be great as long as the present high scale of wages 

in the West continues.

TARIFF ON LEAD AND LEAD ORES.

The lead-mining industry has been to a high degree artificially 

stimulated 'by the duty on refined lead and lead ores. Under this protection our own resources have been strained to the utmost. We have 

put a premium on the output of lead and the result is shown in the 

price of the metal, which is higher in New York than in foreign 

markets.

ZINC." 

PRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

The zinc-smelting industry in the United States is of comparatively recent origin. From a small beginning of 23,000 tons of spelter 

in 1880, the production increased at a moderately rapid rate up 

to 1896, as shown by the diagram (PI. XI). This total increase in 

seventeen years was only about 60,000 tons, or at a rate of 3,500 tons 

per annum. From 1896 a much more rapid rate began. The average 

increase from 1896 to. 1907 was at the rate of 14,000 tons per annum, 

of from 81,000 tons in 1896 to 223,000 tons in 1907. The rate of increase has been fairly uniform within this period, but was distinctly 

greater from 1903 to 1907 than from 1896 to 1903, the average annual 

increase during the more recent period amounting to 18,000 tons.

All these figures, it should be remembered, refer to spelter; a large 

part of the zinc ore is, however, used for pigments, chiefly zinc oxide, 

partly also zinc-lead white. The upper curve in the diagram shows

"Prepared with the assistance of Mr. C. E. Siebenthal, of the U. S. Geological Survey.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 394 PLATE XI

PRODUCTION OF ZINC IN THE UNITED STATES FROM 1S80 TO 1907. 

Upper line shows total production of zinc as spelter and as zinc in zinc white, manufactured from ore. Lower line shows production of spelter.
ZINC. . 151

the zinc in pigments added to the production of spelter. The amount 

of zinc used annually for paints has doubled since 1896 and is now 

about 60,000 tons. Taking this into consideration it is seen that the 

total production of zinc in the United States was 280,700 tons in 

1907, and that the annual increase since 1904 has been 32,000 tons in 

1905, 27,000 tons in 1906, and 21,000 tons in 1907. Assuming that a 

straight line from 1896 to 1907 represents the average tendency, 

the production in 1910 would be about 325,000 tons; in 1915, 395,000; 

and in 1920, 475,000 tons. Should the substitution of zinc oxide for 

white lead proceed on a still larger scale in the future than in the 

past, which seems possible, the figures at the years mentioned would 

be very materially increased.

PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD.

The world's production of zinc has increased since 1896 at a very 

rapid rate, but not quite at the pace set by the United States. The 

total production increased from 422,000 metric tons in 1896 to 737,000 

metric tons in 1907. . The production from all sources, excepting the 

United States, amounted to 352,000 metric tons in 1896 and 510,000 

metric tons in 1907, an average annual increase of 14,300^J;ons.

The celebrated zinc mines in Belgium are still producing heavily, 

as are the mines of Silesia and at other points in Germany. New and 

very extensive supplies of ore are being received in Europe from" 

Mexico and Australia, and deposits of great magnitude are reported 

to exist in Africa. The successful solution of the problem of ore 

concentration at Broken Hill, New South Wales, will enormously 

increase the shipments of Australian ores to European smelters, and 

it is considered possible that the mines of Germany and Belgium may 

have to reduce their output to avoid overproduction of zinc.

The United States now ranks first in production, having surpassed 

Germany in 1907.

RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.'

The production of zinc (spelter and zinc in oxide) in 1907 is divided as follows among the States:

Short tons.

Missouri _______________________________________ 142, 000 

Wisconsin - ______________________________________ 17, 000 

Kansas________________________________.. 14, 000

New Jersey____________ _________________________ 59, 500 

Colorado ____________________________...___.____ 33,.600 

Other States_____________________________________ 14, 600

Total ______________________________________ 280,700
152 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

MISSOURI.

It will be seen that Missouri occupies the most commanding position, producing over one-half of the total domestic output. Practically all of this is derived from the southwestern or Joplin district. 

The ores now of most importance are contained in flat deposits in the 

so-called " sheet ground," which, at a depth of 150 to 250 feet, underlie a large area in this region. The known sheet ground is constantly increased; the extent of the actual known ore reserves is an 

unknown quantity; the extent of the area of possible ore is very 

large. It can be said with fair confidence that deposits of zinc ores 

underlie 50 square miles of territory, with strong probability that 

further exploration will add another 50 square miles. The portion 

of the sheet ground which has been worked during the'last ten or 

twelve years, since such mining was first attempted, is between 1 

and 2 square miles. Much of the remaining territory is certainly 

poor and contains considerably less than 3 per cent of zinc sulphide 

(including some lead), and whether it can be profitably worked is 

largely dependent upon royalty to the landowner as well as price 

of zinc. There is also some probability of opening lower deposits 

of zinc-bearing ground which have been shown to exist at Joplin, 

Webb City, and Granby and which now are being worked at Aurora 

at a depth of 325 feet. Superficial deposits will doubtless continue to 

be discovered and worked, though probably in lessening number and 

extent in the future. As the result of special study of the Joplin district by the United :States Geological Survey, it is thought that the 

probable ore reserves will be sufficient to keep up the present production for fifty years at least.

KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA.

The zinc-bearing cherts and limestones extend from Joplin into the 

adjoining States of Kansas and Oklahoma. In Kansas the future 

can not be predicted, as the deposits so far developed have not been of 

sheet formation, but there are possibilities of finding extensive deposits in virgin territory and at greater depth in known localities. In 

Oklahoma the production is now small, but there-is in the Quapaw 

district at least 12 square miles of ore-bearing blanket breccia. Very 

promising deposits have been opened at Miami, and the blanket 

breccia probably extends in this direction, making it reasonably certain that the mineralized area is as much as 20 square miles in extent, 

most of which will be available mining territory when ore yielding 

2 per cent of concentrates can be profitably worked.
ZINC. 153

WISCONSIN.

According to Mr. H. Foster Bain, the extent of the zinc deposits 

in Wisconsin is fairly well known. The ore does not, as in Missouri, form extensive flat sheets, but shorter " pitches " and " flats." 

The zinc ore is usually found below the already mined lead deposits, 

and drilling operations during the last few years have given encouraging results. The production has increased rapidly and with higher 

zinc prices will probably increase still further. No estimate of 

actual or probable ore reserves can be given, but there is little doubt 

that the present production, with zinc at 5 or 6 cents per pound, can 

be continued for many years.

NEW JERSEY.

The large and in many respects remarkable deposit at Franklin

Furnace is the only occurrence of importance in New Jersey. No 

recent estimate of the quantity of ore is available, but, according to 

a report by Nason,a the ore body in 1894 contained about 8,000,000 

tons. According to the reports of the New Jersey Geological Survey, 

approximately 2,500,000 tons have been mined since 1904. The 

figures for the total ore reserves may be rather far off the mark, but 

they serve to show that the ore body is known to have definite limits 

and that its exhaustion is probably a matter of fifteen to twenty-five 

years at the present rate of ore production.

COLORADO.

About 1901 Colorado began to ship zinc ores to the smelters and 

shortly afterward a zinc smelter was built at Pueblo. The production rose rapidly, and, according to the mine reports of the United 

States Geological Survey, in 1906 attained 43,000 tons, calculated as 

probably recovered spelter and zinc in paint. In 1907, when the conditions, at least during the latter part of the year, were less favorable, 

the production was 30,400 tons. The larger part of this came from 

Leadville, in which camp the lower levels had disclosed large quantities of ore consisting of pyrite, zinc blende, and a little galena. 

Recent improvement in concentrating processes had made possible 

the recovery of this zinc and its separation from the pyrite. Large 

quantities of zinc also came from the Tenmile, Red Cliff, Aspen, 

Creede, Breckenridge, and Clear Creek districts. The margin of 

profit was in many cases small, no payment was as a rule obtained 

for the silver and lead contained in the ores, and the losses in concen0 Trans. Am. lust. Min. Eng., 1894.
154 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

tration were great. When the lower prices of 1907 were established 

the majority of the mines ceased shipments.

No figures of ore reserves even approximately correct are available 

to the Geological Survey, nor can they be obtained, but there is no 

question whatever that the resources of Colorado in zinc ores are 

very large, and that with favorable prices an output much larger 

than that of 1906 could easily be yielded by the State for a long 

period of years. The ores occur under entirely different conditions 

from those of the Central States. The deposits are fissure veins or 

irregular replacement ores in limestone, and are nearly always mixed, 

i. e., contain silver, copper, lead, and more rarely gold. Many mines 

once worked for lead have been impoverished by the prevalence of 

zinc in lower levels.

OTHER STATES.

Conditions similar to those in Colorado prevail in many of the 

Western States, notably in Utah and Idaho, both of which shipped 

a considerable amount of zinc ores in 1906 and 1907. From Park 

City and Frisco in Utah and from the Coeur d'Alene district in 

Idaho important shipments were made. New Mexico, though not 

figuring conspicuously in the production of 1907, has some very large 

zinc deposits at Magdalena and smaller deposits at many places. 

Its yield of zinc in 1906 was about 8,000 tons, and with favorable 

conditions this amount could probably be doubled and be continued 

for a considerable period of years.

Zinc ores in considerable quantities could be furnished by Arizona 

and Nevada. Prospecting for these ores has not been especially 

active in the West. In fact, deposits containing zinc have until 

within a few years rather been shunned on account of the difficulty 

of treating such ores in copper and lead furnaces and the difficulty 

of marketing them as zinc ores with profit. New discoveries may 

therefore be anticipated.

In conclusion, the supply of zinc at prices of 4 to 5 cents is not very 

large, and will come chiefly from Missouri and New Jersey. At 

prices above 5 cents the supply will probably be ample for such length 

of time as we can reasonably foresee. It is thought that our resources 

of zinc, especially in the West, have just begun to be developed.

CONSUMPTION.

Since 1876 the domestic production has been sufficient to supply 

the demand, and the importations have been small. A small amount 

of high-grade spelter and ore has been exported, mostly from New 

Jersey. There is, it is true, an import duty on spelter practically 

prohibiting foreign importations, but on the other hand,, during 

the last three years 25,000 tons of spelter have been obtained per
ZINC. 155

annum from Mexican ores, which is equivalent to about one-eighth 

or one-ninth of our domestic production. There has been a long controversy about the construction of the law in respect to zinc ores. 

The case is still in the courts and, pending final decision, duties are 

still collected, to be refunded later should zinc ores be adjudged duty 

free.

As already noted, about 60,000 tons of the metal are used per annum 

for the manufacture of white paint. This amounts to one-sixth of the 

whole output, and is of course permanently lost. Next in importance 

comes the metal used for galvanizing, and this consumed, in 1905, 

100,000 tons; in 1906, 124,000 tons; and in 1907, 149,000 tons, an increase of 49 per cent in two years. In 1907 this amounted to more 

than half of the total production of zinc. The remainder of the 

spelter output is about equally distributed between brass and sheet 

zinc. All these products seem indispensable for the growth and development of the industries, and it is believed that the consumption 

of zinc will continue to increase at the recent rate for several years 

to come.

The zinc industry has been less protected than lead mining and 

smelting, and it appears to be in a healthy condition. There is no 

single concern controlling the output or the principal part of the 

output.

Much zinc can be recovered from the galvanized products, and this 

recovered metal, which in 1907 amounted to 19,000 tons or more, will 

of course increase as the output grows larger.

WASTE.

In no metal industry is the waste more startling than it is in the 

production of zinc. In mining, Missouri must be considered first. 

Owing to the occurrence of the ore in flat sheets, it is necessary to 

leave pillars to support the roof, filling or timbering being too expensive. About 14 per cent of the ore therefore remains in the mine, 

although, of course, care is usually taken to select the poorer ground 

for pillars as far as possible. In the West, owing to the expensive 

treatment and shipment of the ore, much low-grade ore is left in the 

mine, but this is not necessarily a complete loss unless the mine is 

entirely wrecked.

In concentrating, the losses are enormous. Somewhat better conditions now prevail, but in many cases at least not more than 60 per 

cent of the assay value is saved in the concentrating works. From 

30 to 35 per cent is perhaps an average loss. Southwestern Missouri 

has been the chief offender in this respect. While the mining and 

milling costs there have been extremely low, this has been accomplished at a heavy loss of metal. The miner has not been entirely
156 ' CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

to blame, for the heavy royalties exacted by the landowners have 

forced him to adopt these wasteful methods. Lower royalties, better 

concentration works, and obligatory storage of tailings will help these 

conditions.

In the smelting of zinc ores the loss is heavier than in aity other 

metal; the average is probably nearly 15 per cent of the assay value, 

and the loss is heavier in western* complex ores, containing much 

iron, than in Missouri Valley ores. It is claimed that the smelter 

practice has been behind that of Europe. These conditions are 

being remedied, but still further metallurgical improvements are most 

urgently desirable and .will be soon attained. The western ores 

usually contain silver and lead; sometimes also copper. Under 

present conditions these metals are often wasted, and only under exceptional conditions does the miner obtain payment for them. There 

is vast room for improvements in the zinc industry, and attention to 

the matter will materially increase the life of our zinc deposits.

The total loss from ore in the ground to spelter is rarely less than 

40 per cent.
THE PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS OF THE UNITED STATES.

By F. B. VAN HOHN.

INTRODUCTION.

The occurrence of rock phosphates in the United States has a very 

important bearing upon the agricultural industry, since many plants 

can not exist without the presence of phosphoric acid in the soil. Growing crops deplete the soil of its phosphoric acid, and if no steps are 

taken to restore this substance the soil must eventually become non-- 

producing.

Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee have for several years been 

the-main sources of phosphate in the United States. North Carolina, 

Alabama, and Pennsylvania have produced phosphate rock, but never 

on a large scale, and there is at present no production from these 

States. In 1900 Arkansas entered the field as a producer, and in 1906 

a new field was discovered in Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY.

Phosphate mining began in the United States in 1867 in South 

Carolina. The existence of the rock had been known since 183T, but 

the possibilities of its commercial use were not recognized until 1859. 

According to Otto A. Moses: 0

In 1859 Professor Shepard and Col. L. M. Hatch suggested the utilization of 

phosphatic marls in the manufacture of commercial fertilizers and started a 

factory at or near Charleston, which was, however, soon abandoned. Remains 

of their compost heap were utilized by neighboring farmers with good effect 

long after the war.

At the close of the war Dr. N. A. Pratt, formerly connected with the niter 

bureau of the Confederacy, visited Charleston with the object of starting sulphuric acid chambers. About this time Dr. St. Julien Ravenel, of Charleston, 

who had mined marl extensively at Stoneys Landing, on Cooper River, for the 

manufacture of cements, noticed the nodules, analyzed some of them, and found 

them to contain much phosphate of lime. He became engaged soon after in 

the manufacture of commercial fertilizers from foreign phosphate rocks. Then 

followed the discovery (in August, 1S67) which has been of such vital importance to agriculture and the prosperity of South Carolina. Pratt and Holmes

« Mineral Resources U. S. for 1882, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1883, p. 512.

157
158 CONSEKVATIOISr OF MINEEAL EESOUKCES.

(Charleston Mining Company), Raven el and Dukes (Wando Company), then 

located territory. The value of the deposits became known; other available 

beds were discovered, and many persons and considerable capital were soon 

employed in developing the new industry by mining the crude rock and exporting or manufacturing it on the spot into superphosphates. Later on the beds 

of many navigable streams were found to be largely paved with the valuable 

substance.

Until 1888 South Carolina enjoyed a monopoly of the phosphate 

industry of the United States. In that year Florida came forward 

as a phosphate State, with a production of 3,000 long tons. In 1904 

the production surpassed that of South Carolina, and Florida has 

maintained its lead up to the present time.

In 1892 phosphate was discovered in Tennessee, and two years later 

the production from that State was 19,188 long tons. In 1899 Tennessee went ahead of South Carolina, the production from the latter 

State having decreased steadily since 1894.

PRODUCTION.

The production of phosphate from South Carolina from the beginning of the industry in 1867 to the year 1888, during which period 

that State was the only producer, was 4,442,945 long tons, valued at 

$23,697,019. The following table shows the total production from 

the United States from 1867 to 1907:

Year.

1867-1887..................

1888.......................

1S8Q

1890... I..................-'.

1891.......................

1892.......................

1893..... ..................

1894.......................

1895.......................

IQQfi

1897.. ..................

1898 ....................

Quantity.

Long tons. 

4, 442, 945

448, 5C7

550, 245

510, 499

587, 988

081,571

941,368

996, 949

1, 038, 551

oqn 77Q

1,039,345

1,308,885

Value.

S23, 697, 019

2, 018, 552

2, 937, 776

0 910 7QK

3, 651, 150

3,296,227

4,136,070

3, 606, 094

2

QfiO 070

2, 673, 202

Year.

1899.......................

1900.......................

1901.......................

1902.......................

1903... ....................

1904.......................

1905.......................

1907.......................

Total...............

Quantity.

Long tons. 

1, 515, 702

1 491 216

1, 483, 723

1,490,314

1, 581, 570

1,874,428

1,947,190

2, 265, 343

29, 208, 141

Value.

§5,084,076

5,084,248

5, 316, 403

4 693 444

b, 319^294

6,580,875

6,763,403

10, 653, 558

117,316,002

Of this amount South Carolina has furnished 11,912,959 tons; 

Florida, 12,395,731 tons; Tennessee, 4,859,991 tons; and other States, 

39,460 tons. In twenty years Florida has produced more phosphate 

than has South Carolina in thirty-one years.

GEOLOGIC OCCURRENCE.

The phosphate deposits range in age from the Ordovician in Tennessee to the Tertiary in Florida, occurring also in the Devonian in 

Tennessee and Arkansas, and in the Carboniferous in the WyomingIdaho-Utah field.
PHOSPHATES. 159 

FLORIDA DEPOSITS. 

DISTRIBUTION.

Phosphates occur in a general way along the west coast of Florida, 

principally in Polk, De Soto, Hillsboro, Pasco, Hernando, Sumter, 

Citrus, Marion, and Levy counties, although the rock has been found 

also in Alachua, Suwanee, Lafayette, Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, and 

Liberty counties. There are three classes of deposits in Florida hard 

rock, land pebble, and river pebble. These deposits vary in percentage of tricalcium phosphate from 78 per cent to 80 per cent in the 

hard rock, through 68 per cent to 70 per cent in the land pebble, to 

about 65 per cent in the river pebble.

Hard rock. The hard-rock phosphate belongs to the Eocene and 

the Miocene periods. In the former it consists entirely of a bowlder 

deposit in a soft matrix of phosphatic sands, clays, and other materials, while in the latter it is also found at many places as a bedded 

deposit in situ. The bowlders vary in size from 2 or 3 inches to 8 or 

10 feet, and lie embedded in all positions, surrounded by sand and clay 

containing more or less phosphate of lime in finer particles, resulting 

from a general distribution of the disintegrated portions of the 

bowlders during deposition. The deposits themselves vary from 

small pockets to those several acres in extent. The phosphate content 

of this class of deposits is from 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the mass.

