Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-12-28
fpaper No. s, illustrated rith Mop
p1cuSoun mr. r1nH.wArER COAL FIELD.

p,cuvoyn I'm HER FACILITIES IN CONNECTION
WITH HER COAL FIELD AND IRON ORES
In our last article, paper No. :, wealluded to
tbe manufacture of coke, from our moderately
Unanimous coal, for the purpose Of the iron
mo.,cr The use ofour coal for such purpose must
he of the greatest importance to the city Of
Richmond and indeed to the whole Of Eastern
Virginia; and, in order to draw attention 70
this subject, in connection with others result
ing, we add here moro extended NOTICE.
As we before stated, ton of coal can be mineo
for one dollar, and manufactured into coke ana
delivered at the furnaces for another dollar-hi''
king a total cost of 81 90 per ton. The ord''
narv loss of weight in cokeing, is 20 per cen.
but in we'll arranged coke ovens it is only ~
nor cent, and the cost of handling not more ex-
pensiyc than that of moving coal or other mas
sive material.
This if the iron master mines his own
csal and manufactures his own coke, 1t can
actually be produced, as low Us the Anthncites
IF PENNSYLVANIA can now be delivered to the
furnaces of the Lehigh, or those at Lebanon,
ot Danyillc or other iron producing regions
and rs cheap as it can be produced at the
Cumberland iron works or any part OF the
West, As fuel is of the first Importance in
the iron business, and since it exists here IN
unlimited abundance, we cannot see any
obstacle in the way of producing cheap lroh,-
Ii NAV be objected that the ores are 100 lar
from the fuel; and that might be the case were
the coals in the mountains and the roh 0'e'
here, on tide-watcr; but the case IS reversed
The coal is where the iron mast come, either III
its raw or manufactured state; ana, since
existing circumstances enable us to BRING IL III
one condition rs cheap as the other, we can
not see any benefit that would result 10 inc
| Eastern markets from the coal being near 'he
ores in the mountains. The Goals ana ores
however, of Montgomery county; are eAienie'
! " we'll adapted for the South" estern mar
| kets, but il would be much better 70 Drihs inc
ores of the Blue Ridge to the coal at richmond
than tho manufactured iron OF montgomery
county, 1t is true, that 1t would SUN DC
greater advantage had we the ores as near uoe
water rs We have the coal, but instead Of COM
plaininc, we ought to be thankful, since we are
better off than our neighbors VINO must 80 10
the mountains for both coal and iron. we arc
not destitute, however, Of iron ores even mere
and from what we have seen in the coal heio
and around it, we are led to believe our re-
sources in the item Of iron ores are not even
partially developed.
We find on the Deep Run arm oil the coal
| field immense masses Of iron stone, lying IN
rer,lar beds beneath the coal seams hitherto
deycloped; and we also find several stratiflca'
tions of rich ores. immediately everything the
coal throughout the basins III that district
! We have, moreover, good authority to state
that large masses of specular ore exist outside
of the coal field, in the granite formation OF the
immediate neighborhood The only ditfcuity IN
| making such discoveries lie in the fact that the
whole of this section of country is deeply Gov
ercd with n wash of decomposition, winch IS
frequently foreign to the locality on which II IS
found, and consequently coneeais Whatever
NAV lie beneath it, In that part OF the coal
field which lies in the vicinity Of the Iuckahoe
and the Garrison or Bcllona Foundry, We have
seen some fine outcrops Of comparatively rlch
ores; but they all partake of the carbonates Oh
tbc coal measures, and are not as rich as the
magnificent ores Of the mountains. But NIX
ture of these ores of the coal region with the
richer ores of the upper counties Will not only
be found profitable. but also be found 10 pro-
ducc better iron than that formed from any
one variety. =, A..
We are not so well acquainted with the
southern portion of the coal field, rs far as the
iron ores are concerned, and cannot say posi-
lively ANYTHING in relation to them, but from
descriptions, We are led to think less favorably
of its ability to produce iron. In fact the VI
cinitv of the James River seems the only avail
able locality in Eastern Virginia for the manu-
factory of iron, since here we have that va
riety Of coal which is better adapted for the
making of coke than for any other purpose,
and here it is found in connection with such
ores as those which produce the great body OF
English iron. 1t is near the falls Of the James
River where the cheapest and most available
mower can be had for manufacturing purposes.
Il is on the great ,cater line to the mountains,
which can supply, at the lowest rates, for
TRANSFORMATION. the various ores OF Bucking-
ham and other iron producing counties, both
below and above the Blue Ridge; and the ave.
nues by water are here open to the markets OF
the whole Of Eastern Virginia and the South.
The cost Of manufacturing ton OF iron at
Richmond, using the mountain ores exclusive
", would not be over sl5, as we have before
stated. In order to get at these figures, we
will calculate the separate cost OF the items: