The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-11-07
OUR GREAT IRON ORE DEPOSITS.
A Description of the Great Car
roll County Gossan.

The Orc is Practically free From Man
gancsc and Yields From I6 to Il" per
Cent. OF Ir"n-Thc Success of the Conn
pany Has Been Phenomenal.
The article below, written by the
special cores pondcnt OF the Iron Agc
accompanying the late visit of the
foreign engineers through the South. is
the fullest and most satisfactory account
of tho great ''Gossan'' iron ore deposits
of Carroll county that has yet appeared.
and is we'll worth Il careful rca ding:
tndauntcd by rain, the ma lority do
parted. going first to Ivanhoc. thirty-two
miles, and then to the mines proper. Il
distance of forty-eight miles from
Pulaski Among those who acted as
guides were a. j. Dull and Andrew =.
MacCroath. OF Harrisburg, and T.. c.
Pechin, of Roanoke. The Gossan lode
is Il deposit of pyrrhotitc. which has
been traced for distance of about six
teen miles. 1t is cut by Chestnut creek
and it's western end by Croole ed creek.
so that thcro are ready facilities for at
lacking the deposit. Like the majority
of pyritcs beds its outcrop is oxidizcd.
and it is this part of the vein which has
become tho source OF iron orc.
The lode varies in dip from thirty to
fifty degrees, and in some points, partic
ularly where its dip is gentle. it dips
with the slope of the hill. being entirely
exposed in some cases, while in others
the amount of stripping to he done is
light. The width OF the lode. mcasur-
ing vertically from wall to wall. varies
from 20 To l15 feet. tho latter figure be-
ing reached at the Great Outhurst mine.
Naturally. tho oxidizinr and teaching
influences have extended TO varying
depths at different points along the lode.
ON the whole. the obScrvati ton has hcen
made that OH the narrow portions of the
belt the zone of decomposition extends
TO depth of fifty feet. while it is shall
lower where the body is larger. The
topography OF the country has probably
cXcrted considerable influence upon it
The normal depth of decomposition is
said to he about thirty feet.
The Gossan lode therefore represents
surface strip of great length in the
lode, hut shallow. SO far as depth is con
cerned. In the aggregate the amount
of ore in sight must he enormous. and
the cost of mining. with open cut work
exclusively and ready access for mining
must be low. 1t is estimated by excel
lent authority that the orc can he put
in the cars from the larger bodies ut
fifty cents per ton. Where the dip is
gentle and conforms TO the slope of tho
hill the change into brown hematitc of
the ''mundic" (pyritcs) will have taken
place deeper. both from the outcrop and
along the slope OF the bed. and per con
ira, where the bed dips stceply into the
hillside. the covering along the dip or
slope of the bed will have prevented
any great amount of change, except
along the outcrop.
Again, where the creeks have cut
through the deposit. the change will
have taken place not only along the
natural outcrop on top. but along the
exposed edges OF the bed as well. thus
giving good face OF ore from near the
water level up To the outcrop on top of
hill. with. OF course. the unaltercd core
of mundic following up the slope of the
erodcd hillside, having top covering
of GosSan just as it has along the out
crop. The erosion caused by tho streams
cutting through the bed. while il has
carried away 4 good deal OF mundic. has
more than compensated for this by al
lowing the mundc bed to be changed
into Gossan along the face of the hill
down from the natural outcrop on top.
and at the samo time afforded natural
avenues for branch railroads and for
mining operations.
Tho ground has been very thoroughly
Onnppd "a nd hon,uun IN
mcr wears Il good deal OF mining and OK
plurrtinu u-o.; carricd IN, for on,,rn, IL