Land pebble. The pebbles making up this deposit range from 

minute size to that of a walnut. They are originally white in color, 

but become dark colored when subjected to water action. They are 

embedded in sand and are underlain by a stratum of tough, stiff, 

clayey material known as " bed rock." Above the deposit is an overburden from 1 to 25 feet thick consisting of sand and limestone 

bowlders. The proportion of phosphate to other rock of this class 

of deposits varies from 1 to 10 to 1 to 4, or from 10 per cent to 25 

per cent. «

River pebble. This class of. deposit is very similar to the land 

pebble and derives its name from its manner of occurrence in the river 

beds. The pebbles are white to dark brown in color and of about the 

same size as the land pebbles. They occur in the form of bars in the 

rivers, and are derived from the formations through which the 

river flows.

DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION.

The year 1887 marked the beginning of the phosphate industry in 

Florida. In 1888 the first shipment of pebble phosphate from Peace 

Eiver was made to Atlanta, Ga. In 1889 the hard-rock phosphate 

was discovered in Marion County, and in 1890 the land-pebble area 

was opened up in Polk County. The growth of the industry has been
160 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

rapid and remarkable, until now Florida is the largest producer of 

phosphate rock in the United States.

The first production consisted of 3,000 tons in 1888, and twenty 

years later the output for the year was 1,357,365 tons, or nearly 60 per 

cent of the entire production of the United States in 1907. Following 

is a table showing the marketed production and value of phosphate 

rock from Florida, by years, since the first shipment:

Output of phosphate rode in Florida, based on marketed product, 1888-1907.

Year.

1QQQ

1QQQ

ison

1QQ1

1892.......................

IRQ**

IftQd

1895.......................

1896.......................

1CQ7

1898.......................

Quantity.-

Long tons. 

3,000

4,100

46, 501

112, 482

287, 343

438,804

527, 653

568,061

495, 199

cco 0,19

600,894

Value.

821, 000

28,000

338,190

703,013

1, 418, 418

1,979,056

1, 666, 813

2, 112, 902

1, 547, 353

1 XQO C1 C

1,847,796

Year.

1899.......................

1900......................

1901......................

1902......................

1903.......................

1904......................

1905.......................

1906......................

1907.......................

Total...............

Quantity.

Long tons. 

726, 420

706,243

751, 996

785, 430

860, 336

1,072,951

1, 194, 106

1, 304, 505

1, 357, 365

12, 395, 731

Value.

82,804,061

2, 983, 312

3, 159, 473

2, 564, 197

2,986,824

3, 974, 304

4,251,845

5, 585, 578

6,577,757

48,043,407

SOUTH CAROLINA DEPOSITS.

DISTRIBUTION.

The South Carolina phosphate beds occur interruptedly along a belt 

the lower limit of which extends along a meandering line from a 

point near the source of the Wando River in Charleston County to 

the mouth of the Broad River. The belt follows the coast, running 

back as far as 20 miles from the ocean.

In South Carolina the phosphate rock occurs in two forms: The 

land rock and the river rock, running about 58 and 55 per cent in 

tricalcium phosphate.

Land rock. The land rock is very probably of Miocene age, and 

consists of so-called pebble rock which'is in fact a solid mass from 

which the calcium carbonate has been leached out and partially replaced by phosphate, leaving cavities which connect and penetrate 

through the rock, giving it the appearance of being made up of 

separate pebbles. The rock runs from 1 to 3 feet in thickness, and is 

overlain by a greensand marl.

River rock. The river rock is so called because it is mined from 

the river channels. It consists essentially of the water-rounded fragments of the land rock.

DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION.

As already stated, phosphate rock was discovered in South Carolina in 1867, during which year 6 tons were marketed. From this 

time on the production increased until 1889., when it amounted to
PHOSPHATES. 161

541,645 long tons. Since 1893 the production has almost steadily 

decreased, and in 1899 Florida took the lead in the industry. In 1907 

only 257,221 tons were marketed from South Carolina. The total 

production and value of phosphate rock from South Carolina, by 

years, from 1867 to 1907, is shown in the following table:

Production of marketed phosphate roQlc in South Carolina, 1867-.1.907.

Year ending 

May 31 . 1807...................

ms. .................. im. ..................

1870..'.................

1871...................

1872...................

1873...................

1874...................

1875...................

1870...................

'1877...................

1878...................

1SSO

1881...................

1S82. ..................

1883....................

1884...................

1885...................

1 RS^

1886...................

1887...................

Quantity.

Long tons. 

6

12, 262

31,958

65,241

74, 188

58, 760

79, 203

109, 340

122, 790

132, 478

163,000

210, 322

190, 763

266, 734

332, 077

378, 380

431, 779

395, 403

277 789

430, 549

480, 558

Value.

$7, 248, 380

1, 980, 259

1, 992; 462

2, 270, 280

2, 374, 784

2, 339, 468

1, 848, 939

1,836,818

Year ending 

December 31 Continued. 

1888...................

]8S9. ..................

1890...................

1891...................

1892...................

1893...................

1894...................

1895...................

1896...................

1897...................

1898...................

1899...................

1900...................

1901...................

1902...................

1903...................

1904...................

1905...................

1906...................

1907...................

'Total...............

Quantity.

X.OIM tons. 

448, 567

541,045

463, 998

475, 506

394, 228

502, 564

450, 108

431, 975

402, 423

358,280

399,884

356, 650

329, 173

321, 181

313, 305

258, 540

270, 806

270, 225

223, 675

257, 221

11,912,959

Value.

82, 018, 552

2, 892, 270

2, 875, 605

2, 948, 138

1,877,709

2,157,014

1, 745, 576

1,411,032

1, 181, 649

980, 572

1,107,272

1, 078, 099

1, 041, 970

961,840

919, 725

783, 803

861,317

878, 169

817,068

980, 867

53, 221, 272

TENNESSEE DEPOSITS. 

DISTRIBUTION.

The deposits of phosphate in Tennessee lie mainly in Maury, Hickman, Perry, and Lewis counties, with some deposits in Giles, Williamson, Davidson, Sumner, and Decatur counties.

There are three commercially important classes of phosphate rock 

in Tennessee: The brown residual phosphate, the blue or black bedded 

phosphate, and the white phosphate. These range in phosphatic content from 70 per cent to 80 per cent lime phosphate in the brown rock 

to 75 to 85 per cent lime phosphate in the white rock, although in all 

three classes are to be found portions which run as high as 90 per cent.

BROWN RESIDUAL PHOSPHATE.

This variety of phosphate occurs mainly in Maury County. It is 

of Ordovician age, and is the result of the leaching process to which 

the phosphatic limestones have been subjected. Surface waters bearing carbonic and other organic acids have dissolved and carried away 

a large part of the calcium carbonate forming the limestone, leaving 

the calcium phosphate as a residual deposit. The brown phosphate 

is from 2 to 6 or 8 feet in thickness at various points.

86412 Bull. 394 09 11
162 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

BLUE OR BLACK BEDDED PHOSPHATE.

These deposits are of Devonian age, and show variations from 

oolitic through compact and conglomeratic to shaly forms. There. 

is also a nodular variety which occurs in a greensand formation immediately overlying the black shale. The bedded deposit occurs in 

seams varying from 1 to 50 inches in thickness, but where carrying 

high-grade rock the bed is seldom more than 20 inches thick. The 

phosphatic content ranges from 30 to 85 per cent. The nodular variety, which is embedded in a greensand matrix, runs about 60 per 

cent lime phosphate, but it is not practicable to work it except at 

points where the bedded rock is mined by stripping .off the over 

burden.

WHITE PHOSPHATE.

This rock is of post-Tertiary age, and occurs in three different 

forms, stony, brecciated, and lamellar. The stony phase contains 

usually only about 50 per cent of lime phosphate and is not worked at 

the present time. The lamellar forms were deposited in caves, and are 

thus of irregular shape and extent. The breccia consists of fragments 

of Carboniferous chert cemented by lime phosphate. The chert fragments vary from a fraction of an inch to 3 or 4 inches in diameter. 

The lamellar variety consists of thin parallel layers or plates about 1 

inch thick, but several inches long and broad.

The white phosphate has thus far been found only in Perry and 

Decatur counties. It runs sometimes as high as 85 per cent phosphate 

of lime.

DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION.

The blue bedded phosphate of Tennessee was discovered in 1893 

and was mined until 1896, when the brown rock was found to be valuable. The favorable location of this brown rock led to the cessation 

of blue-rock mining for the time. The white rock has not as yet been 

extensively mined.

The total production of phosphate rock from Tennessee from the 

first operations in 1894 to the end of 1907 is as follows:

Production of marketed phosphate rock in Tennessee, J'894-1907.

Year.

1894.......................

1895.......................

189G.. .....................

1897.......................

1898.......................

1899.......................

1900

1901.......................

Quantity.

Long tons. 

19,188

38,515

20,157

128,723

308,107 MA ino

454 491

409,653

Value.

$67,158

82,160

57,370

193,115

4QR 1W

1,177,160

1

OOQ 7/V7

1,192,090

Year.

1902......................

ion?

1904

1905. .....................

1907......................

Total...............

Quantity.

Long tons. 

390 799

460,530

' 530,571

482,859

547,677

638,612

4,859,991

Value.

81,206,647

1,543,567

1,745,054

1,633,389

2 147 991

3,047,836

15,920,636
PHOSPHATES. 163 

ARKANSAS DEPOSITS.

The developed phosphate deposits of Arkansas are on Lafferty 

Creek, on the western edge of Independence County. The rock itself 

is light gray, homogeneous, and conglomeratic, with small pebbles 

more or less angular in form. The phosphate bed runs from 2 to 

6 feet in thickness, and varies from 25 to 73 per cent phosphate of 

lime.

The Arkansas phosphates as such were discovered in 1895, but it 

was not until 1900 that any attempt was made to develop them. At 

that time the Arkansas Phosphate Company was formed, and a mining and milling plant was erected. After only a few months' operation this plant was destroyed by fire, and it has only been within the 

last two years that any production has been marketed, and that has 

been a small one. Analyses show that very little of this rock is high

grade, and the field will probably not be operated until 30 to 50 per 

cent rock can be utilized.

WYOMING-IDAHO-TJTAH DEPOSITS. 

DISTRIBUTION.

Within the last few years a large area of phosphate-bearing rock 

has been discovered in the western United States. This discovery 

is of much importance since it opens a new field in an area which is 

tributary to the great agricultural region of the Middle West. The 

phosphate occurs over a considerable area in southeastern Idaho, 

southwestern Wyoming, and northeastern Utah. It is found in rocks 

of upper Carboniferous age in a series of shales and limestones, 100 

feet thick, within which are several beds of phosphate rock ranging 

in thickness from a few inches to 10 feet. At the base of the series 

is a limestone, and 6 to 8 inches of soft brown shale separates this 

from the principal phosphate bed, which is 5 to 6-feet thick. This 

phosphate bed is oolitic in character and high in phosphoric acid. 

There are several other beds ranging from a few inches to 10 feet in 

thickness, separated by thin beds of limestone or shale, in the series. 

Usually one and sometimes two of these beds at a given section are 

workable, and probably some of the others will eventually be mined. 

The lime phosphate content in the workable beds varies from 65 to 

80 per cent, with an average of 72 per cent.

DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION.

The newness of the field, the lack of transportation facilities, and 

the high freight rates > have prevented the development of this 

phosphate territory to a great extent, although there has been some
164 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

shipment from Montpelier, Idaho, in the last two years. According 

to F. B. Weeks,0 who recently prepared a report upon these phosphates :

This field embraces the largest area of known phosphate beds in the world, 

and at some future time it will doubtless furnish a large part of the world's 

production of commercial fertilizer. The development of intensive farming as 

a result of the reclamation of arid lands in the West will afford an increasing 

home market.

PHOSPHATE AS A FERTILIZER.

According to a letter from Dr. W. L. Rasin, of Baltimore: b

The manufacture of chemical fertilizers in the United States began about 

1850. In that year Dr. P. S. Chappell and Mr. William Davison, of Baltimore, 

made some fertilizer in an experimental way. About the same time Professor 

Mapes was experimenting. Later De Burg utilized the spent bone black derived from the sugar refineries and made quite a quantity of " dissolved bone 

black" (superphosphate). In 1853 or 1854 Dr. P. S. Chappell commenced the 

manufacture of fertilizers, as did B. M. Rhodes, both of Baltimore. In 1855 

Mr. John Kettlewell, recognizing the fact that Peruvian guano (then becoming 

quite popular and containing at that time 18 to 21 per cent ammonia) \vi 

too stimulating and deficient in plant food (phosphates), conceived the ide; 

of manipulating the Mexican guano, containing no ammonia but 50 to 60 per 

cent of (bone) phosphate of lime, and called his preparation " Kettlewell's 

manipulated guano."

While in 1856 the sales of Peruvian guano had increased to 50,000 tons, and 

of Mexican guano to some 10,000 tons, there was not at that date 20,000 tons 

of artificial fertilizers manufactured in the entire country. Baltimore was not 

only the pioneer but the principal market for fertilizers until some time after 

the civil war.

Since the discovery of valuable deposits of phosphate rock in South 

Carolina in 1867, the fertilizer industry has grown rapidly, and in 

1900 there were 478 factories in the United States, with an output 

of 2,887,004 tons of fertilizer, valued at $41,997,673.

AVAILABLE PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS.

The known phosphate deposits of the United States are distributed 

principally among four localities: (1) Along the west coast of 

Florida, going back 20 to 25 miles inland; (2) along the coast of 

South Carolina, extending 6 to 20 miles inland; (3) in central Tennessee; and (4) in an area comprising southeastern Idaho, southwestern Wyoming, and northeastern Utah. In addition to these areas

» Contributions to economic freology, ,1907, pt. 1; Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 340, 1908, 

pp. 441-447.

» Twelfth Census Report, Vol. X, Pt. IV, p. 562.
PHOSPHATES. 165

some deposits occur in north-central Arkansas, along the GeorgiaFlorida state line, and in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi, 

but these are mainly of low grade and are not utilized at present. 

The first three of the important deposits have been worked for thirteen to thirty years, while the fourth is a new field which' has as yet 

had but a small output.

Owing to very incomplete data any estimate as to available supply 

of phosphate rock must, at best, be unsatisfactory. Taking South 

Carolina as the field most likely to first reach the exhaustion point, 

Florida second, Tennessee third, and the practically untouched deposits of Idaho-Wyoming-Utah last, an estimate of the available 

supply and possible duration is given, based on the past production.

South Carolina. By reference to the table of total production 

(p. 158) it will be seen that the output gradually increased from 1867 

until 1889, when the largest production, 541,645 long tons, was marketed. Since 1893 the output has decreased at about the same rate 

as0 the increase previous to that year. In the twenty-seven years 

from 1867 to 1893 the production was 7,269,453 long tons, and 

in the fourteen years since 1893 the production has been only 

4,643,506 tons, or 63.8 per cent of the production to 1893. Arguing 

from these figures, it is concluded that the amount of phosphate 

rock remaining to be mined in South Carolina is not more than 

3,000,000 tons, but it is possible that by careful deeper prospecting 

these figures may be increased. At the present rate of production 

this field has a probable life of not more than fifteen years.

Florida. The total production of phosphate rock in Florida since 

the beginning of the industry in 1888 has been 12,395,731 tons. As 

shown by the table on page 160 there has been a steady increase in 

production, but since 1904, when the increase in output over the 

previous year was 212,615 tons, the increase has been smaller each 

year, until in 1907 it was only 52,860 tons. When it is remembered 

that the phosphate deposits in Florida are'not continuous beds, but 

rather pockets, and that practically all the phosphate-bearing areas 

in the State have already been discovered, it appears conservative 

to estimate an available supply remaining at not more than 15,000,000 

tons, or a little more than has already been produced. At the present 

rate of production the phosphates of Florida would have a life of 

approximately twelve years.

Tennessee. The total production of phosphate rock in Tennessee 

since the discovery in 1893 has been 4,859,991 tons. In 1907 the production was the largest in the State's history, amounting to 638,612 

tons. In Tennessee the phosphates exist as brown rock, blue bedded 

rock, and white rock. The brown rock is the result of leaching 

processes in an original phosphatic limestone and occurs usually on
166 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

the surface. The ease of mining and accessibility to transportation 

have contributed to the rapid working out of this class of rock, but 

there still remains enough of it to last possibly five years at the 

present rate of production; that is, about 3,000,000 tons. The blue 

bedded rock has not been worked considerably in the past, but with 

the approaching exhaustion of the brown rock a good deal of activity 

is now being shown. The bedded character of this rock and its continuity over large areas make it certain that large amounts are still 

available. According to the American Fertilizer for November, a 

company has been organized and has taken up 16,375 acres of phosphate land, with 10,000 acres under option. An estimate of 1,500 

tons to the acre gives approximately 40,000,000 tons, but this estimate 

is very conservative. The phosphate rock is heavy, weighing about 

175 pounds to the cubic foot. Supposing workable phosphate rock 

1 foot in thickness to underlie the 26,375 acres, there would be 

approximately 100,500,000 tons as an available supply in this territory, more than two and one-half times the amount estimated by the 

American Fertilizer. With the 3,000,000 tons of brown'rock estimated, there would be a total available supply of 103,500,000 tons 

remaining in Tennessee. At the present rate of production in Tennessee this would last about 160 years. But with the exhaustion of 

the South Carolina and Florida deposits in twelve years the burden 

of the industry would fall on Tennessee and the western deposits. 

In case Tennessee furnished all the phosphates for the country, at 

the present rate of total production, 2,265,343 tons annually, after the 

South Carolina and Florida deposits are exhausted in twelve years, 

the Tennessee deposits would give out about 1960. These figures do 

not include vast quantities of rock running from 25 to 50 per cent 

lime phosphate, which are not at present workable.

Wyoming-Idaho-Utah. The production from this field has not 

been sufficient to warrant mention, nor has enough detailed work been 

done in the area to afford a good basis for figuring available supply.

F. B. Weeks, of the Geological Survey, has made a reconnaissance 

report on the district, from which a very rough estimate of the 

available rock may be made. The phosphate formation consists of 

phosphatic limestones and shales 80 to 100 feet in thickness, varying 

in lime phosphate from 65 to 80 per cent in the workable beds to 20 

to 50 per cent in the portion not at present workable. This series 

dips at all angles from 20° to 90°, thus giving a much larger possible 

tonnage than would be expected from the superficial extent of the 

deposits. The formation is cut by faults to a very great extent.

The' area underlain by phosphate in the western field is almost 

wholly public land. Only one claim, the Waterloo placer claim, has 

been patented, but much land valuable for its phosphate deposits has
PHOSPHATES. 167

been staked out in claims, of which there are not to exceed 200 in the 

aggregate. The engineer of the Waterloo property claims 1,000,000 

tons of rock in sight above the valley, without taking into consideration the rock underground where the steep dip carries it from the 

mountain side. There are perhaps 200 other claims on which development work is being done at the present time. If each of these claims 

is but half as rich as is the Waterloo, they would represent an avail-' 

able supply of 100,000,000 tons in this field, a supply sufficient to 

furnish the entire production of the United States, based on the 1907 

output, for forty-four years. It is to be understood that these 

figures do not include the immense quantities of low-grade rock 

which underlie the western field, nor do they take into consideration 

the quantities which are at present too deep to be profitably worked. 

' With no more reliable figures at hand, this estimate is offered for 

the high-grade phosphate rock at present actually available in the 

Wyoming-Idaho-Utah field. Doubtless before the high-grade rock 

is exhausted some method will be devised for making use of the lowgrade rock, which is at present unavailable both in Tennessee and the 

West.

Arkansas. Phosphate deposits are known to occur in Arkansas, 

but they have not been mined to any large extent. They are apparently of low grade, and large quantities are not to be counted on 

until rock containing 30 to 50 per cent lime phosphate can be utilized 

for fertilizer manufacture. This material would not, therefore, be 

classed as available at this time.

EXPORTATION.

In 1907 there were 2,265,000 tons of phosphate rock produced in 

the United States. Of this amount over 900,000 tons, or about 40 per 

cent, was exported. It is not difficult to see that, with our steadily 

increasing population, the time is not very far distant when the 

farm lands of the Middle West will be burdened to their fullest capacity. It has been shown, as the. result of agricultural experiment 

station work in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Illinois, that in fifty-four years 

soils of these States in the cropped areas have been depleted of onethird of their original phosphoric acid. This is equivalent to 20 

pounds per acre annually. Assuming it to be only half this amount 

for the 400,000,000 acres of cropped land in the United States, it 

would require 6,000,000 tons of phosphate rock annually, or nearly 

three times our 1907 production, to offset this loss, without considering the question of increasing the productivity. With the reclamation 

of the arid lands of Wyoming and other Western States will come a 

period of intensive farming, and in order to produce the large crops
168 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

which will be required of them, these lands must soon have the assistance of artificial fertilizer. We will have enough to do to take 

care of our own farm lands without shipping our phosphate rock to 

foreign countries, and in justice to future generations exportation 

should be stopped.

Total tonnage available. Following is a table showing the estimated tonnage of phosphate rock available at the present time in 

the United States.

Tons.

South Carolina_______________________________ 3,000, 000 

Florida____________________.____________-___ 15, 000, 000 

Tennessee _____________________________-___ 103, 500, 000 

Western States_______________________________ 100, 000, 000

Total _.________ ________________________ 221, 500, 000 

ESTIMATED LIFE OF PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS.

The rate of increase" in production for the past twenty years has 

been 117 per cent for each decade. Assuming that this rate of increase will continue, it will require just twenty-five years to exhaust 

the available supply of phosphate rock in the United States. The 

annual production, at the above rate of increase, will be approximately 17,000,000 tons in 1932.

It is hardly probable that the rate of increase in production will be 

so great as for the past decade, since the agricultural lands of the 

Middle West do not at present need artificial assistance. But increasing population with its accompanying intensive farming will 

eventually force these States to the use of fertilizing materials. The 

reclamation of arid lands in the West will probably postpone the day, 

but even those lands will early need some assistance to grow the large 

crops which will be required of them.

Of course the vast amount of low-grade rock which is not now 

available will be in reserve, and sometime before the exhaustion of the 

high-grade phosphates we will doubtless have begun to use this rock. 

The increasing price of the 60 to 80 per cent phosphate will have a 

hastening effect on the utilization of the present low-grade material. 

We have the deposits of Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, 

Tennessee, and the West, which run from 30 to 50 per cent in lime 

phosphate, to draw upon after the high-grade rock is exhausted. 

This class of deposits, especially in Tennessee and the Western States, 

will afford an enormous tonnage.

There is still the chance of the discovery of more phosphate fields, 

and probably the Wyoming-Idaho-Utah field will produce far more 

than estimated, but based upon present available deposits the life of 

the phosphates must at best be a short one.
PHOSPHATES. 169 

FOREIGN DEPOSITS.

Deposits of phosphate rock exist in Algeria, France, New Zealand, 

Canada,. Eussia, Spain, Tunis, Belgium, French Guiana, and some of 

the South Sea Islands. The deposits of France and Belgium are 

practically exhausted, only those of low grade remaining. Concern-' 

ing the other countries, no information as to reserve tonnage is at 

hand except for the three South Sea Islands Ocean, Pleasant, and 

Makatea. These islands have deposits which are estimated to contain 

an aggregate of 60,000,000 tons of high-grade phosphate rock.

UTILIZATION OF THE PHOSPHATES.

From the above figures it will at once be seen that the utilization 

of our phosphate deposits to the best.possible advantage is imperative. 

Our farm lands must be preserved for future generations, The phosphate rock of South Carolina is practically exhausted; the Florida 

deposits have reached their maximum production; the output of the 

Tennessee deposits is on the increase, but this field alone would, at the 

present rate of increase in production, last only eleven years. There 

is some phosphate in Arkansas, but it is of low grade; therefore the 

large deposits of the public-land States must be depended on for the 

greater part of our phosphate in the future. The conservation of our 

phosphate deposits can be best accomplished in the following ways:

1. Correction of wasteful mining methods. The waste involved in 

mining phosphates, especially in Tennessee, should have some attention. In order to get the largest quantity of high-grade rock necessary for the export trade, large amounts of 50 per cent rock are 

thrown on the dump and wasted. The time is sure to come when 50 

per cent rock, and even 25 per cent rock, will be utilized in fertilizer 

manufacture. Steps should be taken now to prevent this waste in 

order to avoid a similar mistake when the phosphates of the Western 

States are mined. Much of the western rock runs from 25 to 50 per 

cent lime phosphate, and such material should be saved toward the 

time when the term " high-grade rock " will come to mean a lime 

phosphate content of 40. to 50 per cent instead of TO to 80 per cent 

as at present.

2. Utilization of sewage. One of the important sources of phosphoric acid to which we must look in the future is the human excrement which is now being wasted through the present systems of 

sewage disposal. Van Hise says:"

Whitson estimates that the loss in the cities due to man alone is the equivalent of 2 or 3 pounds of phosphoric acid per acre for the entire cropped region 

of the United States. Supposing this loss to be 2 pounds, this is one one-thousandth 

of a ton, which amounts for the 400,000,000 acres to 400,000 tons of phosphoric 

acid, or equivalent to 1,200,000 tons of phosphate rock.
170 CONSERVATION OP MINERAL RESOURCES.

The significance of these figures will at once be seen when it is 

known that the total production of phosphate rock in the United 

States for the year 1907 was 2,265,343 tons.

3. Leasing of the phosphate deposits. Only by preventing or materially curtailing exportation can we be assured of the use of our 

phosphate deposits for our own lands in the future. The following 

table shows the production and exportation of phosphate since 1900:

Table showing production and exportation of phosphate rock in the United

States, 1900-W07.

Year.

1900.......................

1901.......................

1902.......................

loft1?

19C4.. .....................

Production.

Long tons. 

1,491,216

1,483,723

1,490,314

1,581,576

1,874,428

Exportation.

Long tons. 

776,220

624,996

747,672

O17 CAO

849,130

Year.

1905......................

1906......................

1907......................

Total...............

Production.

Long tons. 

1,947,190

2,080,957

2,265,343

14,214,747

Exportation.

Long tons. 

879 979

964,241

Odd QS3

6,560,724

From this table it will be seen that over 46 per cent of the phosphate rock produced in the United States since 1900 has gone to 

foreign countries. In this connection the American Fertilizer for 

November gives an account of the organization of the Franco-American Consolidated Phosphate Company, with a capitalization of 

$7,500,000. x The capital stock is fully paid up, and is divided as 

follows: $5,250,000 for the purchase of phosphate lands in Tennessee, 

and $2,250,000 for the purchase of fertilizer plants in Europe 

and for working capital. The company is headed by a powerful syndicate of leading fertilizer manufacturers and bankers of France, 

Spain, Italy,-and Belgium, who will control the stock of the company;

and by this organization the fertilizer industry of Europe is expected

to be completely under its control.

The company has purchased 16,375 acres of phosphate lands, and 

has 10,000 acres more under option. Among their plans it is stated:

The company has contracted all of the export rock it can produce for the 

next ten years, and has concluded arrangements for the immediate introduction, 

on a large scale, of the blue rock, both in Europe and in this country.

From this it would appear certain that the phosphate deposits of 

the United States are to be drained for the benefit of the worn-out 

farm lands of foreign countries. So far as the deposits of Florida, 

Tennessee, and South Carolina are concerned, this can not be easily 

prevented, but the production of the newly opened western fields may 

be preserved for the United States by retaining in the Government 

title to all the phosphate rock in the lands now belonging to the 

United States, and leasing these deposits under appropriate terms.
PHOSPHATES. 171

In the lease could be included a clause providing that the lessee shall 

agree to mine phosphate rock only for home consumption.

If all the lands containing phosphate were reserved pending leasing, it would remove from entry certain lands which might otherwise 

be occupied by home seekers, and it is therefore necessary to provide 

for the disposal of surface rights alone. Such a separation of surface 

and mineral rights would obviate the necessity of creating large 

phosphate reserves in which the surface lands would be removed from 

settlement; it would permit the fullest utilization of the land in all 

particulars. A separation of surface and mineral rights would furthermore insure the proper utilization of all phosphate deposits which 

may hereafter be found in lands now belonging to the United States.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA.

By ALFRED H. BROOKS.

INTRODUCTION.

A complete description of the mineral resources of any region is 

possible only when its geology has been exhaustively studied, and 

even then any quantitative determination of the mineral reserves is 

often little more than a bold guess. The Alaskan geologic surveys 

and investigations, begun a decade ago, now cover but 16 per cent of 

the entire Territory. These, moreover, for the most part have been 

of a preliminary character, and, while they have yielded important 

facts regarding the occurrence and distribution of the mineral deposits, they do not furnish the minute knowledge essential to quantitative determination. Detailed surveys and studies such as have 

been relied on elsewhere for quantitative data on mineral deposits are 

in Alaska almost entirely lacking, since less than a third of 1 per cent 

of its area has been subjected to such investigation. Therefore, as 84 

per cent of the Territory is geologically almost unknown and less 

than 1 per cent has been mapped in detail, it will be evident that this 

statement can be only of a very general character.

The following account of the mineral resources of Alaska is based 

entirely on the work of the United States Geological Survey, .whose 

reports furnish almost the only sources of information on this subject. 

In the preparation of this statement the writer has utilized the results 

of all the geologists and engineers who have worked in this field, and 

has received valuable assistance from G. C. Martin, C. W. Wright, 

L. M. Prindle, F. J. Katz, U. S. Grant, C. C. Covert, F. F. Henshaw, 

P. S. Smith, F. H. Moffit, W. W. Atwood, and Adolph Knopf.

In the lack of comprehensive quantitative data it will probably best 

serve the purposes of this report to consider the more general problems of geographic and geologic occurrence of the various useful 

minerals of the Territory. The coal resources will be considered at 

some length, both because of the importance of the mineral fuel 

reserves and because the geologic occurrence of coal is such as to 

permit a quantitative interpretation of the data with a far greater 

degree of assurance than of those relating to other mineral deposits. 

The subject of iron ore reserves, of almost equal importance with that

172
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 304 PLATE X)l

ALASKA SHOWING THE KNOWN JHSTR1BDTIDN OF 

MmERAL RESOURCES /

CanroiledTmaerfhedirectioiLof '

AlfreaiLBrooks.Gedlpgistm charge /

PivisiDn.ofAlns'kHn.MmecalEesoTirces /

100 130 ___ ioomes/

 i iii /

00 P30 ZOO kilometers /

Gold and silver lode mines Anthracite,semianthracite.andsemibituminous.lncludingthebetter cokmgcoals

Copper mines and prospects Bituminous and subbituminoua coals

Coal-bearing rocks Marble and Petroleum seepages 

gypsum deposits
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 173

of coal, can be but briefly touched upon, because so few facts regarding it are available. But little attention has been devoted to iron ore 

by the Alaskan geologists, for there is not a single iron mine in the 

Territory and at only two localities have iron-ore bodies been prospected. Relatively much more is known about the auriferous deposits, especially the placers, for here the observation of the geologist 

is supplemented by the many facts'developed in the course of mining 

and prospecting. But the character of these deposits, especially that 

of the auriferous lodes, makes estimates of mineral reserves of but 

little value. The same holds true of the copper deposits, which are of 

too great irregularity to allow even an approximation of the available tonnage. Moreover, though copper ores find a wide distribution 

in the Territory, they have been mined in only two districts. M.ost 

of the copper mines are not over 200 feet in depth, one only having 

reached 600 feet. Predictions as to permanency of ore bodies at depth 

in this field, which must form an important element in estimating 

tonnage, can therefore have no great value.

GENERAL DISTRIBUTION.

The ores and other minerals mined in Alaska up to the close of the 

year 1907 include gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, coal, petroleum, gypsum, marble, and mineral waters. In addition to these iron, tungsten, antimony, quicksilver, graphite, and peat have been found in 

deposits that will probably be exploited in the future. Of these only 

the deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, coal, petroleum, and 

peat will be described in this report.

As there are no political subdivisions of Alaska, it will be desirable 

to refer the distribution of its resources to certain geographic prov-. 

inces, and these must first be defined. (See PI. XII.) The Pacific 

. province includes the lode and placer districts of southeastern Alaska, 

the Controller Bay coal and petroleum fields, the copper lodes of 

Prince William Sound, the copper-bearing lodes and gold placers 

of the Copper River region, the gold placers and-lodes and coal fields 

of the Susitna and Matanuska basins and of the Kenai Peninsula, 

and the coal fields and gold and copper lodes of the Alaska Peninsula 

and adjacent islands, often called southwestern Alaska. This whole 

coast province is a region of strong relief, and much of it is readily 

accessible from the waters of the Pacific, open to navigation throughout the year.

The mountain system included within the Pacific province forms 

a high barrier between the coast and the central province, which is of 

lesser relief. This central province, drained to Bering Sea by the 

Yukon, Kuskokwim, and some smaller rivers, includes the gold 

placers of the Yukon-Tanana region, the Koyiikuk, and some smaller 

districts, as well as extensive deposits of lignitic coal. It is accessible 

in summer by river steamers, but in winter only by long sled journeys.
174 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Seward Peninsula, forming a distinct province, embraces valuable 

gold placers, as well as some auriferous and argentiferous lodes, some 

tin deposits, and a little lignitic coal. It is accessible by steamer only 

during the summer months.

Northern Alaska is here made to include the high mountains which 

bound the central province on the north, as well as the region of 

lesser relief bordering the Arctic Ocean. This field has been but 

little explored, but it is known to contain some placer gold and bituminous as well as lignitic coal. It seems probable that further surveys will show the presence of extensive coal fields in northern 

Alaska.

These geographic subdivisions have an important influence on the 

question of the conservation of the mineral wealth of the Territory, 

for as the geographic conditions dominate the commercial exploitation of the resources, they determine in a large measure the rapidity 

with which these resources will become exhausted. For example, the 

lode deposits and coal fields readily accessible from the Pacific seaboard are being exploited for .the use of the present generation. On 

the other hand, though the development of the placer fields of the 

central province began "nearly a generation ago, large areas are still 

entirely unprospected, and the coal fields of the same region are almost 

entirely untouched. The coal fields of northern Alaska are not only, 

entirely undeveloped, but are certain to remain so until the time in the 

future when the accessible coal of Alaska and the United States approaches exhaustion.

COAL.

By ALFRED H. BROOKS and GEORGE C. MARTIN. 

STKATIGRAPHIC POSITION AND COMPOSITION.

The Alaskan coals include lignitic, bituminous (some of which will

make good coke), and anthracite varieties. Of these the lignitic and 

lower-grade bituminous coals are the most widely distributed and, 

so far as now known, the most abundant, at least half of the known 

coals being lignites. To offset their lower fuel value the lignites 

often occur in thick beds and with a large percentage of coal in any 

given section. Moreover, their geographic distribution is such that 

they afford an important source of fuel for local consumption in some 

of the less accessible parts of the Territory.

These coals belong to four geologic periods, namely, Tertiary, 

Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Carboniferous. In addition to these there 

are some inferior lignites of Quaternary age, and it is by no means 

improbable that further investigation may lead to the discovery of 

coal at still other horizons. Of these four periods only the fuels of 

the first three promise to have any considerable commercial importance, and all but one of the important coal fields are of Upper
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 175

Cretaceous or Tertiary age. In fact, a large part of the coal beds 

have been identified as belonging to the Kenai formation, whose age 

is believed to be upper Eocene. The Carboniferous and Jurassic coals 

vary in composition from semibituminous to subbituminous fuel. In 

the younger coal fields anthracite, various grades of bituminous, and 

lignitic coals are found.

The following table shows the composition of the coals from different parts of the Territory:

Analyses of Alaska coal. 

[Compiled from reports of United States Geological Survey.]

District and kind of coal.

ANTHRACITE.

SEMIANTHEACITE.

SEMIBITUMINOUS.

4. Bering River, coking coal, average of 28 analyses..

6. Matanuska River, coking coal, average of 16

BITUMINOUS.

SUBBITUMINOUS.

LIGNITE.

18. UJ^r Yukon, Canadian, average of 13 analyses. . . 

19. Upper Yukon, Circle province, average of 3 analyses. 

20. Upper Yukon, Rampart province, average of 6

Moisture.

7.88

2.55

5.80

4.18 

3.66

 2.71

4.68

6.56

4.47

1.39

2.34

9.35

6.85

16.87

1.97

10. 65

11.50

13.08 

10.45

11.42

24.92

1.65

19.85

13.02

12.31

10.92

8.35

1 "; 01

Volatile 

matter

6.15

7.08

8.87

14.00 

17.47

20.23

31.14

35.43

34.32

40.02

38.68

38.01

36.39

37.48

37.84

42.99

30.33.

39.88 

41.81

41 1 Z

38. 15

51.50

40.48

48.81

51.48

53.36

54.20

60.35

Fixed 

carbon.

78.23

84.32

76.06

72.42 

75.95

65.39

56.62

49.44

48.26

55. 55

49.75

47.19

43.38

39.12

35.18

42.94

30.27

39.28 

40.49

36.95

33.58

40.75

30.99

32.40

33.80

28.25

30.92

10 dfl

Ash.

7.74

6.05

9 97

9.39 

2.92

11.60

7.56

8.57

12.95

3.04

9.22

K AX.

13.38

6.53

24.23

3.42

27.90

7.72 

7.27

10.48

3.35

6.10

8.68

5.77

2.41

7.47

6.53

4.28

Sulphur.

1.30

1 OS

1.73 

.96

.57

.48

.37

2.98

1.07"i^

u

.39 -.57

.62

.50

1.26 

1.30

<w

.68

.35

.16

.17

1.36

.38

Fuel 

ratio.

12.86

8.77

5.28 

4.46

3.23

1.90

1.40

1.40

1.39

1.30

1.24

1.20

1.04

1.02

1.00

1.00

.99 

,97

.91

.88

.79

.77

.66

.66

.62

.58

.32

DISTRIBUTION AND AREA.

The known coal-bearing areas aggregate some 1,202 square miles, 

while the estimated areas of the coal fields are 12,667 square miles (see 

p. 182). The distribution of the coal, together with a symbol indicating its quality, is shown on Plate XII.
176 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Besides showing the actual distribution of the areas believed to 

be underlain by workable coal beds (marked in black) the map also 

shows the.areas of the coal fields, so far as they are known (marked 

by stippling). The difference in what is represented by these two 

symbols is that in the first are included areas in which there is a 

reasonable degree of certainty that commercial coal beds can be 

opened up, while the second indicates what is known of the probable 

extension of the coal fields, and hence defines the areas worthy of 

prospecting. It should be noted that this mapping does not by any 

means have the same value throughout the territory, for in some 

instances it is based on geologic surveys of a high degree of refinement; in others the data include only observations made during a 

rapid reconnaissance.

