The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-03-14

constant Cneme OF remark IN the reports OF
Prof. VIM. B. Rogers, and they often yield
in the RUN Of the furnace as much as 60 per
cent. Of metallic iron noted for Its general
excellence" The following is minute
analysis of this ore, made by Profs. Booth
and GARRETT for Hon. VIM. Mines, Jr.,
manager of the Shenandoah Iron Works:
Peroxide Of II
Oxide OF Manganese. trace
Alumlna......-... ............... ~
0.1o
Phosphoric Acid Is
Metallic Iron. 1884
PHOSPHORUS. .u6
The pig iron from this analysis would be
likely to show 0.l07 per cent. of phosphor-
us.
Preceding the above analysis, Messrs.
Booth & Garrett say ''Iron ores upon
the western slope Of the Blue Ridge have
been extensively developed, and, as an ex-
ample Of these ores, especially on the line
between the Metamorphoric rocks of the
ridge and the Potsdam sandstone, we mem
ton the ores of tile Fox Mountain, in Page
county, near the Shenandoah Iron Works.
From the excavation made in the ore bank,
some 80, 900 tons Of iron have been extract
ed, and yet there remains sufficient for
large iron works in sight, independently of
the extension of the vein or bed in the line
Of bearing; the ore is rich brown hema-
tite of good quality, varying somewhat in
its content Of Phosphorus in different kinds
of ore, and containing streaks Of mangani-
ferrous ore passing through the bed.''
Your correspondent, at the time OF his
visit to the western slope Of the Blue Ridge,
paid special attention to the ore bank above
alluded to, and from it obtained some mag
nificent samples of ores. The excavation,
I should think, is now about 30 feet deep,
covering an area Of about two acres (per-
haps little more). The walls OF the exca-
walton exhibit very heavy beds Of solid ores,
the bottom of which cannot be seen. The
ore outcrops and lies in solid, stratified
bed from the top to the bottom Of the dig
ging, and has every appearance of being
very much deeper. This bank has supplied
the ore used at the Shenandoah Iron
Works for the past 30 years, and from the
way this deposit lies presenting as it does
unmistakable evidence Of having been sub
jected to an unheavaD it has for long time
been regarded as a pocket" without any
line of bearing beyond the present pit; but
Mr.. Mines claims to have found the line Of
bearing, and that it is regularly stratitied
bed extending some distance from the
present workings. This discovery is now
plainly marked, and the line bearing is evil
dent from the fact that upon a 1000 acre
tract owned or controlled by the Virginia
Land Bureau OF Harrisonbnrg) adjoining
this ore bank, the same kinds OF ores are
found, both outcropping and in heavy beds
which appear from several wells that have
been dug upon this tract for the purpose OF
determining the thickness of the vein.-
From those wells obtained some fine speci-
mems without particular selection, CORE
spending in quality ard character to that Of
the bank worked by the Shenandoah Iron
Company.
Maj, Jed Hotchkiss, in speaking of these
brown hematite ores Of the Western slope
of the Blue Ridge, referring to the above
analysis, quotes from the remarks of Messrs
Booth and CARROTS report, as follows "It
is noteworthy for its percentage Of iron,
small amount of slick, with ample alumina
to Stag it off; its small percentage Of sui
phur and phosphorus for containing one
eighth water, making it more reducible il
the bosh of the furnace; and from the pro-
portion the small amount of sulphur and
phosphorus bear to each other, they SHOULD
neRtralize the hot and cold short properties
they respectively impart to iron. They
consider this adapted to Bessemer steel.
The furnace that used this ore "a common
cold-blast stack from Jan. IS to Dec. 49,
1866, made 1893 tons (224O lbs.) Of pig iron
from 3,3OO,194 lbs. of ore; 367,500 lbs.
| limestone, and 104, l25 bushels of charcoal
a yield of over 81 per cent. Of metallic iron.' .
| In several localities within this mineral
| field there are fine beds Of manganese and
some heavy strata of specular and spin
ores, yielding from 35 to 40 per cent. of me
tallc iron, and deemed valuable for mixing
with the richer ores of that section. The
present mine of the Shenandoah Iron
Works, though it has been worked con-
stantly for the past 30 years, will probably
without extending its present area, furnish
ore enough for first-class furnace thirty
more years at any rate, there is plenty Of
the same strata on adjoining lands. Ii
close proximity to these ores limestone OIL
excellent quality lies out and is easily quar-
ried. There are in this vicinity several ex
cellent sites for furnaces, where ore, flu,
and water are in abundance, and the com
pletion OF the narrow gauge railway (Which
partly finished and will doubtless soon reacl
the Dora coal mines) will bring the best o
fuel within easy access and at a very mod
crate cost. There are several new railroad
laid out through the valley and chartered
(some partly finished, which will connec
with the Baltimore and Ohio and the Ches
apeake and Ohio lines, with branch track
leading to the different ores and coal mines
will now give you description of VIVA
1 saw upon the property belonging to tn
Eureka Iron and Manufacturing Company
This property embraces the original tract
known as the Elizabeth 1898 A. and Este
line e,110A. Properties, containing In tn
aggregate -, lO3 acres, and includes the Lii
tie North Mountain, the Big Mountain, Va
riety Ridge and large portion OF the Grea
North Mountain, and lying on both sides
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
The Elizabeth ore bank is about three
quarters of a mile up the valley from tt
line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroa,