The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-02-09
A Chance for Richmond.

Ores for BKssEMsR Pig.Mcta'." which is OF
great interest to us here in Virginia, ana OF
sps cial interest, we should think, 70 Tue DUST
ne4s.men Of Richmond.
There Is great difficulty, it appears, Ia pro-
curing here in the East suitable iron ores TOT
the manufacture Of BEssENER Pug. The
troIb,e about the BEssiMER process Is 70 Sc
cure a pig-;ron practically free from phos'
nhorus- and this has 10 be made from ores
coutaiuing very low percentage OF that suo'
s.ance--whica must not exceed ohe.tenth OF
one per cent. This demands an ore OF great
purity, and, with few exceptions, one very
rare ia the United States. The first BEssEAEE
metal made in the United States was converted
from West Cumberland pis from England, ana
l. was not until some years mad elapsed that
Like Superior and the Iron Mountains ores Of
Missouri; were used. Al present NC lmpor'
ores for this purpose even from Africa. SUIT
able ores for the BEssEMER process are also
found in the State Of New York, as in Wash
irg;on county, on the line Of the Saratoga
and Whitehall railroad and on the Champ'ain
canal. The great scarcity Of these ores, the
difficulties of transporting them such great
distances, and the consequent high price de-
manded for them make It, says the Iron age
necessary to ascertain if other deposits suit
able for the manufacture of BEssEMEK pig
cannot be found In some other portion Of the
country.
The question then arises" says the Iron
Hqe,"@ ls there accessible to the works east
"of the Alleghanies region containing de
posts equal to, and if possible precisely
/" silnila, to, those Of Lake Superior or Mis-
.souri" This has been always denied, but,
proceeds the journal in question, eve ven
"ture The statement that such an ore region
"does exist within easy transportation of the
"Lehicb, SchuyikiIl, and Susquehanna val
"lcys." 1hlS REGION says
The Iron Ace, "is located in Virginia, and
occupies a territory of some twenty miles
Sin length BY three to five miles in breadth.
1.-THE geological formation is very similar to
"tbat of the Lake Superior region, the ores
"are identical in character, the rocks are the
"same, and the great popularity Of that re-.
"sion in the different varieties Of ore in the
same section, beginning with the magnetic
"apd proceeding through red oxide, specu-
liar, spatbic, and hematte, all in limited
"urea, and in several notable cases in the
sesame yein.formaion, is here noticeable"
The quantity, it is said, it would be I'M
possible 10 compute-so great is the area and
1,o
port OF lis assertions, proceeds then TO give
elaborate tables Of analyses Of these Virginia
ores made by Professor GENTH, Of the Uni
ver>ity of Pennsylvania; and it then gives,
for the purpose Of comparison, table Of
analyses made by Professor NEwBURY Of the
Lake Superior ores. 1t then gives the fol-
lowing results:
COMPARISON BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR AND
VIRGINIA ORES.
Metallic lohos-
IRON. phOruS
ncs, Lake Superior, Washington. 6594 OIL
Fest Virginia. no. l6...... .Go32 0.O3o
Second b+st Lake superior Jack 90
sce icon nest Virsiinls, 10. 3.o57I o.oo9
THIRD hst Lake Superior, New nm ~
York mine. .O3.UU VIZ
Il,rd best Virgins, No. 6.........63.97 0.04S
"These comparisons" says the Iron Age,
" indicate that the three best Virginia ores
:. here .abulated contain in each instance more
Iron and less phosphorus than the three
I: best ores Of Lake Superior, the Virginia
d" analyses being also from outcropS, and
"lhose of Lake Superior from present
" workings, generally al considerable depth
The Iron Age then pre- cceds to compare
-.:.k,
dish ores, the Gallivara and the Dannemora,
and shows (by the analyse>) that they are
also superior to these.
We are farther told that in addition TO the
There are numerous deposits of very pure
"broHn hematites, rich in iron ard free from
"Shos phorus, while sulphur IS unknown in
=. the ores Of this region" "NJr
while We ure n search Of the material tor
1.-the Bessemer industry can we afford TO iS
"nore the existence here of the ores OF man.
"gancse, which supply, in admiXturc, the
"preci.e material for the production OF
spiegeleisep. Those acquainted
"with the rne!aiurgy of spiegele;scn will
'readiIy see that the use Of this ore With
brown hematite, mentioned above, or, in
"deed, with the magnctiteS named, would
produce The very best quality Of that
"metal."
The Iron Age concludes:
"WiIh such ores in the abundance here
stated. the Besscmer Industry may be eX-
tended at will, and that metal produced not
only for rails, but ship plates, deck beams,
machine uses, and all the purposes for which
il is so well adapted. For superior bar iron,
or forge pig from which 10 produce it, an
opportunity Is here offered to rival Swedish
irons, and also furnish the very choicest ma.
terial Tor conversion into crucible or Martin
steel" etc.
These remarkable deposits, We under
stand, lie on the James River and kanawha
canal, below Lyrchburg.
The question arises, What do they need
for their development? Of course, when the
matter is well understood the lands will be
bought up and the ores shipped away TO the
furnaces OF Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
New York, &C.; but il cheap Goals could be
brought into The James River Valley the fur.
naces and foundries could spring up here,
and Richmcnd could be great centre #
the iron manufacture, as could Lynchburq.
The question is, How Shall We bring the
Goals OF the Kama wha Valley to the iron-felds
Of the Upper james? Richmond cannot be
an Indifferent reader of these important facts.
She can take an important part ia the deyel-
opment of this wealth. The. greatest hope