The coal fields can be considered under the three general geographic provinces already described: (1) The Pacific slope, (2) the 

central region, and (3) the northern. (See PL XII.) In the 

first are included the lignitic and bituminous fields of southeastern 

Alaska, Cook Inlet, the Susitna Basin, and the Alaska Peninsula, as 

well as the high-grade fuels of the Controller Bay and Matanuska 

regions. About 40 per cent, both of the area known to be underlain 

by coal and of the estimated area of the total coal fields of the 

Territory, falls in this province.- It includes also at least 90 per cent 

of the known bituminous and higher-grade coals of the Territory. 

.In considering this percentage of total coal area it must be remembered that this is the best-known part of the Territory j and there is, 

therefore, less likelihood of future discoveries of coal than in the less 

explored districts of central and northern Alaska. However, as over 

50 per cent of this province is geologically almost unknown, there 

are possibilities that future surveys may lead to the discovery of 

more extensive coal-bearing areas.

The central province includes some bituminous and subbituminous 

coals on the lower Yukon, besides more extensive lignitic coal-bearing 

fields in the upper Yukon basin, near the coast line of Bering Sea, 

and elsewhere. Thirty-five per cent of the total known coal-bearing 

area falls in this province, and about 36 per cent of the estimated 

coal fields. At least 80 per cent of the central province, however, is 

almost unknown, so it is likely that further discoveries of coal will 

there be made.

The northern region includes the bituminous and subbituminous 

coals of the Cape Lisburne region, as well as lignitic and bituminous 

coal-bearing rocks in the Colville basin. These fields aggregate 24 per 

cent of the coal area of the Territory, and the area known to be underlain by coal forms 25 per cent of the total. This is a remarkable 

showing, in view of the fact that only about 10 per cent of this prov-
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 177

ince has been studied geologically. There is every reason to believe 

that there are extensive coal fields in this part of Alaska.

THE COAL FIELDS. 

SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA.

Though Tertiary (or possibly Upper Cretaceous) coal-bearing 

rocks are known to cover a considerable area on the southern part of 

Admiralty Island and on adjacent islands, the included coal beds 

have only a remote fuel value. The beds are from a few inches to 

2 or 3 feet in thickness, and the coal, so far as known, is of a lowgrade lignitic character.

BERING RIVER.

One of the two fields containing the largest known amount of highgrade coal lies about 25 miles northeast of the small indentation of 

the southern shore line of Alaska called Controller Bay. The field 

is drained by Bering River, from which it received its name. This 

Bering River field embraces 21.6 square miles underlain by anthracite 

and 22.7 square miles underlain by semibituminous and semianthracite coal. The coal-bearing rocks trend to the northeast into the unsurveyed high ranges, and it is quite probable that there are considerable areas in the unsurveyed extension of the coal field or possibly other coal fields beyond the one surveyed.

The workable coal beds in this field vary from 6 to 25 feet in thickness, though local swellings occur, giving a much higher maximum. 

They are included in a great series of sandstones and shale of Tertiary age (Miocene?) which are closely folded and faulted. In 

quality the coals vary from .an anthracite, with 84 per cent of fixed 

carbon, to a semibituminous, with 72 per cent of fixed carbon (see 

p. 175). The field includes some coking coal. There is no good harbor at Controller Bay, though plans have been made for building a 

breakwater. Another scheme of obtaining access to the coal is by 

constructing a railway from Cordova Bay, a good harbor lying 100 

miles to the west. This railway is now (1908) about half completed.

COOK INLET.

Lignite-bearing Tertiary rocks occur widely distributed in the 

Cook Inlet region. These are usually little disturbed, but locally 

are .considerably folded and faulted. The largest, areas of coalbearing rocks in this field occupy the western part of the Kenai 

Peninsula and are in part buried under a cover of Quaternary 

gravels. It is not impossible that the entire Cook Inlet depression 

may be underlain by the coal-bearing formations.

The best-known part of this field lies adjacent to Kachemak Bay 

on the north, where 2,000 to 3,000 feet of coal-bearing rocks are ex-, 

posed. These contain an aggregate thickness of over 60 feet of

86412 Bull. 394 09 12
178 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

workable coal beds, the thickest of which is about 7 feet. Lignite in 

workable seams has also been found at Port Graham and Tyonek.

Though the Kenai Peninsula was the scene of the earliest (1854) 

coal-mining venture in Alaska, the output has been only a few 

thousand tons. These coals, in spite of their accessibility to tide 

water, can probably not compete with the higher-grade fuels, such 

as those of the Matanuska field. It seems probable that the coal 

reserves in the Cook Inlet region are very large, for the area of the 

coal field is estimated at 2,565 square miles.

MATANUSKA REGION.

v

The Matanuska coal field shares with that of Bering River the 

preeminence in the present fuel situation in the Territory. This 

field lies about 25 miles from tide water at Knik Arm, a northerly 

embayment of Cook Inlet. As, however, Cook Inlet is frozen during 

the winter months, the distance 'to tide water must be measured to 

the eastern side of Kenai Peninsula, about 150 miles.

The known commercially valuable coals of the Matanuska are 

included in folded and faulted rocks of Tertiary (Eocene?) age, including shales, sandstones, and conglomerates aggregating 3,000 feet 

in thickness. The coal-bearing series has been traced for 50 to 60 

miles along the Matanuska Valley, but much of it is buried under a 

heavy blanket of Quaternary gravels. At the western end of the 

district the bituminous coal, which seems to form the main body of 

the field, appears to pass into a lignite, while there is some evidence 

that the same coal is represented by an anthracite at the eastern end 

of the belt. This anthracite may, however, belong to an older coalbearing formation.

The commercial coals of the Matanuska field vary from a subbituminous to a semibituminous. There is also some anthracite, but 

of this less is known. It is evident from the facts in hand that there 

is a large amount of high-grade bituminous coal in this district. The 

beds vary from 5 to 30 feet in thickness.

So far as at present known, the total area underlain by commercial 

seams aggregates 46.5 square miles. As, however, much of the field 

is covered by gravels and as it has not been surveyed in detail, the 

coal-bearing area may be much larger. The total area of what may 

prove to be coal-bearing rocks is approximated at 900 square miles.

A railway is under construction which will lead to the opening of 

this field. This will bring about the development of the high-grade 

fuels, of which there is a large quantity. The lignites lying to the 

west of the Matanuska field will not now bear shipment until the 

coals of the higher fuel value approach exhaustion. As there is believed to be a very large amount of lignitic coal in this general province, it will be an important element of the ultimate fuel reserves of 

the Territory.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 179

ALASKA PENINSULA REGION.

The widely distributed coal of the Alaska Peninsula and adjacent, 

islands is in part of Cretaceous and in part of Tertiary (Eocene) age. 

It is chiefly lignite, but some good bituminous coals occur in this 

field.. The rocks in which the coal beds occur are gently folded and 

locally, at least, considerably faulted. The total area of the coal 

fields of this province is estimated at 980 square miles, while that 

known to be underlain by coal is 61 square miles. About one-half 

of the coal-bearing area and about one-third of the probable coal 

field is lignitic, the balance varying from subbituminous to bituminous 

in quality. Coal has been mined in this field at Chignik and Herendeen bays and on the island of Unga for local use, but the total output has been only a few thousand tons. These coal fields are all 

readily accessible from good harbors and will form one of the early 

available fuel assets of the Territory when the demand for coals of 

this grade warrants their exploitation.

YUKON REGION.

- The coals of the Yukon, including bituminous and subbituminous, 

together with a large amount of lignite, are for the most part of 

Tertiary (Eocene?) age. Some of the bituminous may, however, be 

of Upper Cretaceous age. The Tertiary lignitic coal beds typically 

occur in association with conglomerates, sandstones, and shales, usually 

only little deformed, but sometimes profoundly folded and faulted. 

The bituminous coals, which are confined to the lower Yukon, occur 

with finer sediments, which have been gently folded and somewhat 

faulted.

The lignitic coal beds occur up to 20 feet in thickness, the bituminous in beds from 2 to 3 feet. These comparatively thin seams have 

not encouraged exploitation, in spite of the high price of mineral 

fuel in this central region, but a small production has been made for 

the use of the Yukon Kiver steamers.

Coal-bearing beds are so widely distributed in the Yukon region 

that it will not be feasible to give an account of all the occurrences. 

The three largest fields are (1) Nulato region, (2) Nenana region of 

the lower Tanana Valley, (3) Washington and Coal Creek belt of 

the upper Yukon. Of these the Nulato field contains the best coal, 

while the Nenana is the most extensive and has the thickest beds. 

The total area known to be underlain by coal in the entire region is 

264 square miles, while the coal fields may embrace 2,000 square miles 

or more.

These Yukon coals will have a high value for local use when the 

scant supply of accessible timber has been exhausted. There is a 

constantly increasing demand for power in the placer districts, and 

this can be met only by developing the water powers, which are 

not extensive, or by utilizing the coals. The low fuel values and the
180 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

difficulties of transportation of these coals will probably lead to their 

local transformation into electric power, to be transmitted to the 

mining camps. The location of some of the lignite fields with 

reference to the placer fields is well suited for this purpose.

That a large amount of lignite in excess of any future local demand that can now be foreseen occurs in the Yukon region can not be 

denied. So far as exportation is concerned, it is certain that the IOAV 

fuel value of these coals and their inaccessibility Avill lead to their conservation until the fuel supply of other regions approaches exhaustion.

. . SEWARD PENINSULA.

The known coal-bearing areas of Seward Peninsula do not exceed a few square miles, and the quality of the coal is of a low grade. 

This coal, however, is worthy of mention, because it can probably be 

locally utilized to furnish power for mining purposes, and hence conserve the higher-grade coals which are now being brought in from 

outside sources. This appears to be a good example of the way a 

local supply of lignite may reduce the consumption of higher grade 

fuels. Its success will depend on the development of economical means 

of utilization of these low-grade fuels, so as to bring them within 

the sphere of commercial practice and permit their substitution for 

higher-grade fuels transported from a distance.

NORTHERN ALASKA.

Geographically, the known coal fields of northern Alaska fall into 

three groups: (1) Cape.Lisburne, (2) the Colville Valley, (3) Wainwright Inlet. Coal has also been reported to occur between these 

areas, as well as east of the Colville River. The Cape Lisburne field 

includes the Corwin and Cape Beaufort districts.

Three coal-bearing formations are recognized in this northern 

field: (1) lower Carboniferous (Lisburne formation), made up 

of slates, shales, and limestones, with some high-grade bituminous 

coals, and having a thickness of 500+ feet; (2) Jurassic (Corwin 

formation), including at least 15,000 feet of shales, sandstones, and 

conglomerates and containing a large number of subbituminous coal 

beds; (3) Tertiary (Kenai formation?), made up of conglomerates, 

sandstones, and shales, with lignitic coal seams. The two lower formations are considerably folded, but the Tertiary beds are, as a rule, 

only little disturbed.

The total area known to be underlain by coal aggregates 302 square 

miles, while the coal fields, roughly outlined from the data in hand, 

include some 3,000 square miles. The scant evidence at hand points 

to the conclusion that a survey of this northern region will show 

very large coal fields in this part of Alaska.

A little mining of coal for local use has been done in the bituminous field near Cape Lisburne and in the lignitic field of Wainwright Inlet, but the region as a whole is practically untouched. It
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 181

is certain that there will be rio extensive mining in this northern field 

for a generation or two to come. These coals are too inaccessible to 

invite exploration, either under the present demands or any that can 

now be foreseen.

THE COAL RESERVES. 

INTRODUCTION.

. It-will be evident from the facts presented that there are few data 

on which even an approximate idea of the available tonnage of Alaskan coal can be based! Of the 1,238 square miles believed to be underlain by coal, less than one-quarter has been surveyed in sufficient 

detail to yield any quantitative data whatever. Even where such 

surveys have been made, a large factor of uncertainty is introduced 

either by the folded and faulted condition of the coal beds, which 

exists in some fields, or by the lack of definite knowledge of the continuity of the coal beds in others. There must, therefore, be a very 

large element of uncertainty in the tonnage estimates of the 300 to 

400 square miles of surveyed coal fields. Moreover, in Alaska there 

are practically no available data from private sources, such as the 

results of extensive mining or prospecting operations, which have 

formed an important element in the estimates made of the mineral 

resources in the States.

The estimates of tonnage to follow were made on the following 

basis:

1. No beds less than 3 feet thick were assumed to be workable or 

to contribute to the tonnage.

2. The depth of workability was assumed to be 3,000 feet in the 

case of the highest-grade coal (anthracite, semianthracite, semibituminous), 2,000 feet in case of the better bituminous and subbituminous coals, such as those on the lower Yukon and at Cape. 

Lisburne and on the Matanuska River, and 1,000 feet in the case of the 

poorer subbituminous and all the lignites.

3. The tonnage was computed by the following formula: Tonnage = area of bed to limit of workability (square miles) X thickness (inches) X sp. gr. X 72,600.

4. The specific gravity was assumed to be 1.30 for lignite, 1.35 for 

bituminous, and 1.38 for the high-grade coals.

5. Bering River field: A certain percentage of the coal-bearing 

rocks is shown by the average sections to consist of workable coal beds. 

This percentage of the computed bulk of rock to limit of workability 

gave the estimated tonnage.

6. Nenana coal field: As for Bering River, with the necessary 

change for percentage of coal in rocks.

7. Matanuska coal field: Each bed was estimated separately according to its average thickness, length according to a safe assumption of 

continuity, and width on the dip to the limit of workable depth.
182 CONSERVATION OF MINEKAL RESOURCES.

8. Lisburne fields: The Corwin district was computed like the 

Matanuska, length of beds being assumed to be the distance from the 

shore to the edge of the area colored on Collier's map. The Beaufort 

district was assumed to have one-half the tonnage per square mile of 

the Corwin district.

9. Yukon field: Each bed figured as in Matanuska, but the beds 

were not assumed to extend in any case more than 1 mile in each 

direction from the mine or prospect where they had been exposed, 

except in the Washington-Bonanza district, where a continuity of 50 

miles on the strike was assumed.

10. Cook Inlet field: Computed as for the Matanuska.

All the other fields were estimated on the basis of a most conservative estimate of thickness of coal underlying the field and an area believed to be a safe minimum. Neither in this case nor in any of the 

others was the coal assumed to go beyond where we have reliable 

information from members of the Survey concerning it. The areas 

used in making the last class of estimates are consequently very small 

and are subject to a possible immense extension in the light of subsequent work.

Estimate of tonnage and areas, Alaska coal fields.

Semibituminous:

Bituminous:

Total bituminous. . .......................................

Subbituminous:

Lignite:

Interior region.. ............................................

Total lignite. .............................................

Summary by provinces:

Tonnage.

Short tons. 

1,011,700,000

517, 100, 000

1,425,800,000

 66,800,000

1,492,600,000

3,021,400,000

2,600,000

15,900,000

18,500,000

535,500,000

59,200,000

3, 465, 000, 000

4,060,300,000

2,173,100,000

4,228,000,000

1,003,200,000

7, 404, 300, 000

6,265,800,000

4, 303, 100, 000

4, 535, 600, 000

15,104,500,000

Areas believed to be 

underlain 

by coal.

Sq. miles.

9% S

7 9

35.8

14.2

83.0

9 n

164.0

49 7

6.0

205.0

260 7

337.0

264.5

no n

694.5

6^7 1

432.5

312.2

1,202.2

Supposed 

areas of 

coai fields.

Sq. miles.

620

900

3,375

657

15

1 '}91

1,995

2,938

2,003

1, 7?.6

6,677

5,115

4 493

3,059

12, 667
MINEBAL EESOUECES OF ALASKA. 183

The incompleteness of these figures can best be illustrated by some 

examples. The Bering River field may be extended into the mountains and have many times its present known area. If the entire 

eastern and western extensions of the Matanuska Valley are underlain by coal beds, as may be the case, it will increase the tonnage 

of this field many times that used in the present estimate. In the 

Cook Inlet and Susitna regions the estimates for tonnage are based 

on a coal field of 30 to 40 square miles. As a matter of fact, it is 

not improbable that the whole Cook Inlet-Susitna depression may 

be underlain by coal-bearing rocks at no depth prohibitive of mining. 

If this is the case, this coal field might embrace 10,000 to 20,000 

square miles.

In view of these facts, it is perhaps conservative to multiply the 

above figures by 10 or even by 100 to arrive at an approximation 

of the fuel reserves of this vast unexplored region. This is especially 

true of the lignite reserves, for there are known to be very extensive 

fields of low-grade coals in Alaska.

PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION.

Though an attempt at mining coal on Cook Inlet in 1854 by the 

Russians was the first mining undertaken in the Territory, yet the 

total output up to the present time has been very small, as indicated 

in the following table. In 1907 there were four productive coal mines

in Alaska.

Production of coal in Alaska, 1888-1907.

Year.

1888-18960.......................

1897.............................

1898.............................

1899.............................

1900. .............................

1901..'............... ...........

1QfV>

Short 

tons.

0,000

2,000

1,000

1,200

1 200

1,300

2,212

Value.

$84, 000

28,000

14, 000

16,800

16,800

15,600

19, 048

Year.

1903............................

1904............................

1905............................

1906............................

1907.............................

Total .....................

Short 

tons.

1,447

1,694

3,774

5,541

10, 139

37,507

Value.

$9, 782

7,225

13 250

17,974

53,000

296 079

"The production for 1888-1896 is estimated on the best data obtainable. That for the 

years subsequent to 1896 is based for the most part on data supplied by operators.

The smallness of the output is chiefly due to two reasons: First, because up to a decade ago, when the rapid advancement of the goldmining industry began, the local demand for coal was very small, 

being confined to that of the canneries and shipping interests and the 

Treadwell mine, which could be supplied at low cost by the fuels 

brought from Vancouver Island or Washington. Second, the existence of extensive bodies of high-grade coal in Alaska, geographically 

situated so that it could be exported, has been generally known only 

for a few years. Since the discovery and surveys of the Controller 

Bay and Matanuska regions there has been much activity looking to
184 CONSERVATION" OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

the development of these two fields. As, however, the marketing of 

this coal requires the construction of 150 miles of railway in one field 

and 100 miles of railway or 25 miles of railway and possibly an 

expensive breakwater in the other, the progress of exploitation is 

necessarily slow. Moreover, the uncertainty of obtaining title to 

coal lands, which still exists, has made capitalists rather guarded in 

furnishing the money necessary for these enterprises.

Though the Territory has produced annually only a few thousand 

tons, the consumption of coal during the past decade has rapidly 

increased. The following table presents the available statistics regarding consumption of mineral fuels in Alaska:

Sliipmenls of coal and coke to Alaska, July 1, 1903, to June 80, J901.a

Foreign bituminous, shipped via 

United States ....................

Total ........................

Twelve months ending June 30 

1904.

Quantity.

Long 

tons.

41, 704 

392

(53, 052 

1,609

3,324

110, 681

Value.''

$193, 740 

2,251

261,987 

4,303

23,904

486, 185

1905.

Quantity.

Long 

tons. 

5 

42, 245 

478 

10 

59,272

5,550

107, 580

Value.6

885 

187, 352 

4,281 

148 

260,110

29,673

481,657

1906.

Quantity.

Long 

tons.

67, 293 

346 

304 

41, 481

706 

7,628

117, 758

Value.*

$265, 047 

3,676 

1,836 

187,312

4,838 

38, 139

500, 848

1907.

Quantity.

Long 

tons. 

476 

48,383 

3,108 

25 

64,029 

3,529 

11, 546

4,141 

2,959

138, 196

Value. 6

87,090 

270, 651 

25, 629 

216 

287, 948 

8, r,S7 

33, 789

28, 679 

14, 795

677, 384

" Commerce of the. noncontiguous territory of the United States, Bureau of Statistics. 

1904, 1905, 1906, 1907. . 

6At port of shipment.

Shipments of petroleum to Alaska."

Six months. ending 

December, 1902. ...............................

June, 1903. ....................................

December, 1903. ...............................

June, 1904. ....................................

December. 1904. ...............................

June, 1905. ....................................

June, 1906 .....................................

December, 1906. ...............................

June, 1907. ....................................

December, 1907. ...............................

June, 1908. ....................................

Uruc

Gallons.

21,000

840, 000

1,008,000

1,008,400

1,008,030

1,780,326

935, 060

I , 428, 000

1 , 2GO, 100

2.545,200

C. 558, 500

3, 852, 940

le petroleu

Barrels.

500

20,000

24,000

24,010

24,001

42, 389

22, 263

34,002

30,000

60, 600

156, 155

91, 736

m.

Value.

S390

28,000

36,000

35, 823

33,603

59,204

31,864

20, 400

18,009

36, 360

107,146

55, 482

JNapt

Gallons.

60, 358

210, 147

84,776

231,658

106, 623

499, 196

214, 300

361,681

219, 297

354,210

282,671

599, 959

itnas.

Value.

512,186

33,831

18,054

43,814

93 QfU

75, 187

04 70,1

60,214

40,480

59, 012

60,333

91,084

0 Monthly Summary of Commerce and Finance, Bureau of Statistics, 1902-1906.
MINEBAL EESOUECES OF ALASKA. 185

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.

The advancement of copper and gold mining, construction of 

railways, etc., will cause a constantly increasing consumption of coal. 

It would appear to be in accord with a policy of conservation of 

mineral fuels to meet this demand from the local supply. Every 

ton of coal or barrel of petroleum shipped to Alaska by steamer or 

rail entails a certain amount of fuel consumption for transportation. 

Moreover, this long carriage is commercially possible only for highgrade fuels, while for local consumption the large supply of lignites 

of lesser fuel value can be utilized. For example, many of the Alaskan river steamers, now using California petroleum as fuel, could be 

supplied by the local lignites. This would prevent a double waste: 

(1) The more valuable fuel is consumed instead of the more abundant 

lignite, and (2) as the petroleum is brought nearly 4,000 miles by

steamer, fuel is used for its transportation. The utilizing of the 

coals in the Yukon region as a substitute for wood would also conserve the scant supply of timber.

Again, the use of the local coking coals for the reduction of the 

copper ores will effect a saving of mineral fuels. At present the 

copper ore is shipped a distance of 500 to 1,500 miles, while if it 

were smelted near its locality of production TO to 90 per cent of the 

material could be left behind, with a corresponding saving of fuel 

used in transportation. Another saving would be brought about in 

the case of Alaska steamers now carrying coal from the southern 

ports for the round trip, if the local fuels were utilized for the return journey.

Discussion of the future utilization and conservation of Alaska's 

coal supply can best be made by considering separately the same 

three geographic provinces under which the coal fields have been 

described: (1) The Pacific slope, (2) the central regions, (3) the 

northern region. These will here be considered in the reverse order 

in which they have been given.

The northern coal fields lie in a region tributary to the Arctic 

Ocean, which is locked in the ice for all but two or three months in 

the year. Some lie close to the seaboard; others far inland. While 

little is known of the fuels of this region, all the facts available 

point to the conclusion that this province contains very extensive 

coal fields. These mineral fuels are in a region where there are 

practically no industries and little promise that any will be developed, and the coals are unavailable until the more accessible mineral fuel supply of the world approaches exhaustion. To bring them 

to a harbor open throughout the year would mean the construction of 

at least 1,000 miles of railway. Such «a haulage, leaving out all other
186 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

considerations, is of course prohibitive for any present fuel demand. 

Moreover, these coals are not needed, nor likely ever to be, for any 

local use, .except some of those at Cape Lisburne, which may be 

utilized for local shipping, and some others which may be used by 

the scant Eskimo population, now that the supply of driftwood is 

approaching exhaustion.

The fuels of this northern region can, therefore; be regarded as 

conserved by the geographic conditions until future generations may 

have to draw upon them. They can consequently, for the most part, 

without injury to any existing commercial interests and without 

retarding the development of the country, be placed under such 

legislative provisions as will permit their utilization only under such 

restrictions as the future conditions of the mining industry shall 

demand.

The coals of the central region are in part accessible to rivers navigable during the summer months and in part lie near the proposed 

railways from the Pacific to the Yukon. There also remains a considerable percentage but little more available to the present generation than the fuels of the northern fields. These coals are chiefly 

lignitic in character and, under no demand which can now be foreseen, could be utilized for export to other districts. To bring them 

to the States would require a railway haulage of 400 to 500 miles 

and then transportation by steamer for 1,000 to 1,500 miles in 

addition.

On the other hand, the development of these fields to supply the 

local demand will conserve (1) higher-grade fuels now imported 

from great distances and (2) local supply of timber. While little is 

known of the amount of coal available in this central province, there 

is every reason to believe that it is far beyond any local demand of 

the future.

The conservation of the coal of the Pacific slope province is a 

more complex problem, both because of the high grade of some of 

the fuels and of their greater accessibility. While none has yet 

been exported, the great demand for the high-grade bituminous and 

anthracite coals, such as are found in the Controller Bay and Matanuska regions along the Pacific coast, will lead to their exportation as 

soon as railways make them accessible. It is probable that the 

market for these coals will for a long time exceed the production, 

which will greatly stimulate mining activity once the transportation 

problem has been solved. When the coals are put on the market, 

they will probably curtail, if not entirely cut off, the demand for the 

lignitic and lower-grade bituminous coals which are so abundant in 

the Pacific coast province of Alaska. Therefore the production of 

the high-grade fuels will effectually conserve those of lesser fuel 

value for the present. Some of these low-grade fuels, however, are
MINEBAL KESOURCES OF ALASKA. 187

so accessible and so abundant that future demands and strong competition may lead to wasteful methods of mining, provided they are all 

'permitted to pass into unrestricted private ownership.

The reserve of these anthracite and bituminous coals of the Pacific 

slope, while it can not now even be approximated, in all probability 

is far below that of the lignites. It seems probable that an extensive 

area of the high-grade fuels may be found among the high mountains and glaciers to the northeast of the present known limits of the 

Bering River field. If such be the case, this will be another locality 

where the geographic conditions will prevent mining until there is 

far more demand for the fuel than at present. In the Matanuska 

there is probably also a large quantity of coal under the Quaternary 

coating of gravel. Making allowances for future discoveries, however, the high-grade fuel is not abundant, considering the demand 

for it.

From the standpoint of conservation and economic utilization, the 

possibility of intense competition between the coal of the Bering and 

Matanuska fields and that of Puget Sound is the danger point in the 

prospective situation. If each field develops only to the extent of 

supplying the demand for the kind of coal which it best can furnish, 

then the immediate use of the coal will be legitimate and economical. 

But if the individual fields develop beyond the demand of their 

respective proper markets if the Bering River field produces more 

than the needed supply for steamship, smithing, and local railway 

and smelting needs and of domestic anthracite, if the Matanuska 

produces more than is needed for its local railways and smelters, for 

bunker coal at its tidal terminus, and for shipment to the Pacific 

coast coke ovens, and if the coal from other fields invade these markets there is sure to be ruinous competition, which may lead to 

cutting prices with the sole object of destroying all competition and 

establishing a general monopoly. In such ruinous competition as 

has existed in some of the eastern fields the coal fields will be robbed 

of the more cheaply minable coal at the cost of the destruction of 

larger amounts which will be left in the ground' so crushed and 

buried that it can never be recovered, coke for distant shipment will 

be made by wasteful processes at the mines instead of shipping the 

coal to points where both the coke and the by-products can be used, 

coal will be coked which would better be used for "Other purposes, and 

the waste by consumption en route will be extended to the Alaska 

coals.

If these high-grade fuels, some of which make excellent coke, are 

not exploited, several conditions will probably be brought about:

First. The west coast of the United States will probably continue 

to draw heavily on the fuels of British Columbia, 'Australia, and 

Japan, and to the amount imported will conserve its own supply.
188 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Second. There will be an increasing demand for fuel oils, which, 

while it may not affect the production, will stimulate the search for 

new oil fields.

Third. The west coast will probably continue to rely on the East 

for its pig iron and steel, for in the absence of good cheap coke 

except as Alaska can supply it or the processes of coking coals are 

improved the local supplies of iron ore will not be utilized, unless, 

possibly, by electrical methods of smelting. As a concomitant to this, 

the iron ore and coking coals of the East, which are of the most value 

to the nation, being nearest the centers of the population, will be correspondingly diminished.

Fourth. What has been said of the relation these coals bear to the 

development of an iron industry on the Pacific coast is to a lesser 

extent true of copper smelting. "Without the use of Alaska coke either 

the copper ores will be transported to British Columbia or Puget 

Sound or the coke will be brought to the copper deposits. In either 

case there is a loss in transportation. While it is true that these 

factors will affect the copper-mining industry and lead to the exploitation of only the richer deposits, yet the past few years have 

shown that it is economically possible to bring either the coke to the 

copper or the copper to the coke.

Fifth. Certain loss of fuel in transporting eastern coals to the 

west coast for certain purposes where their use is imperative will 

continue. This is, however, a small item, as the total -tonnage of 

eastern coals to the West is insignificant.

Sixth. There will be no local supply of -high-grade coals on the 

west coast for the use of the navy.

In considering the above facts it must be remembered that these 

Alaska bituminous and anthracite coal fields can be made accessible 

only by the expenditure of a very large amount of money. The 

millions of dollars necessary for the development of these fields will 

not be forthcoming unless provision be made by which a large tonnage of coal will be made available.

PEAT.

Peat is found in nearly every part of Alaska except in the high 

ranges. The humidity of the Pacific coastal zone and the consequent 

luxuriant vegetation favors the accumulation of peat. Southeastern 

Alaska is heavily forested and often has dense growth of underbrush 

with a flooring of moss. In southwestern Alaska timber is entirety 

absent, but all the lowland and much of the upland regions are covered 

with moss, grass, and small shrubbery. The prevailing humidity in 

both these districts favors the accumulation of vegetable refuse. 

Though there 'has been no prospecting for peat in this part of the 

Territory, deposits are known at least 15 to 20 feet in thickness and 

are believed to be of good quality.
MINEEAL EESOUECES OF ALASKA. 189

Central and northern Alaska have a much smaller precipitation. 

Here, however, the soil is nearly everywhere mantled by a dense 

blanket of moss and other vegetation. This is especially striking in 

the extensive timberless areas or tundras which lie along Bering Sea 

and the Arctic Ocean. In these two provinces the subsoil is usually 

frozen, which retains the waters at the surface. The moss, except in 

excessively dry weather, is usually saturated with water. All these 

conditions, which promote vegetable growth and retard evaporation 

and oxidation, are favorable to the formation of peat. As a matter 

of fact, there is nearly everywhere a layer of peaty material underneath the soil. In some natural exposures peat deposits have been 

observed in these provinces having a depth of 30 to 40 feet. While 

the widespread surface layer of peat, is of an inferior quality, some 

of the deeper-lying beds are probably of high grade. There are no 

data whatever at hand to estimate the available supply of peat. As, 

however, it is found in every part of the Territory and on the great 

tundras of the north, occupying at least a quarter of the Territory 

and comprising layers of greater or less thickness, the supply must 

be enormous and possibly exceeds that of the entire' United States.

In the presence of more easily available fuel there has been no 

occasion to utilize any of the peat beds, so practically nothing is 

known of their fuel value, extent, or thickness, except what has been 

stated. Probably the only place in Alaska where this mineral fuel 

has been exploited is a peat bed saturated with petroleum residue, 

near Cold Bay, on the Alaska Peninsula, where the material has 

been used |or fuel at the neighboring oil drills. Here, however, it is 

the petroleum residue rather than the peat which gives the deposit its 

chief value.

The peat deposits have at present no value, since lignitic and 

better-grade coals are too widely distributed to encourage the use 

of a less available fuel. The time appears also very remote when 

these peat deposits (except at localities where coal is absent) will 

be utilized. Certainly recourse to the peat will take place only when 

the more valuable mineral fuels are not obtainable.

PETROLEUM.

By G. C. MARTIN.

Petroleum may exist in the rocks at many places in Alaska, but at 

only four localities are the known indications sufficient to justify 

drilling. Wells have been drilled at three of these localities, but 

petroleum has been obtained in quantity at only one of them. In all 

of these the petroleum is of the high-grade variety, suitable for refining, like that from Pennsylvania. These four will be briefly described.
190 CONSERVATION OF MINEKAL EESOUBCES.

The Katalla field is situated near the mouth of Copper River, in 

latitude 60° north, longitude 144° west, or about 1,250 miles northwest of Seattle and 400 miles northwest of Sitka. The rocks in this 

field consist of Tertiary shale, sandstone, and conglomerate. The 

structure is complex, the rocks being steeply and intricately folded 

and cut by faults. These conditions would raise doubt concerning 

the existence of bodies of oil if it were not for the abundant seepages 

and the presence of oil in the wells. As it isj they increase the cost 

and other difficulties of drilling and make it entirely impossible to 

estimate the area of the probable oil-producing territory.

Sixteen wells have been drilled in the Katalla field. The result has 

been a moderate production of oil from one well and the demonstration of smaller quantities in three others. As only a small part of the 

area in which the presence of seepages suggests an oil field has been 

drilled, the proof of the existence of any considerable volume of oil is 

yet to be made.

The Cook Inlet oil fields are about 320 miles west of Controller Bay 

on the middle part of the west shore of Cook Inlet. Seepages are here 

numerous and prolific, but though several wells have been drilled, none 

has yet proved successful. This field is in an area of Jurassic rocks 

which are chiefly shales and sandstones. The folding is much more 

moderate than at Controller Bay, but many faults are present. The 

relation of the occurrence of oil to the geologic conditions has not 

been discovered, and hence the areas of possible oil-producing territory are entirely problematical.

At Cold Bay, on the Alaska Peninsula, 160 miles southwest of the 

Cook Inlet fields, there are many large seepages and several wells have 

been drilled, none of which has produced more than traces of oil. 

Here, as in the Cook Inlet field, the rocks are chiefly Jurassic shales 

and sandstones. The structural conditions are not unlike those on 

Cook Inlet.

Near Cape Yakataga, Y5 miles east of Controller Bay, many large 

seepages are reported, but owing to the unaccessibility of the region no 

drilling has been attempted. These seepages are located on Miocene 

shale and sandstone which are steeply folded.

Summarizing, it may be said that the occurrence of oil is suggested under considerable areas in Alaska, but the presence of profitable oil pools has yet to be shown. The low price of oil on the Pacific 

coast and the high cost.of drilling in Alaska make any attempt to 

develop the possible Alaska fields at present an unattractive proposition.

All considerations point to the desirability of conserving the 

Alaska fields until the decline of the California and Mid-Continent 

fields. When Alaska oil is utilized it should be for refining, and the 

burning of crude Alaska oil should be discouraged.
MINERAL RESOUECES OF ALASKA. 191 

IRON ORES.

There being now practically no demand for iron ores on the west 

coast, such ores have not been sought for in Alaska. The only iron 

which has been found is that discovered incidentally in prospecting 

for other minerals, and thus far this has been chiefly magnetite, occurring at only a few localities along the Pacific seaboard. The following note on these deposits has been prepared by C. W. Wright:

Magnetite is the only iron ore that has been found in southeastern Alaska in 

commercial quantities. This ore occurs in large bodies, forming contact deposits along the contacts of diorite and limestone on Prince of Wales Island, 

where it is associated with the copper deposits, and occurring as magmatic 

segregations associated with basic intrusive rocks at several points along the 

mainland coast.

At the copper mines of Prince of Wales Island a considerable tonnage oJ! 

magnetite carrying from one-half to li per cent of copper has been developed

which can not be profitably mined as a copper ore. However, if there were a 

market for the iron in these ores, the copper could be readily separated me.- 

chanically and the deposits mined with profit. The surface showings of magnetite in this copper district are very large, and the estimated tonnage, with a 

depth of only 30 feet, is about 3,000,000 tons of magnetite. There is, of course, 

a much greater amount of possible ore, concerning the extent of which almost 

nothing is known. These ores for the most part contain practically no phosphorus or detrimental impurities, and may be classed as Bessemer ore.

Explorations have been begun to develop magnetite deposits near Haines, 

on the mainland coast of Lynn Canal, but little is known as yet of the extent 

or the character of the ores.

U. S. Grant, in his study of the copper deposits of Prince William 

Sound, noted some hematite ores, but could not determine whether 

the ore was present in commercially valuable deposits. He also reports the occurrence of magnetite associated with pyrrhotite on 

Prince William Sound and with chalcopyrite near Seward, on the 

Kenai Peninsula. His investigations, on the whole, do not encourage 

the idea of the presence of workable iron ores in this district.

In the Iliamna Lake region there are some copper deposits which 

from accounts, appear to be of similar origin to those of Prince of 

Wales Island. With these is said to be associated a large amount 

of magnetite. So far as known, iron-ore bodies have been found at 

only one place in the interior. At this locality, which is near the 

head of the Nabesna River, there is a 2£-foot vein of magnetite which 

occurs in a limestone near the contact with an intrusive. 

 The conditions of occurrence of both types of southeastern Alaska 

magnetite deposits probably repeat themselves along other parts of 

the Pacific coast line, so that there is a probability that similar bodies 

of iron ore occur elsewhere. Though the evidence is very scant, it is 

not impossible that Alaska may have important iron-ore reserves.
192 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

GOLD.

INTRODUCTION.

. Mr. Lindgren's general report on precious-metal resources of the 

United States, contained in this volume, emphasizes the fact that no 

definite statement of the gold reserves is possible. If this be true of 

the United States, it is far more so of a little-known region like 

Alaska, where the auriferous deposits have been found in widely distributed districts, usually separated by extensive areas, often but 

little prospected, sometimes almost unexplored. Moreover, except in 

southeastern Alaska, the auriferous deposits thus far developed are 

primarily those of the alluvium, and there has been little search for 

lodes. Therefore, in most of the gold-placer districts the possibilities of developing an auriferous lode-mining industry are almost 

unknown.

Geologic survey and investigation, when executed with sufficient 

thoroughness, lead to definite results concerning the distribution and 

occurrence of auriferous deposits. If a region has been mapped in 

detail, the geologist can outline with a fair degree of certainty those 

areas worth prospecting for gold. Such investigations, however, can 

be interpreted quantitatively only to a very limited degree in reference to placers and are practically worthless for the purpose of forecasting the gold content and reserves of undeveloped lode deposits.

The actual valuation of developed lode deposits can, of course, be 

carried only to the limits of the mine workings, which permit the 

blocking out and sampling of the ore bodies. Such an investigation 

can be made only at great cost and is properly the function of the 

mine owner and not the federal geologist.

Placer, deposits, whose values are far more regular of distribution,

admit of a rough valuation by the geologist; but even in the case of 

placers the quantitative determination of gold contents in any given 

body of gravel can be arrived at accurately only by extensive excavations or drilling, and by sampling. This also is evidently the function of the mine owner and not of the federal geologist. Most 

Alaska placer miners have done so little careful prospecting of their 

properties as to make their statements in regard to metal contents of 

but little service in estimating the placer gold reserves. Such data 

as are available have been carefully compiled by the Geological Survey, but while they may have value in forecasting the direction of 

future mining development, they are far too inexact and incomplete 

to admit of more than a bold guess at the gold reserves. Any estimate made at the present time can not take into account the latent 

possibilities of the hundreds of creeks which, though unprospected, 

are believed to lie within the gold-bearing area.
MINEEAL EESOUECES OF ALASKA. 193

In the following account emphasis will be laid on the subject of 

general distribution and occurrence of the auriferous deposits, because it is believed that such data form the most important element 

in the valuation of these deposits. Given this information, together 

with a statement of past production, the technician at least is able to 

draw his own conclusions.

GEOLOGIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

The known gold deposits of Alaska can be grouped into three 

general types: (1) .Gold occurs near the contacts between granitic 

or other igneous intrusions and altered sediments. (2) It occurs 

in metamorphic schists. . (3) It occurs in association with Mesozoic 

or Tertiary volcanics. Nearly all of the auriferous lodes which have 

thus far been productive are of the first type, while the second appears to be typical of most of the important placer districts. Examples of the third .type have been so far limited to only a few localities. There is some evidence to indicate that the source of the gold 

of the placers occurring in areas of schistose rocks may be in veins 

which bear a genetic relation to, as well as a close association with, 

igneous intrusives. If this proves to be generally the case, it may be 

found that the deposits assigned to the first two groups may be practically identical in origin..

Most of the auriferous deposits occur in rocks which have been 

more or less highly altered, but the metamorphism in the placer districts has usually been more pronounced than in lode districts. There 

are no considerable areas of metamorphic rocks known in Alaska 

which are not locally more or less auriferous, so that the distribution 

of these rocks is one of vital importance to this discussion. The 

metamorphic terranes vary in age from Cambrian or pre-Cambrian 

to Carboniferous and possibly Triassic. There are also some altered 

Cretaceous beds which are locally auriferous. While in Alaska their 

geologic age has little direct bearing on the question of the distribution of gold, yet the most important gold fields now developed are 

in regions where the rocks belong chiefly to lower Paleozoic or older 

terranes.

Three considerable belts of metamorphic rocks traverse the Territory. One of these skirts the Pacific seaboard, embracing the auriferous lode and placer districts of southeastern Alaska (see map, PL 

XII), the Prince William Sound copper district, and some small 

gold-bearing areas lying in between. Its southwestward extension is 

found in the Kenai Peninsula and on Kodiak Island, where it includes some placer and lode deposits.

A second belt stretches southwest from the international boundary, 

near the famous Klondike district, and includes the Fortymile, Birch

86412 Bull. 394 09 13
194 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

Creek, Fairbanks, and other gold placer-bearing areas. Its extension 

is probably to be sought in the little-explored region lying between 

the lower Yukon and the Kuskokwim, and may include the newly 

discovered placers of the Innoko Valley.

The third belt lies north of the main Yukon Valley, includes the 

gold placers of the Chandalar, Koyukuk, and Kobuk districts, and 

may find its continuation in the auriferous metamorphic rocks of 

Seward Peninsula.

In addition to these broad belts thus defined, there are some smaller 

areas in which gold has been found, such as those of the Nizina, of 

the Chistochina, of the Yentna, of the Bonnifield, and of the 

Kantishna districts. These, with others, which will not be enumerated, have yielded some placer gold.

SOUTHERN ALASKA.

The auriferous deposits of southeastern Alaska have been investigated by C. W. and F. E. Wright and A. C. Spencer, from whose 

reports the following data are drawn: This province is the one in 

which the close association of the metalliferous lodes with the intrusives is most strongly marked, and where this relation was first 

worked out. It appears that the strongest mineralization lies close to 

the western margin of the great intrusive masses of the Coast Range. 

Similar intrusives are, however, widely distributed in isolated stocks 

throughout the coastal region of this part of the Territory and its 

adjacent islands, and these, too, have been found to be mineralized at 

a number of localities. As there are hundreds of miles of these contacts, and as but few of them have been carefully prospected, the 

chances of finding additional auriferous lodes appear to be good. At 

the same time it should be noted that the mere fact of mineralization 

does not imply the existence of valuable deposits, and that, in spite

of the fact that this part of Alaska has been the scene of active mining for nearly thirty years, only the Juneau district has furnished 

any considerable gold output, and this has chiefly come from the three 

mines of the Treadwell group. In the Ketchikan district, embracing 

the southern part of southeastern Alaska, there has been some exploitation of auriferous lodes. Though some of these have carried 

high values, they are all comparatively small, and many have proved 

not very persistent.

The value of the total gold output of southeastern Alaska from 

1880, when mining first began, to the close of 1907, was nearly 

$40,000,000, which has come chiefly from the lodes. Its future as a 

gold producer is promising, yet, excepting the few developed mines, 

there is but a small tonnage of ore in sight. With the densely forested conditions that prevail, the search for ore bodies has been much 

impeded, and in spite of its accessibility the region can not be said to 

have been carefully prospected. There is therefore little on which to
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 195

base predictions of future production, except the geologic conditions 

which are favorable to the discovery of new ore bodies. The deepest 

workings (1,600 feet in the Tread well mine) indicate a persistence 

of gold content in deposits of this type which is encouraging.

ST. ELIAS BANGE.

Auriferous sands whose materials have been derived from the 

metamorphic rocks of the St. Elias Range have been found and 

mined in a small way at a number of localities. These and what is 

known of the rocks of this range suggest that here may be a locus of 

future gold mining, but the facts at hand do not permit a flefinite 

statement.

KENAI PENINSULA AND KODIAK ISLAND.

Auriferous gravels have long been known to occur on the Kenai 

Peninsula, In fact, it was here that the Russian mining engineer

Doroshin found the first placer gold (1884) known in Alaska. The 

placers of the northern part of the Kenai Peninsula have been productive since 1895, with an aggregate output valued at about $2,000,000. 

For several years, however, the production has fallen off, and it appears that the richest of the known gravels have been exhausted, 

though there are extensive bodies of alluvium carrying low values. 

The gold has been derived from metamorphic rocks, and intrusives 

appear to be absent. The same geologic conditions appear to prevail 

throughout the eastern part of the peninsula, and other discoveries 

may be made. Both in the Kenai Peninsula and on Kodiak Island, 

which lie in the same general geologic province, some auriferous lodes 

have been found. The accessibility of this region would permit the 

mining of low-grade ores, so that there is a possibility of a gold 

production from this district even after the placers have become 

exhausted.

SUSITNA BASIN AND ALASKA RANGE.

Auriferous gravels are widely distributed in the Susitna basin and 

have been found on both flanks of the Alaska Range. It is only 

within a few years that workable placers have been found, and the 

entire production does not exceed a few hundred thousand dollars in 

value. The geologic conditions in the Alaska Range are in some 

respects very similar to those of southeastern Alaska and are therefore favorable for the occurrence of auriferous deposits. In view 

of the unexplored condition of much of this field, it is useless to attempt any forecast of its future from the mining standpoint.

COPPER RIVER BASIN.

There are two widely separated auriferous areas in the Copper 

River basin. The northern area lies on the south flank of the Alaska 

Range, and the southern area is a western extension of the St. Elias 

Mountains. What has been said of the future of mining in these
196 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

ranges applies to these districts excepting that there has been some 

gold output from these, and.they will undoubtedly continue to produce, as systematic mining has hardly commenced.

ALASKA PENINSULA AND ADJACENT ISLANDS.

The Alaska Peninsula region furnishes the only developed example 

of the third type of auriferous deposits, namely, an occurrence in 

volcanic rocks. This is at the Apollo mine, which has made a considerable production. Recent information leads to the opinion that 

there are other similar types of deposit in this general region. If 

such prove to be the case, this district may also swell the gold production, though at present its entire annual output is confined to a 

few thousand dollars taken from beach placers and a small production 

from lode deposits.

YUKON BASIN.

Mining was begun in the Alaska Yukon about 188T, when the 

Fortymile placers were discovered, but the total production up to 

the time of the discovery of the Fairbanks placers in 1901 was less 

than $6,000,000 in value, whereas the production for 1901 to 1907, inclusive, is valued at nearly $30,000,000.

The best known and probably most valuable of the placers of the 

Yukon basin lie in the so-called " Yukon-Tanana region," embracing 

an area of some 40,000 square miles between the two rivers, of which 

about half falls in what may be designated the " auriferous zone." 

Within this province lie the Fortymile, Birch Creek, Fairbanks, 

Kampart, and Hot Springs districts, as well as some smaller ones, all 

of which have produced placer gold.

This .province is the best example of gold occurring in metamorphic 

schists, but some of its auriferous deposits appear to be intimately

associated with intrusive rocks. So far as known, the geologic conditions which prevail in the developed placer districts persist over 

much of this field. Certain it is that auriferous mineralization is 

widely distributed, for fine particles of gold occur nearly everywhere 

in the alluvium. Much of the Yukon-Tanana region is so inaccessible as not to attract the large operator. While the bonanza hunter 

has hurriedly traversed most of this region, the scarcity of bed-rock 

exposures and other conditions adverse to prospecting prevent such 

hasty investigations from yielding definite results as to the presence 

of gold deposits. Even in the best-known and most accessible parts 

of the region new discoveries of placers are constantly being made. 

All these facts indicate that this may be one of the largest placergold reserves of the Territory.

The data bearing on the gold contents of the gravels known to 

carry values have been carefulty assembled by L. M. Prindle and 

F. J. Katz, and these indicate a reserve of about $100,000,000 in value 

for the ground which has been more or less prospected. This is cer-
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 197

tainly a conservative estimate, for it takes into account only the 

auriferous gravels which can probably be mined under the present 

conditions, or those that will prevail during the next few years, and 

does not make any allowance for the large unprospected areas.

A belt of schists lying north of the Yukon, extending from Chandalar Valley into the Koyukuk Valley, has been found to be auriferous. 

Mining has been going on in the latter district since 1899, with a production of probably over a million dollars in value. This field is one 

of very high cost in mining, and'there are probably more extensive 

deposits with a smaller gold tenor than those now exploited. The 

Chandalar district has made but a small production, mining having 

been begun in 1906.

Placer gold has been found at several places in the lower Yukon 

basin, notably on the Melozitna, on Ruby Creek, and on the Innoko.

Too little is known of the character or extent of these deposits to permit any statement as to their future importance. They prove, however, a wide distribution of the auriferous deposits and indicate possibilities in the way of future discoveries.

Nowhere in the Yukon basin has there been any lode mining, and 

systematic prospecting for auriferous veins has hardly been inaugurated. As a rule, the mineralization in the schists appears to be disseminated rather than concentrated, but there are exceptions to this 

rule. Some lode deposits have been found which, in a more accessible region, could probably be profitably exploited. The subject of the 

future of lode mining in this field does not admit of solution from the 

data in hand.

SEWARD PENINSULA.

Placer mining was begun on Seward Peninsula in 1897, but it 

was not until 1899 that the annual gold production exceeded $100,000 

in value. The total output of gold up to the close of 1907 was over 

$44,000,000 in value. Practically all of this gold was taken from the 

placers, for only one small lode mine has made any considerable production, though a few tons of ore have been taken from several others.

The auriferous deposits of the peninsula can be roughly outlined as 

occurring in two general belts. One, about 40 miles wide, stretches a 

little north of east and skirts the southern shore line of the peninsula, 

embracing the gold placers of Nome, Solomon, and Council. This 

belt has been traced about 120 miles. The second belt stretches from 

the neighborhood of Port Clarence to Kotzebue Sound, a distance of 

about 140 miles, with a width of about 40 miles. In this belt are inclucjed the auriferous gravels of Teller, Kougarok, Inmachuk, and 

Kiwalik. As outlined, these belts embrace an area of about 10,000 

square miles. In addition to these areas, evidence of mineralization 

has been found in the extreme western part of the peninsula, which includes the cassiterite, galena, and other ores of the York region.
198 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

In describing the geographic distribution of the mineral deposits 

of the peninsula, it is not intended to imply that there is any great 

regularity in their occurrence. As a matter of fact, the distribution 

of the valuable minerals within these zones is very irregular. The 

placer gold seems to have been derived, for the most part, from 

contact zones between massive limestones and various types of schists. 

P. S. Smith's recent investigations show that other forms of auriferous deposits are those found in black siliceous slates and those in 

chloritic schists. Other types of mineral occurrence are those of 

cassiterite, galena, and other ores which are found in association with 

granitic intrusives near the western end of the peninsula and which 

have recently been described by Adolph Knopf.

While the types of mineral occurrence might be multiplied, for 

they include copper, antimony, tungsten, and other ores, what has 

been stated is sufficient to show that therg is great variety in the form 

of mineralization. It also indicates that, in spite of the fact that 

there is now but little lode mining there is sufficient ground to believe 

that such an industry may be developed as to make it necessary to 

take it into account in estimating the gold reserves.

Though the Seward Peninsula auriferous gravels have been far 

more prospected than those of the Yukon-Tanana region, yet quantitative data of their gold contents are exceedingly scant. These data, 

however, were carefully compiled some years ago, and deductions 

made from them regarding the placer-gold reserves.0 Estimates were 

made by two different methods. By one the gold contents of auriferous gravels was valued at $265,000,000; by the other, $325,000,000. 

It can not be too often repeated that such computations are no more 

than mere approximations, for they are based on certain assumptions 

as to the gold tenor of the gravels, etc., which do not now admit of 

proof. These reserves appear to be two or three times as large as 

those estimated for the Yukon-Tanana region. This is due to the 

fact that in Seward Peninsula the data seemed to justify an attempt 

at an estimate of gold tenor for the entire body of auriferous gravels, 

while in the Yukon-Tanana region the information at hand only 

warranted an estimate of the auriferous gravels of the productive 

areas.

STATISTICS.

The systematic collection of statistics of gold production for Alaska 

was began only in 1905, and the distribution of the output previous 

to that year is only an approximation. In the preparation of the 

following table the best available data have been used. In this table 

of production the Pacific coastal belt includes southeastern Alaska, 

the St. Elias region, and the Alaska Peninsula and adjacent islands, 

while under Copper River and Cook Inlet region are embraced the 

Kenai Peninsula and the Copper River and Susitna basins. The

"Gold placers of Seward Peninsula : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 328, 1.908, pp. 135-139.
MINERAL RESOUBCES OF ALASKA. 199

other geographical terms used in this table, Yukon basin and Seward 

Peninsula, need no definition.

Value of gold production of Alaska, witli approximate distribution, 1880-1'907.

Year.

1880.......................................

1881.......................................

1882.......................................

1883.......................................

1884.......................................

1885.......................................

1886.......................;...............

1887.......................................

1888.......................................

1889.......................................

1890....................................... 

1891.......................................

1892.......................................

1893.......................................

1894.......................................

1896.......................................

1897.......................................

1898.......................................

1899.......................................

1900.......................................

1.901............... ......... . .. ......

1902........................................

1903.......................................

1904 .......................................

1905.......................................

1906.......................................

1907.......................................

Total................................

Pacific 

coastal 

belt.

820,000

40,000

150,000

300,000

200,000

275,000

416,000

645,000

815,000

860,000

712,000 

800,000

970,000

833,000

882,000

1,941,000

1,799,500

1,892,000

2, 152, 000

' 2,606,000

2,072,000

2,546,600

2,843,000

3,195,800

3,430,000

3, 454, 794

40,311,937

Copper 

River and 

Cook Inlet 

region.

120,000

175,000

150,000

150,000

160,000

180,000

375.000 375; ooo

500,000 KAA flflft

332, 000

275,000

3,342,000

Yukon 

basin.

$1.000

l',000

25,000

30,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

50,000 

100,000

110,000

200,000

400, 000

800,000

450,000

400,000

500,000

650, 000

550. 000

800,000

1,000,000

1,300,030

6,900,000

10,750,000

9,183,000

34,964,000

Seward 

Peninsula.

$15,000

75,000

2,800,000

4,750,000

4, 130, 700

4,561,800

4, 465, 600

4, 164, 600

4,800,000

7,500,000

7,000,000

44, 262, 700

Total.

$20,000

40,000

150,000,

301,000

201,000

300,000

446,000

675,000

850,000

900,000

762,000 

900.000

1,080,000

1,038,000

1,282,000

2,328,500

2,861,000

2,439,500

2,517,000

5,602,000

8, 166,'000

6,932,700

8,283,400

8, 683. 600

9,160,000

15,630,000

22,036,794

19, 349, 743

122,935,237

Of the total about $37,000,000 must be credited to lode production, 

which is nearly all included in the Pacific coastal belt of the above 

table. Up to the close of 1907 there was only one productive auriferous lode mine in Seward Peninsula, and none either in the Yukon 

basin or in the Copper River and Cook Inlet region. The auriferous lode production, with the exception of that of the Apollo 

mine on Uri'ga Island, southwestern Alaska, and a few small mines 

of the same general region, together with a small gold output from 

the copper deposits of Prince William Sound and from the auriferous 

lodes of Seward Peninsula, is all from southeastern Alaska. As 

the Treadwell group of mines has an output valued at $30,402,236, 

it will be seen that nearly five-sixths of the auriferous lode production 

is from this one ore body.

Accurate data regarding the source of the gold have been available 

only since 1906. They are summarized in the following table:

Source of gold in Alaska, 1906-1907, in values.

Kind of ore.

Copper ores ......................

1906.

$18,607,000

3,348,943

80,851

1907.

816,491,000

2,764,885

93,858
200 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

This table indicates that the placer production now overwhelmingly 

dominates in the total of gold output. This has, however, only been 

true since 1897, for previous to that time only about a third of the 

 annual gold production was from the placers.

 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION.

It has been shown that gold is very widely distributed in Alaska, 

both in lodes and in placers; also that the production of the lode 

mines, outside of the Treadwell group, is insignificant. This does 

not mean, how ever, that the outlook for auriferous lode mining is not 

hopeful, for this is far from being the case. Up to the present time 

the cost of mining, except along a part of the Pacific seaboard, has 

been practically prohibitive for a lode-mining industry which is not 

based purely on the exploitation of bonanzas. .Even along the seaboard there has been little systematic search for lodes. Most of the 

gold ores which have been found in the'inland region have been of so 

low a grade as not to encourage their exploitation under present conditions of transportation. It will be clear, therefore, that there is no 

basis whatever for a quantitative statement of the gold reserves in the 

lodes of the Territory.

The known wide distribution of placer gold augurs well for future 

discoveries of this type of deposit. Most of the districts where mining operations are now going on have been so little prospected that 

little is known of their gold reserves. Some estimates, however, have 

been made for placer-gold reserves of the Yukon-Tanana region and 

Seward Peninsula. Those of the first province were made to include only the producing areas, while in Seward Pensinsula the 

bulk and value of the entire body of auriferous gravels was estimated. 

