The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-08 00:00:00

THE COAL FIELDS OF LEITRIM,

About three miles from Drumkeerin, six from Lough
Allen, and nine miles south of Manorhamilton,' there is
a district called Crevelea, upon which operations were
commenced last February, by a Scotch company, for the
purpose of making pig-iron. Their mineral take extends
to the side of Lough Allen, but their present openings
are immediately in the district just named. A gentleman
of great experience as a civil engineer, and a member of
the British Association, now resident in Belfast, has just
visited the scene of these operations, and from a brief
memoir which he has made of what he observed, we are
permitted to copy the following extract :—" I found
they had the coals creeping out in various places, con-
sisting of two beds near each other, each from 21
to 3 feet in thickness. In proximity to these, they have
two strata of iron stone, the one in balls from the size of
an orange to 18 inches in diameter, both most easily ob-
tainable, and the former particularly of the best kind,
being equal to any stone found in the three kingdoms,
and both carbonates of iron, from which two tons of the
calcined stone will make one ton of pig iron. The coal
is a brilliant black, of the utmost value as to its coking
Powers, as well as equal to the best coals of South Wales
for evaporating steam, and singularly free from sulphur,
the indication of which is only decimal 0.5 per cent. I
found a good road made, and all the outlay necessary for
a blast furnace ; an engine of more than 100 horse
power ; and the furnace, being heated, was to be able to
charge in a few days ; also: large quantities of ore cal-
cined, and coals ready as soon as the furnace was suffi-
ciently dry to use. From the way in which
the coal and iron-stone are Obtainable, they can
be brought to the furnace for about three shillings
per ton ; and looking at the quality and the arrange-
ment,. altofzether, I have no hesitation in saying that
they will make iron as cheap as, if not cheaper, than in
either Scotland or England ; and the quality of their
pig-iron will be second to none, since, with similar ma
terials, ti.is result has ever been insured. Although I
had a right toe:•;pect a good deal from what I had heard
before the nlal,e, it went even beyond my expec-
tations ' • and I returned satisfied that it only requires
for that district to be opened by railway communication,
in a very few years to make Leitrim the Staffordshire of
Ireland. If such a field of mineral wealth were known
to exist in any part of England which had no such means
of access, 11 am quite sure a very short time would elapse
before it, ould be at once developed, and its riches_ made.
available. I give thin
. , opinion as an engineer long ac
-
no wiL,n mineral Properties in England and having
no interest personally in annyoptroperty in Leiirim." The
field of these operations is
which
have
Yavfar distant from the
Arigna, Company's works
eleen unfortunately discontinued in consequence of arigna enUlbination. among the workmen. The value of the
is indisputable,
tf
in proof of which we may state that an
be
facturing firm in Belfast have a steam engine
the quality of the iron in which they affixm to t,„, peen_
Varly good.