Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1873-01-25
TENNESSEE IRON INTERESTS.

As the facts concerning the cost OF man
ufacturinp iron in East Tennessee become
known. heavy iron capitalists are coming
here to inves. and develop our mines.
Gen. Wilder was the pioneer of this great
interest, which is now becoming so inn
portant to our State. Roane county Is
now literally noisy with the hum of this
growing industry. In addition to the in
crease in the capacity of the Roane Iron |
Company's blast furnaces at lockwood,
three other companies are preparing to
manufacture iron in the same neig hbor-
hood. Some time ago, the CHRONICLE
published letter from New York con-
corning the operations and prospects Vi
the Oakdale Iron Company, whose lur-
mace will blow in sometime uurlhS
this spring. A Youngstown (Ohlo) COM
pany have made purchases near lockwood
and propose building furnace soon. An
agent of heavy English capitalists is pros
Meeting in the same vicinity, thus far most
fayorably impressed. This is all in Roane
county. Some days ago we published
letter from o. C. King, of Messy Creek,
reporting the sale of some iron property in
Cooke county to a Philadelphia firm.
There are still other valuable iron mines
in the same neighborhood for sale, OF
which we will write hereafter. All these
facts are gratifying indications that iron
men have at last come to appreciate the
richness, cheapness and unsurpassed ad-
yantages for the working of our iron ores.
The information that has awakened this
deep interest in our iron mines has oeen
largely furnished by General Wilder we
have seen a late copy of the american
Manufacturer, published at Pittsburgh,
which contains the following valuable
letter. More information of Importance
to this great interest could not
well be put into less space.
The letter is editorially introduced in
very f1attering terms, and the opinion ex-
pressed that in the future Pittsburgh iron
would look largely to Tennessee for thell
ores: I.
RoASE IRON Co., RocKwooD, Tenn,
November 3D. 1872.
Joseph d. Weeks Editor:
DEAR SIR-Your favor of November l4tl
reached me here In answer have to say tina
the naper spoken of has not come to hand a
soon as received it shall receive attention. W.
are working here vein of dry semi bitnminou
coal. VARYING in thickness from 10 to 4o feet ano
in some places much thicker. The vain is very
much disturbed one entry is three-fourths rt
mile long, We work the lump coal raw, AM
coke the slack Have been running TOUR year
with one twenty ton furnace; Will dow IN GU
second stack in February of forty-fve tons ca
nactv. The vein of coal lies on top OF the con
gIomerate sandstone of the lower coal measures
Will only coke when pulverized and wet WORK
splendidly in the furnace when raw; we we use SCI W
rcd fossiliferous ore without mixture. It'll foun
in a ridge running parallel to and close at Id
foot of the Cumberland Mountains nave wv
veins, one varying from two to hVe Ieet th T,
and the other three to fifteen feet thick. In
limestone for fux is between the ore and COZ
and is two hundred feet thick, sub carbontel
ous. Ores. cold short; coal and lime. very puT,
Coal costs at furnace $l.50 per ton, ore Sl to
per ton, lime IS cents per ton. 1t required la
wear 9 tons coal mined for each ton ofpls
made. Ore at surface yields about 42per cen
under ground or mine ore 62 to 66 per cent. "
use2 per cent. of lime for fux; these are 60
working results in the furnace by the year. In
ore veins begin down IN Central Alaoama an
Virginia; in Alabama they yield from 30 to
per cent There is also another vein of ore, n
so rich as those nsed by u.s., near here, varyir
in thickness from to 20 feet. This compaI
are now running narrow gauge road TO IL. r.
four hundred miles from Central Alabama, I
through Tennessee into Virginia the ore, co
and limestone are contiguous and ,perslSter
some sections oft better and thicker than othel
With the Cincinnati Southern Railroad hnlsht
to Chattanooga via Emory Gap, Pittsburgh ca
get her cheapest supply of ores from this reglo
as the road will run along the ore beds for
miles of its southern end Mr.. Devlin, OF t.
firm of Deylin & McCulla, of Pittsburgh, we
over large section of this country in Septer
Der last, and can verify these statements.
am very respectfully,
Ut. WILDER Supt R. l. Co.