Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-11-15
AN IRON MINE.
What Was Seen Hundreds of
Feet Underground.
A Fearful Explosion Which
Caused No Excitement.

| Comm Amsric0n. describing visit to
all iron mine. says: Under the lead of
an experienced miner we first went
down into an open mine. The opcra
ton of going down required tn, asil ity
OF II mountain sheep, but by turning.
twisting aud stretching we were at last
down among the miners. High above
our heads loomcd the si.lci of the m inc.
The ore docs not lie in a solil mass. but
III pockets, around which are great
quantities oil oclrc. Til, ochre is Of
all c'lo's. and the side, Of he mine arc
gay with their bright hucs When the
oc!rc is fine enough it can be worked
up into paints, rs it is done Just over
the line in New York sta.e a stccp
inclined railway admits of II cars de.
sccndinS down TO where the miners w orl
a series Of tracks running in III. dircc-
tions for the detached ore. a fatiguing
pull upward brought us on the normal
level of the grouad again anil to the
head Of the main incline, wher, en-.
trance is made into tbs underground
workings. This incline is $50 feet lone
and at its lower end the dopth IS 22O feet
from surfac, OF ground This incline
enters the ground ut an angle of % de-
grccs an l about half way down changes
the angie 10 1G degrees. The effect Of
looking down 10 where this anp.c
change is singular, Tor the lG degree
pitch seems to so upward and not down.
The top and sides arc very heavily tim
be'cd and divided into two parts; one
par, is ucd for hosting up the ore and
She other for walking up and down.
After going down for n short distance
tallow candles were produced and by
their feeble light we jumped, walked
on slippery planks and splashcd along
through tho water which runs into the
minc from all directions. At the bot
tom of the incline is IL large pump
which lifts the water up out of the mine
and forces it long way over to a
reservoir, where it is further used TO
make the ore marketable. Two reserve
pumps near the largo pump arc in rcadi
ness i'll case of emergency.
From this point we folio we'd out n
drift to its cn'l, where gang o miners
were at work drilling for blasting and
carrying away the ore already looscneI.
While here IL blast was set off in a drift
thirty feet Above our heals, and to me
the elect was startling. The crash, the
report AMI The shaking of the ground
wss tcrrify ing; however, seeing that no
one stopped work or seemed TO pay any
attention to it, l concluded was safe.
Near where three miners we're at work
was beautiful clear cool spring #
water, from which We refreshed our
selves.
a long, tiresomc pull finally Dr ought
us up out of the low temperature and
wctncss of the mine 10 the top of the
incline and into the building where is
The hosting machinery. This machinery
consists of two mammoth drums and an
oo-horsc. power engine. The engineer
Stands over these two drums. having be-
lore him the throttle valve Of the engine
md two sets OF wheels, one throwing in
Il clutch, the other patiny on brake.
one set being for each drum. A bell
tink!es, a clutch nj The throttle valve a
whiriin3 of one wheel, still another
twist on the other, and the great drum
revolvcS slowly and winds its steel rome
tightly around it. On Il dial plate n
pointer commences to slowly move
around, its course dcnoting exactly how
lar up either incline the car has reached
and by this pointer the engineer regu.
latcS its ascent or descent.
Adjoining the hoistin. house is
small reservoir filled with water from
the large pump at the foot of the main
incline. When cars reach ton of in
clincs they arc run over to the crusher.
where all large pieces are crushed in its
capacious jaws, the finer particles being
showed along toward the washers. A
swiftly running current of water has
pushed into it the ore and dirt MS
hoistcd out of the minc-the dirt is of
course washed from the orc by this
opcration-and then the ore passes
through the scparators, ono below the
other (thrcc in ally. until it is thorough.
iy washed, cleaned and in n marketable
condition. Full seventy five per cen
OF all that is hoistcd up from the mine
is washed away by the action of the
separators. The revolving motion of
these machines and the free use of
water accomplishcs all this with scarce
lY any attention Tho oro :, d.