In the Yukon-Tanana region, which includes much the largest auriferous area, the gold contents of the producing part of the field are 

approximately valued at $100,000,000, not including the very large 

unprospected areas, while the auriferous gravels of the entire Seward 

Peninsula are estimated to contain about $300,000,000. It can not be 

too strongly emphasized that though all the data have been carefully 

compiled and the computations made with great care, yet there are 

so many unknown factors that the results are little more than guesses. 

No quantitative data of any kind are available for the other smaller 

districts, ten in number, but it is probably safe to estimate the gold in 

them as between $50,000,000 and $100,000,000. These values total 

about $500,000,000, which is the nearest approximation that can be 

given of the gold-placer reserves of the Territory. It is not impossible, however, that the Yukon-Tanana region alone may carry this 

amount of gold.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 201

SILVER, LEAD, AND ZINC.

The silver production of Alaska has practically all been won incidentally to gold mining, and much the larger part of it has been 

recovered from the placer gold. There has also been a small recovery 

from the copper ores.

The total production of silver from 1880 to 1907, as nearly as can be 

determined, was 1,677,159 ounces, of which over three-quarters was 

from the placer gold. The following table shows the source of silver 

for the period that statistics have been available:

Source of silver from Alaska, 1906-7.

Kind of ore.

Siliceous ores.. .......................

1906.

Ounces. 

76,835

15,772

18,577

1907.

Ounces. 

49,847

14,653

34,357

There has been no lead production from Alaska, except a few tons 

recovered in the reduction .of other ores. Galena is widely distributed, and some promising ore bodies have been prospected, but 

nothing is known of their extent. Such galena deposits occur in 

southeastern Alaska, on Prince William Sound, and in Seward Peninsula. Though attempts to exploit a galena ore body on Seward 

Peninsula date back to 1881 and have been continued intermittently 

to the present time and some small shipments have been made, this 

mine, called the Omalik, has never been on a commercial basis. The 

same statement applies to the mining of galena ores in other parts of 

the Territory.

Zinc blende has been found at a number of localities in'Alaska, 

but the value of the ore bodies remains to be proved. No attempt has 

been made to mine zinc ores.

There are no data at hand on which to base any estimates of the 

reserves of the three metals here under consideration. With the 

increase of the gold output there will be a corresponding increase in 

the silver production.

COPPER.

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE.

Copper ores are known to occur in commercial quantities on 

Prince of Wales Island (southeastern Alaska), Prince William 

Sound, and in the Chitina Valley of the Copper River district. They 

have also been found in a belt running from the Nabesna to the upper 

White River, in the Lake Iliamna region, and on the Seward and 

Kenai peninsulas. In these no ore bodies of proved commercial im-
202 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

portance have been opened up, but the outlook for such in some 

localities appears hopeful.

On Prince of Wales Island, according to C. W. Wright, the copper 

ores, which are sulphides, occur along the contact of intrusives and 

limestones. U. S. Grant's description of the copper ores of Prince 

William Sound shows these to be sulphide ores which occur as lenses 

along shear zones. These shear zones are in greenstones or in contact 

zones between greenstones and graywackes. The Chitina belt, according to F. H. Moffit, includes both native and sulphide copper de-. 

posits. These occur at or close to a contact between a heavy greenstone (altered lava) and a limestone. This contact, along which 

mineralization seems fairly persistent though ore bodies of proved 

value have been exposed at only a few localities, has been traced for 

upward of a hundred miles.

The Nabesna-White River copper belt is of a similar character to 

that of the Chitina Valley, though here the value of the ore bodies 

found remains to be proved by further development work. In the 

Iliamna Lake region copper ores are said to be similar in occurrence 

to those of southeastern Alaska. Little is known of the other copperbearing localities of the Territory.

STATISTICS.

Copper mining was first attempted on Prince of Wales Island in 

1880, but the project was soon abandoned. The industry was begun 

again in 1900 in Prince William Sound, and five years later the 

Prince of Wales Island deposits also began producing. The total 

output of copper from Alaska up to the close of 1907 was 20,843,352 

pounds, of which 12,368,975 pounds came from the Prince of Wales 

Island mines and the balance from Prince William Sound.

SUMMARY.

It is impossible to make any estimate of the tonnage of copper-ore 

reserves of the Territory. The developed ore bodies have been computed in a few mines by the operators, but even if these figures were 

available they would have little bearing on the problem of the ultimate reserves. Less than, a score of copper mines have been opened 

up in Alaska, and all but one of these are located in two districts. 

In one promising district there has been only a little surface prospecting and this also holds true of the several widely distributed 

copper deposits which are not included in the four best-known districts. Even in the largest mines the workings in few cases extend 

to a depth of more than one or two hundred feet. It is evident, 

therefore, that the ore-blocked out in the mines, whose copper content is probably less than 200,000,000 pounds of metal, has little 

bearing on the question of ultimate reserves, for it would not take
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 203

into account either the undeveloped ore bodies already found or the 

possibilities of discoveries in the little-prospected fields. Moreover, 

any estimate of tonnage could include only the ores which can be 

mined at the present price of copper, while an increase of this price 

would make available lower-grade ores which can not now be commercially exploited. The problem is furthermore complicated by the 

irregularity of many of the copper deposits.

There can be no doubt that the output of copper from the Territory 

will increase during the next few years. The accessibility and cheapness of exploitation of the ores of the Pacific coast province invite 

copper-mining enterprises, in spite of the irregularity of occurrence 

of most of these deposits. A railway is now under construction up 

the Copper Kiver valley which will not only lead to early shipments 

of a large amount of copper ores from the deposits already found, but 

Avill also stimulate further search and probably lead to the discovery

of other ore bodies.

WATER RESOURCES. 

INTRODUCTION.

The principal value of the water resources of Alaska is for generating power to be used for mining, now the only extensive industry. 

There are two general methods of utilizing the water pOAver: (1) By 

converting it into electricity or other form of energy, for the purposes 

of lode and placer mining. By such means the power can be transmitted to the locality of use. This form of utilization is now almost 

entirely confined to the Pacific coastal belt of the Territory. (2) The 

more direct use of the water under head for sluicing, elevating, and 

hydraulicking the auriferous alluvium. This second form of utilization has been extensively practiced in small plants throughout the 

placer districts.

Many of the gold placers and lode deposits can be profitably exploited only by the utilization of water power. The water powers are 

also valuable to other industries, but up to the present time have not 

been so utilized, except in a small way for running electric-light 

plants, machine shops in some of the coastal towns, and some fishproduct manufactories.

An adequate knowledge of the distribution, volume, and gradients 

of the surface water is. therefore, of first importance to the industry 

of the Territory. The underground waters of Alaska need not here 

be considered; none such have been developed and little is known 

about their occurrence. There is a possibility that in some of the 

placer districts there may be underground waters in°sufficient quantity 

to justify their development for purposes of supplementing the inadequate surface waters. Artesian waters have in a few instances 

been found underneath the layer of perpetually frozen ground. These
204 CONSERVATION OP MINERAL RESOURCES.

appear to be exceptional conditions, as usually the frost extends all 

the way to bed rock. Such ground waters, where they have been 

found, are probably very local in extent. There are also soine potable 

waters derived from springs, but these, as well as the surface water 

used for towns, need not here be considered.

Facts regarding the water supply are scant and based almost entirely on the results of the investigations of the United States Geological Survey. These results are of two kinds (1) the records of 

stream gaging, which furnish information as to the volumes of the 

watercourses, and (2) the topographic maps, which show the distribution of the water, as well as the gradients of the streams in which 

it flows. Measurements of stream flow have been carried on for three 

seasons (1906-1908) in some of the important placer districts of 

Seward Peninsula, for two seasons (1907-1908) in the Fairbanks district, and for one season (1908) in the Hot Springs, Rampart, and 

Birch Creek districts. These measurements furnish the only data on 

stream volume throughout the Territory, though a. few corporations 

have obtained records from small areas preparatory to the installation 

of hydraulic plants.

The topographic data are more complete, for reconnaissance maps 

(scale 1: 250,000, with 200-foot contours) of some 121,252 square miles 

have been made, which cover most of the important mining districts 

and about 20 per cent of the entire area of Alaska. These reconnaissance maps furnish a general conception of drainage basins and 

stream gradients. In addition, 2,732 square miles have been mapped 

in detail (scale 1: G2,500, with 25, 50, or 100 foot contours), yieldingaccurate information of the extent of drainage basins and of stream 

gradients.

Only two of the larger geographic provinces of Alaska will here be 

considered, namely, (1) the Pacific coastal region and (2) the central 

region, for,'as far as.can now be foreseen, it is only in these two that 

the water has any industrial value. These two provinces differ essentially in climate and relief and, indeed, present almost the extreme 

conditions as regards the occurrence and utilization of surface waters. 

In the coastal belt as a whole the topography is extremely rugged and 

many of the streams are fed by perennial snows, which, together with 

the large precipitation (75 to 120 inches), yield a large run-off with 

no great fluctuations during the summer months.

Beyond the coastal barrier the climate is semiarid (precipitation 

10 to 20 inches), the relief is weak, and hence stream gradients are 

low, while there is no permanent snow. Another feature of the precipitation is that summer rainfall is very local. Moreover, the general frozen condition of the subsoil to bed rock probably prevents 

any considerable ground storage. These conditions make for a small
MINEBAL KESOUKCES OF ALASKA. 205

run-off per square mile and very marked fluctuations in stream 

volumes. Moreover, the low relief makes it difficult to utilize the 

water under head.

Seward Peninsula, though not strictly a part of the central region, 

possesses the same general hydrographic conditions. The precipitation (10 to 30 inches), however, averages a little greater than in the 

Yukon basin. Here also the low stream gradients make much of 

the run-off unavailable for placer mining.

The conditions affecting surface waters in the .area drained by 

Susitna and Copper rivers differ Somewhat from those existing in 

the Pacific coastal region and in the inland province. In part this 

area has as strong relief as that along the seaboard, yet its precipitation is far less. On the whole, however, this region is better supplied 

with water than the Yukon basin.

PACIFIC COAST REGION.

In southeastern Alaska alone has there been any considerable utilization of water power. The Census Bureau collected the statistics of 

the developed water power in this part of the territory. Through 

the courtesy of the Director of the Census the following data are 

available. The statistics show that a total maximum of 15,699 horsepower has been developed and that 100 water wheels have been installed. Of this maximum 2,816 horsepower is available during 

low-water season. It is reported that at the localities where this 

power has been developed there is 14,135 horsepower available. Of 

the developed horsepower 3,403 horsepoAver is utilized by electriclight plants, canneries, and some other small industrial enterprises, 

and the rest by mining and smelting plants. The Treadwell group 

of mines alone utilizes some 6,647 horsepower. In addition to the 

above a few hundred horsepower is developed in. other parts of the 

Pacific coast belt.

Southeastern Alaska affords conditions which are peculiarly favorable for the development of water power. The glaciation of this 

region has developed a topography which, with its cirques and many 

.lakes lying at considerable altitude above sea level, is favorable to 

water storage. While the run-off during the summer months is much 

larger than during the winter, yet there are many localities where 

a large amount of power can be developed, even during the lowwater stages.

YUKON BASIN.

There are no records which make it possible to state the quantity 

of water used for placer mining in the various Yukon districts, but 

it is known to be a large amount. Nor has stream gaging, progressed far enough to determine the available water. However, it
206 CONSERVATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES.

is probably safe to say that within a few years every supply so situated as to be directly applicable to placer mining will be utilized. 

Even when this has been brought about, the supply will be inadequate 

for the gold placers already opened up. In addition to this water 

directly applicable to placer mining, there are a number of water 

powers which can be utilized for certain mining operations by 

transformation to other forms of energy. It is probable that 

even after the development of these water powers the demands of 

future mining interests will not have been met. The utilization of 

coal to supply this demand is discussed elsewhere in this report. 

Mention should be made in this connection of the possibility of 

developing power along the streams which find their source in the 

high mountains stretching along the southern margin of the Yukon 

basin. These streams have not been measured and but.few havve been 

surveyed. They are known, however, to have a much larger volume 

than those of the central region proper, and the topography would 

appear to be favorable to water-power development. Some of the 

important placer districts lie within 50 or 100 miles of the mountain 

front.

»The following table, which is based on the investigation of Mr. 

Covert, presents in summary form the available data regarding the 

run-off in the districts which have been investigated. It can not be 

too strongly emphasized that, as this is based on only one or two seasons' observations, the data presented are only an approximation.

Estimates of mean annual discharge and run-off of drainage basins in YulconTanana region, Alaska.

[By C. C. Covert]

District. Year.

/ 1907 

\ 1908

1908 

1908 

1908

Secondfoot per 

square

mile.

0.780 

.710 

.745 

.44 

.54 

.99

Depth in 

inches.

10.60 

9.66 

10.13 

6.00 

7.40 

13.50

Per cent 

estimated.o

62 

54 

58 

95 

90 

91

Duration of 

record.

From 

June 20 

May 1

June 6 

...do.... 

June 26

To 

Oct. 15 

Oct. 21

Sept. 26 

Do. 

Oct. 13

o The run-off for the period not covered by records was estimated at approximately 0.25 second-foot per 

square mile.

SEWARD PENINSULA.

What has been said of the Yukon basin applies also to Seward 

Peninsula. Here, too, nearly all the water available for direct application to placer mining will soon be utilized, and even then can not 

meet the demand. Some important undeveloped water powers are 

known to exist in this province.

The topography of Seward Peninsula, like that of the Yukon 

basin, is of low relief, and therefore a comparatively small part of
MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALASKA. 207

the run-off can be made available for mining. In the mountain mass, 

including the Bendeleben and Kigluaik ranges, the conditions for 

water storage are somewhat more favorable than in other parts of the 

peninsula. Here there are some glacial cirques, and though these are 

of comparatively small extent, they have an influence in the conservation of water and snow. What is of still greater importance, however, is the greater rainfall which occurs in these high mountains 

compared with other parts of the peninsula.

Mr. Henshaw has summarized his three seasons' observations on 

stream flow in Seward Peninsula in the table which follows. The 

value of the data contained in this table will be increased by considering the character of the topography of the basins whose run-off 

is given. Kruzgamepa River, at Salmon Lake, drains a basin typical 

of the Kigluaik and Bendeleben mountain areas. Kuzitrin River 

and Imuruk Lake lie in the northern portion of the peninsula and 

represent the area north of the mountains. There are not sufficient 

data to make any estimate of the yearly run-off from the country 

south of the mountains.

Estimates of mean annual discharge and run-off of drainage basins in Seward

Peninsula, Alaska.

[By F. F. Henshaw.]

Stream.

Kruzgamepa at Salmon Lake, 81

Kuzitrin at Lanes Landing, 1,720 

square miles. .................. 

Mean .....................

Imuruk Lake, 99 square miles. . .

Year.

f!906...... 

{1907...... 

U908......

/1907...... 

\1908......

/i96eM9u7. 

\1907-1908.

Secondfeet per 

square 

mile.

3.68 

3.77 

2.40 

3.28 

.46 

.39 

.42 

.59 

.50 

.54

Depth in 

inches.

50.2 

51.1 

32.6 

446 

6.2 

5.3 

5.7 

7.9 

6.8 

7.4

Per cent estimated.

38 

40 

63 

47 

° 100 

40

Duration of record.

PromMay 28,1906 

June 15,1907 

June 21,1908

June 1,1908

Aug. 16,1906 

Oct. ,1907

To 

Sept. 30, 1906 

Oct. 5,1907 

Sept. 30,1908

Sept. 30, 1908

Aug. ,1907 

Sept. 25,1908

The discharge of Kruzgamepa River at Salmon Lake has been 

assumed to decrease regularly from October 1 to a minimum of 30 

second-feet on April 20, then to increase slowly until the break-up 

of the ice, and more rapidly until the date of the beginning of records, which has been taken as the maximum for the year. The runoff from snow for 1908 was taken as 70 per cent of the mean of that 

for the two previous years.

The run-off of Kuzitrin River for May, 1908, was taken as 75 per 

cent of that for June, and for the remainder of the year as 0.06 

second-feet per square mile. The run-off for 1907 was estimated by 

comparison with the two years' record at Imuruk Lake. The flow 

into Imuruk Lake was determined by closing the dam at the outlet 

and noting the rise of the water surface.

INDEX.

A.

Acknowledgments to those aiding....... 33,70,172

Adirondack ores, character of................ 81-84

geology of................................80-81

occurrence and character of.............. 72

Agricultural land, minerals in, title to..... 115-116

Alabama, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.. 17 

estimate of................ 89,90,91,95,102-103

iron ore of...................... 88-89,90-91,92

natural gas of........................... 51

Alaska, coal imports of...................... 184

coal of................................. 174-189

composition of....................... 175

consumption of.................... 183-184

distribution of..................... 175-181

map showing.................... 172

geology of......................... 174-175

mining of, waste in.................. 187

' production........................ 183-184

reserves of..... ................... 181-184

utilization of...................... 185-188

copper of...................... 133,135,201-203

distribution of..................... 201-202

map showing.................... 172

production of........................ 202

resources of........................ 202-203

gold of................................ 192-201

distribution of..................... 193-198

map showing.................... 172

occurrence of, mode of............... 193

production of.................. 124,198-200

resources of.................... 194-198,200

source of.......................... 199-200

iron of................................... 191

load of.................................. 201

mineral resources of................... 172-207

distribution of..................... 173-174

map showing............. '. ...... 172 

peat of................................ 188-189

petroleum of.......................... 189-190

petroleum imports of.................... 184

. silver of................................. 201

subdivisions of........................ 173-174

water resources of..................... 203-207

zinc of................................... 201

Alaska, northern, coal of.................. 180-181

Alaska, southeastern, coal of................. 177

Alaska, southern, gold of.................... 194

gold of, production of.................. 194-195

Alaska Peninsula region, coal of............. 179

gold of.................................. 196

Alaska Range, gold of....................... 195

Alcohol, manufacture of, from peat.......... 67

use of................................... 49

86412 Bull. 394 09 14

Page. 

Ammonia, recovery of.................... 62-63,66

waste of................................. 15-17

Anthracite coal fields, area of................ 7

production of............................ 13

waste in................................. 12-13

See also Coal. 

Anthracite Coal Waste Commission, report

of............................... 12,13

Appalachian ores, estimate of................ 91

occurrence and character of........... 71,90-95

Appalachians, petroleum of.................. 30

petroleum, field of...................... 34,35

Arizona, coal of, supply and exhaustion of... 17 

copper of.......................... 133,136-139

iron ore of, estimate of................. 102-103

gold of, production of.................... 121

silver of, production of.................. 130

zinc of.................................... 154

Arkansas, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.. 17-18 

iron ores of..................:........... 97-99

estimate»of.................... 99,102-103

phosphates of........................... 163

Arsenic, waste of.......................... 117-118

B. 

Bain, H. F., on zinc of Wisconsin........... 153

Beehive ovens, waste due to................. 14-17

Bering River, Alaska, coal of............... 177

Bisbee district, Arizona, copper of........ 136,137

Bituminous coal fields, area of............... 7

waste in................................. 13-14

Boilers, use of gas under, waste in........... 59-60

Briquets, peat, utilization of................. 64

Brooks, A. H., on mineral resources of

Alaska........................ 172-207

Brooks, A. H., and Martin, G. C., on coal of

Alaska........................ 174-189

Brown iron ore, definition of................ 70

estimate of.............................. 103

production of............................ Ill

See also Iron ores. 

By-product coke ovens, economy of......... 15-17

C.

California, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.. 18 

iron ores of.............................. '101

estimate of........................ 102-103

natural gas of........................... 51

copper of.......................... 133,140-141

gold of, production of.................. 122-123

petroleum of............................ 32

quality of........................... 32

yield of.............................. 35

silver of, production of.................. 130

209
210 INDEX.

.Page. 

Campbell, M. R., and Parker, E. W., on coal

fields of the United States....... 7-26

Canada, iron ores of............. '...... 104,105,106

Carbonate iron ore, definition of............. 70

estimate of.............................. 103

production of..'..............'............ Ill

See also Iron ores. 

Caving, waste due to........................ 11

Chitina region, Alaska, copper of........... 202

Clinton ores, availability of.................. 74-75

. character of.............................. 84-85

distribution of........................... 86-89

estimates of......................... 86-90,103

geology of............................... 85

tenor of.............................. 74-75,86

Sec also Iron ores. 

Coal, mining of, beginnings of............... 8-9

mining of, waste in...................... 9

sources of............................ 11-17

.preparation of, improvements in......... 12

waste in............................. 12

production of.......................... 9,27-29

chart showing....................... 26

increase in..................... 10-11,27-29

supply of........................... 8,10,13,27

duration of.......................... 10-11

transportation of........................ 16

See also Alaska, coal of. 

Coal fields, area of........................... 7

distribution of........................... 17-26

map showing........................ 6

report on................................ 7-30

source of................. .*.......... 5

Cceur d'Alene district, Idaho, lead of...... 146-147

Coke, by-products of, demand for............ . 17

by-products of, waste of................. 15-17

Coke making, waste in...................... 14-17

Cold Bay, Alaska, petroleum of.............. 190

Colorado, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.. 18 

copper of.............................. 133,134

gold of, production of........:......... 124-125

iron of................................. 101-102

estimate of........................ 102-103

lead of................................. 145,148

natural gas of............................ 51

petroleum of............................ 32

silver of, production..................... 130

zinc of................................. 153-154

Conservation report, extracts from........... 5

Cook Inlet, Alaska, coal of................. 177-178

petroleum of............................. 190

Copper, consumption of..................... 143

production of.................. '........ 131-133

chart showing....................... 130

Copper ores, character and distribution of... 114 

extent of................................ 114

gold from............................. 124-125

mining of, waste in.................... 116,143

resources of............................ 133-143

duration of........................ 142-143

silver from............................... 130

smelting of, waste in....:...... 117,143-144,185

See also Alaska, copper of; Metallic ores. 

Copper River basin, Alaska, copper of..... 201-202

gold of................................. 195-196

Page.

Cornwall ores, occurrence and character of... 71,

100-101 

Cuba, iron ores of...................... 104-105,106

Culm, gas from.............................. 61

waste in................................. 12

D.

Davis, C. A., on peat resources.............. 62-69

Day, D. T., on natural-gas resources......... 51-61

on petroleum resources.................. 30-50

F.

Fertilizer filler, use of peat for............... 67

Florida, peat utilization in.................. 63

phosphates of......................... ISO-^eo

exhaustion of...................... 165,169

production of.................. 158,160,165

Forest lands, minerals in, title to............ 116

Fuel, peat for............................... 64-65

Fuel oils, waste ia........................... 48,49

G.

Gannett, Henry, coal estimate by........... 10

on future coal production................ 27-29

Gas, coal, waste of........................... 15-17

Gas, natural. See Natural gas.

Gas, producer, manufacture of, from peat.... 62-64

See also Peat. 

Gas engine, economy of...................... 59-60

Gas wells, capping of........................ 60,61

waste from.............................. 57-58

See also Natural gas. 

Geological Survey, work of.................. 5,7-8

Georgia, coal of, supply and exhaustion of... 18-19

iron ore of......................... 88-89,90,92

estimate of.................. 89,91,102-103

Globe district, Arizona, copper of..... 136,137-138

Gold, consumption of..................... 128-129

production of...................... 119-121,127

chart showing..................... 120,122

Gold-bearing gravels. See Placer mines.

Gold ores, character and distribution of...... 114

extent of................................ 114

mining of, waste in...................... 127

resources of............................ 121-127

duration of.......................... 127

silver from.............................. 130

smelting of, waste in.................. 117,127

Sec also Metallic ores; Alaska, gold of. 

Gossan, occurrence of........................ 72

Grant, U.S., on Prince of Wales Island.... 191,202

Gulf field, petroleum of...................... 32

yield of.................................. -35

H.

Hayes, C. W., on iron ores of the United

States..'........................ 70-113

Hematite, definition of...................... 70

estimate of.............................. 103

occurrence and character of..... .passim 76-102

production of............................ Ill

See also Iron ores.

Hess, F. L., on arsenic waste.............. 117-118

Hospital dressings, use of peat for........... 68
INDEX. 211

i.

Page. 

Idaho, coal of, supply and exhaustion of..... 19

copper of.............................. 133,134

gold of, production of.................... 121

iron ores of, estimate of................ 102-103

lead of............................. 145,140-147

duration of........................... 147

phosphates of......................... 163-164

duration of........................ 166-167

silver of, production of.................. 130

zinc of................................... 154

Illinois, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.... 19

natural gas in............................ 51

petroleum of......................... 31,33-34

yield of.............................. 34,35

Indiana, coal of, supply and exhaustion of... 19 

natural gas in........................... 51

conservation of...................... 60

petroleum of............................ 31

yield of........ '. ..................... 35

Iowa, coal of, supply and exhaustion of...... 19-20

iron ores of, estimate of................ 102-103

Iron, pig, production of, chart showing...... 110

Iron ores, availability of.................. 73-76,79

chemical classification of................. 70-71

deposits of, character of................. 71-72

distribution of.......................... 76-102

exports of............................. 105-106

foreign supplies of..................... 103-106

imports of............................. 105-106

impurities in............................ 75

mining of, conditions of................ 74,109

historyof.......................... 108-109

waste in............................. 107

origin of................................. 71-72

production of.......................... 108-113

chart showing....................... 110

reduction of, waste in................. 107-108

resources of, duration of............... 112-113

estimates of...................... 72-70,79

tenor of........................... 74-75,78-80

transportation of........................ 75

, wasteof............................... .107-108

See also Alaska, iron of. 

Iron Springs ores, occurrence and character .

of............................... 101

J. 

Jerome district, Arizona, copper of........ 136,138

K.

Kansas, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.... 20

natural gas in........................... 51

petroleum of............................ 31

zinc of................................... 152

Katalla, Alaska, petroleum at................ 190

Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, gold of............ 195

Kentucky, coal of, supply and exhaustion of. 20 

iron ore of......................... 87,94-95,96

estimate of............ 87,90,95,96,102-103

 natural gas in........................... 51

petroleum of............................ 30

Kodiak Island, Alaska, gold of............... 195

L.

Tage.

Lake Superior iron ores, character of......... 78-98

estimated amount of ...................*. 79-80

geology of..................:............ 76-78

production of........................ 76-77, 111

tenor of................................. 78-79

Lamp oils, advantages of.................... 47

Lead, consumption of....................... 149

production of...................... 114-115,148

chart showing....................... 144

recovery of.............................. 149

substitutes for...'........................ 149

waste of............................... 149-150

Lead ores, character and distribution of..... 114

extent of................................ 114

resources of............................ 145-149

duration of........................ 145,149

silver from.............................. 130

smelting of, waste in.................. 117,150

tariff on................................. 150

waste of................................. 150

See also Metallic ores; Alaska.

Lead paint, waste in use of.................. 149

Lindgren, Waldemar, on gold, silver, copper,

lead, and zinc resources........ 114-150

Louisiana, natural gas in.................... 51

petroleum of............................ 31,32

quality of........................... 32

yield of.............................. 35

Low-grade material, abandonment of, waste

due to....... 11-12,107,115-116,156,169

Lubricating oils, exhaustion of.............. 47-48

M.

Magnetite, definition of...................... 70

estimate of.............................. '102

occurrence and character of..... .passim 78-102

production of............................ Ill

Martin, G. C., on petroleum of Alaska..... 189-190

Martin, G. C., and Brooks, A. EL, on coal of

Alaska........................ 174-189

Maryland, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.. 20-21 

iron ores of, estimate of............. 94,102-103

Matanuska region, Alaska, coal of........... 178

Metallic ores, distribution of................. 114

duration of............................ 118-119

mining of, waste In:..................... 116

reduction of, waste in................... 116

resources of, estimate.of. ................. 118

See also particular ores; Alaska. 

Mexico, iron ores of.......................... 104

Michigan, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.. 21 

copper of.......................... 133,135-136

iron ores of.............................. 77,80

estimates of.................... 80,102-103

natural gas of............................ 51

Mid-Continent field, petroleum of........... 31,35

Mineral claims, title to...................... 115

Mineral lands, distribution and ownership

of.......................... ... 114-115

valuation of........................... 115-116

Mineral rights, reservation of................ 116

Minnesota, iron ores of...................... 77,80

iron ores of, estimates of............ 80,102-103
212 INDEX.

Page.

Missouri, coal of, supply and exhaustion of... 21 

iron ores of.............................. 97-99

estimate of..................... 99,102-103

lead of................................. 145-146

duration of....................:..... 146

natural gas in........................... 51

zinc of................................... 152

duration of.......................... 152

waste of............................. 117

Montana, arsenic in, waste of.............. 117-118

coal of, supply and exhaustion of........ 21-22

copper of.............................. 133,139

iron ores of, estimate of................ 102-103

gold of, production of.................... 122

natural gas in........................... 51

silver of, production of.................. 130

Morenci district, Arizona, copper of........ 136,137

N.

National Conservation Commission report,

extracts from.................... 5

Natural gas, areas of......................... 51

compression of........................... 61

conservation of.......................... 60-61

consumption of, waste in................ 59-60

distribution of........................... '51

handling of, difficulties in............... 58

market for............................... 59

pressure of.............................. 51-52

decline in........................... 57

production of............................ 52-57

resources of.............................. 51-61

return of, to ground..................... 61

substitutes of............................ 61

supply of, duration of.................... 57

transportation of........................ 61

waste of................................. 57-61

prevention of........................ 60-61

Natural gas fields, description of............. 51-52

distribution of, map showing............ 30

Nevada, copper of......................... 134,140

gold of, production of.................. 124-125

iron ores of.............................. 101

estimates of................... 101,102-103

silver of, production of.................. 130

zinc of................:.................. 154

New England, iron ores of, estimate of.. 94,102-103 

Newfoundland, iron ores of............ 104,105,106

New Jersey, iron ores of..................... 90

iron ores of, estimate of.......... 91,94,102-103

zinc of................................... 153

duration of.......................... 153

New Mexico, coal of, supply and exhaustion

of............................... 22

copper of.............................. 133,134

iron ores of.............................. 102

estimate of........................ 102-103

New York, iron ores of................ 80-84,87,90

iron ores of, estimate of. 84,87,90,91,94,102-103 

tenor of............................. 81,83

natural gas in........................... 51

petroleum of, decrease in, chart showing. 44 

North Carolina, coal of, supply and exhaustion of........................... 22

iron ores of.............................. 90

estimate of..................... 91,102-103

Page.

North Dakota, coal of, supply and exhaustion 

of............................;..

O.

22

Ohio, coal of, supply and exhaustion of...... 22-23

iron ores of.....( ......................... 94-95

estimates of.................... 95,102-103

natural gas in........................... 51

conservation of...................... 60,61

petroleum of............................ 30,31

yieldof.............................. 35

Oklahoma, coal of, supply and exhaustion of. 23 

natural gas in........................... 51

petroleum of............................ 31-32

waste of............................. 31-32

zinc of................................... 153

Oregon, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.... 23

gold of, production of.................... 121

iron ore of, estimate................... 102-103

Oriskany ores, occurrenceandcharacterof. 71-72,93 

Ozark ores, occurrence and character of...... 97-99

P.

Pacific coast, coal of, conservation of......... 185

iron ores of, estimate of................ 102-103

production of........................ Ill

Parker, E. W., and Campbell, M. R., on coal

fields of the United States....... 7-26

Packing material, use of peat for............. 67-68

Paper, manufacture of, from peat............ 67

Peat, available amount of............. 65-66,68-69

distribution of..................... 63,65-66,69

drying of................................ 63-64

fuel from............................:... 64-65

gas production from............... 62-64,65,66

products of........................ 64-65,66-68

resources of.............................. 62-69

value of............................. 69

uses of................................ 62,64-65

Pennsylvania, coal of, supply and exhaustion

of............................... 23-24

iron ore of.................. 87-88,93,94-95,101

estimates of....... 88,90,94,95,101,102-103

natural gas in........................... 51

conservation of.................. 1... 60

petroleum of............................. 30

yield of.............................. 34

decrease in, chart showing....... 44

Petroleum, conservation of.............. 48-49,185

conservation of, recommendations on.... 50

discoveries of............................ 49-50

evaporation of, waste by................ 46

exports of............................... 48

occurrence of............................ 30,33

production of............................ 35-40

chart showing....................... 38

exhaustion of........................ 45-46

future of............................. 44-45

history of............................ 35-45

waste in............................. 46

substitutes for.........................i 49,185

supply of................................ 34-35

duration of........... '. .............. 44-46

use of, waste in.......................... 47-48

waste of................................. 46-48

prevention of........................ 48-49
INDEX. 213

Page. 

Petroleum, wells for......................... 40-42

wells for, average production of......... 43

crowding of, view of................. 32

lifeof................................ 42-43

waste of gas from..................... 58-59

See also Alaska, petroleum of. 

Petroleum fields, description of.............. 30-32

distribution of, map showing............ 30

Petroleum sands, porosity of................ 34

thickness of............................. 33-34

Phosphate deposits, character and distribution of......................... 159-164

fertilizers from........................... 164

foreign control of........................ 170

foreign supplies of....................... 169

geology of............................... 158

mining of, history of................... 157-158

waste in............................. 169

paper on.............................. 157-171

production of........................... 158

resources of........................ 157,159-167

duration of......:............. 165-167,168

Phosphates, export of................. 167-168,170

substitutes for......................... 169-170

Pillars, necessity for leaving, waste due to.... 11-12,

107,116,155 

Placer mines, estimation of............ 192,200-201

production from................... 122-123,126

reserves of............................... 123

title to.................................. 115

waste in............................... 127-128

Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, copper of... 202 

iron of................................... 191

Prince William Sound, Alaska, copper of.. 201-202 

Public lands, petroleum in, conservation of.. 48

R.

Richmond basin, Virginia, coal mining in... 8-9 

Road oiling, waste in........................ 48

Rocky Mountain iron ores, occurrence and

character of.................... 99-100

production of.......... . ................. Ill

S. 

St. Elias Range, Alaska, gold of............. 195

Seward Peninsula, Alaska, coal of........... 180

gold of................................ 197-198

Siliceous iron ores, availability of............ 75

Silver, consumption of....................... 131

exports of............................... 131

price of.................................. 129

production of............................ 129

plate showing....................... 128

Silver ores, character and distribution of.... 114

extent of................................ 114-

production from......................... 130

resources of............................ 130-131

duration of........................ 130-131

smelting of, waste in.................... 117

See also Metallic ores; Alaska. 

Slack coal, waste in......................... 14

Smelter fumes, damage by................... 118

waste in............................... 117-118

Smelting, losses in........................... 117

South Carolina, iron of, ores of............... 90

iron ores of, estimate of............. 91,102-103

Paga 

South Carolina, phosphates of............. 160-161

phosphates of, exhaustion of.......... 165,169

production of...................... 158,161

South Dakota, coal of, supply and exhaustion

of..........................:.... 24

gold of, production of.................... 121

natural gas in........................... 51

Spelter, production of..................... 150-151

production of, plate showing............ 150

Stable litter, use of peat for.................. 66-67

Steel, production of, chart showing.......... 110

Susitna basin, Alaska, gold of............... 195

T.

Tailings, storage of............ 116-117,127,144,150

Tar, market for.............................. 17

waste of................................. 15-17

Tennessee, coal of, supply and exhaustion of.. 24

copper of.............................. 133,135

iron ores of..................... 88-89,91,92,96

estimate of......... 89,90,94,95,96,102-103 <\

petroleum of............................. 30

phosphates of......................... 161-162

exhaustion of.................. 165-166,169

production of...................... 158,163

Texas, coal of, supply and exhaustion of..... 24

iron ores of........................ 96-97,99-100

estimate of..................... 97,102-103

natural gas in........................... 51

petroleum of......................... 31,32,34

quality of........................... 32

yield of.............................. 34-35

Titaniferous ores, availability of............. 75

estimate of.............................. 103

occurrence and character of..... '...... 71,82-83

U.

Utah, arsenic in, wasteof.................... 118

coal of, supply and exhaustion of........ 24-25

copper of.......................... 133,139-140

iron ores of.............................. 101

estimate of.................... 101 ,'102-103

lead of................................. 147-148

duration of.......................... 148

natural gas in........................... 51

phosphates of.......................... 163-164

duration of........................ 166-167

silver of, production of.................. 130

zinc of................................... 154

V.

Van Hise, C. R., on Utilization of sewage.... 169

Van Horn, ¥. B., on phosphate deposits.. 157-171

Virginia, coal of, supply and exhaustion of... 25

iron ore of............................ 88,90-93

estimate of............ 88,90,91,94,102-103

W.

Washington, coal of, supply and exhaustion

of............................... 25

Iron ores of ............................. 101

estimate of........................ 102-103

natural gas in........................... 51

Water power, conservation of, coal saving by. 29 

Wells, high-pressure gas, waste from......... 57-58
214 INDEX.

Page. 

West Virginia, coal of, supply and exhaustion

of............................... 25

iron ore in............................... 88,03

estimate of.................. 90,94,102-103

natural gas in........................... 51

conservation of...................... 60

petroleum of............................ 30,33

White, I. C., on natural-gas waste........... 59

White lead, wasteful use of.................. 149

Wisconsin, iron ores of................... 77,86-87

estimates of.............. 80,87,90,102-103

zinc of................................... 153

Wood, manufacture of, from peat............ 67

substitution of peat for..................' 05

Wright, C. W., on iron of Alaska ............ 191

Wyoming, coal of, supply and exhaustion of. 25-26 

copper of.............................. 133-134

iron ores of............................. 99-100

estimate of........................ 102-103

natural gas in........................... 51

petroleum of......'...................... 32

phosphates of......................... 163-164

duration of........................ 166-167

Y. Page.

Yakataga, Cape, Alaska, petroleum of....... 190

Yukon region, Alaska, coal of............. 179-180

gold of................................ 196-197

Zinc, consumption of...................... 154-155

production of.......................... 150-151

plate showing....................... 150

recovery of.............................. 155

Zinc ores, character and distribution of...... 114

extent of................................. 114

mining of, waste in...................... 155

resources of............................ 152-154

duration of.......................... 154

silver from.............................. 130

smelting of, waste in ............... 117,155-156

tariff on................................. 155

waste of............................... 155-156

See also Metallic ores; Alaska.

Zinc paint, production of.............. 150-151,154

production of, plate showing............ 150

o