New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-02-17
WEST VIRGINIA.
VAST RESOURCES OF THE STATE TIL TO
BE MEASURED
OF WEST VIRGINIA IRON ORE
yrw METHODS HAVE MAD THE on
VERSION OF THIS ORE INTO
STEEL POSSIBLE

vro , Ct ,yF CORRESPONDENT or TIE TRibUNE.l
ui,ton w Va. Feb. THE untouched re-
sources Of West Virginia are almost equaiH Hu
nortont with those already exploited. Inc H'",I
is not great in agriculture. Inc HIS '""V Mo-a
sroh mines Of unworked metal ana are clo'"eu
Nth sncb magnificent forests are lt 'e ~
nart tbinIv oycrspread with soil. bluegrass 'h"'
hoe done 50 much for Kentucky, even SuPp'St"7
il, with q nickname, flourlsheS rahKy io" ,"e
Rio SANDY 10 the Cheat River. ana may Soir0 u"'
sunnort thousands of stables ana u"iS
Rnt for hay timothy is stll uhrlN"N'"' N"'
h,shondmor lament that tie bluegrass oVcf-
runs it in spite Of persistent plouS","0' rLa corn
nlaces there is a fair yield OF ceIeais' Inc WI"
- 49,, rIoa+;ru1 oronoh TO encourage hoG-falsing'
onG inst scarce enough to preclude rivalry WIZ"
,bo West Salt wells opened a century "eo 'N
AZ ant brinc. Vine-cultuTc Is IN us Ihi"nC''
NJ ,rcostono near Grafton has been uscu ~ ~
poI,inoro ond Ohio Railroad III all ITS pFlo|e' ""'
o,,vor,s ord there are great beds oil pro"'S,oN'
of tbc kind used in Fifth-ave. iacaoeS' '"'' no
ONLY inst been uncovered. Tic pottery w "1
CLAW owoit the announcement OF processes ie
IN their profitable Jump p"O ,ho
one possession that OF ltseh "o"i"
future. That is iron. o,orod
os toto voors reologists have greatly ai'ci."
their dog1nas concerning the hlslolS " 49,.
In the old schoOlbooks it was lalu INV" .
iron was of igncous or volcanic orlSlh' ""O ~"
reollv n part of the earth's molten cen'io 'm
had been disturbed by some aAteoilu>i"N ~
beayol and squeezed out between cr"oNo i" ~s
n"at rho theory now is that mctal-Dear"ls
rocl,s like those marked WIN s'I"''' ="
,osrlt If aces Of f~ltrations from ancient seas =,
hotwoor snbtcrrancan heats and ae!laI
ot;1e This whole State, in its eastern paio''N''
onntoirs rock masses that represent a series VI
- oI,ornations. OF the line magnetic U"'
anrisoa for man in natures Workshop, shc n1
horIlr y Mound. The sparkling gray VAIN Vi So
wotol that so dazzlcd the eyes oil '"e "'
ironmustcrs the other day at C'rh""li j.,
erlyonio can never he dupllcaleu III
- ,ooior nor is it likely that the inner i"N'
cn~oriar ores will lie displaced by discoveries =
PINT of the commOncr grades 'h"V "'
.rIioc,eI to the lcwcst chcmlcal o
chances. West Virginia possesses d sup ~
thar y : long and as broad as inc iu"'0'
Tho rocks are of all shapes ara coios' -"
found in all positions. On the hil9''?
lor, like huge wcns or tuIho'S' p"S9'"- arn
n, or tho ~cayt!'s crust, dipping uhdeI ''""
o", onnoor; nc in uudulating folds al oppos'c
aroios In the lowlands they are enlpe""'" " "
49, - s,onc like sralaemites III caVcrhs "no''
l. vo collopsed. Alorg the riyer-pahK, INV "P
or IN i,,iro,r MS association with coal, Of ain ~
naDT IN Ill ElnN.r
schoolboy's slate, and explorers WIN ST.
49,. ,,,,rs of alluyial soil where, peI'H," pa
81 ,onlors bl2cl;cring into coal, put sun '
;no w.. form and structure oil t!elr N"N''' -~
fect from the day, sou can see h"I"'ni"7 IL,
of rcL sand that represent IrOH " 'N
embryonic stage W.. v;rcinia. ore
heds has olly recently been asccr'al'u,
density Of the woods and the lack Vi ~
'tHoNNt lt - * nnN KnONH
have DELAYED exploration. But u 10 ~" ntIro
,ho, the Great iron-belt between the blne NUE.
"" ,ta tlcnhanies exists uninterruptcdly WITHIN
these borders, ana That i'll tons oil iroh' d - "~
% coal Penn>yly ania is far outran4ed.
ne tho available ore there is the " black oaho'
s;ro;lor 70 that from which the valuable scotch
Mo Is made. the " clrbonatcs, cruoe, al" "H"'
nv Atmospheric decomposition, that gehef"hS y
tain lime enough for " %tiuXing," and the hen@-
,itos and "binonitcs,' that excel each oVner
in Tho freedom from water and possession Il ''
virtues conferred by cycles OF exposure 10 'nc NJ
Some of the beds vary greatly III 'hlcKhess' !.
all arc found in workable quantities al uiheien'
noints. Many of these contain so much coaiS
matter that they may be piled in heaps ana roaSleu
into a higher grade, the residue after the burning
yielding high percentages OF pure metal IL .N
nense of working, thanks to the nearness OF COKE
falIs far below the average, and Governor fleui-
ing is Authority for the statement that an Ehshsh
,yndicate's expert declares that plg-lron may DC
made in the northeastern corner OF the state iol
less money than has ever yet been PAID. lhls OF
itself should insure large operations, and when the
country has been thoroughly opened up, the manu-
facture of ore Will become a staple industry.
There are three or four ways OF converting IRON
into steel. The Oldest and best, though most cx-
repsive. IS 10 take the rough pig-iron, representing
the first melting from the ore, extract the carbon
T.. f,o,,apt iurnipu and then restore III by causing
the metal to absorb charcoal in a hot furnace.
This makes the highest grade of caSt-steel, used
IN razors and table cutlery. Another way is 10
pour the whitc-hot metal into a Bessemer Nat, OF
converter, lined with friedrich, add lime and man.
ganese and force through it from the bottom a con-
tinuous a!r-blast of tremendous power. This de-
stroys the carbon and eXpels other substances found
In the ore. The Stag is drawn from the top OF
the burning liquid and the residue runs on INTO
pigs Of mild" steel. suitable for bridges ana raliS'
The objection to the Bessemcr process is that 1t
fails sufficiently to clarity the iron. The demon
of iron is phosphorus, and if the ore holds more
than an intinitesimal quantity 1.-THE authorities say
1-lO of l per cent il is useless in the Bcssemer re-
torts. some years ago two young Engllsh cheul-
ists-oDe il dead, the other was II America last
October-succecdcd IN extracting from the molten
steel Impurities that the BcsSemer process could
not grasp. Instead Of lining thelr rctort with
brick made from an acid material, they lined IT
with brick formed Of c~oaltGr and charrcd dolomite
Ia yellOwish EneStone). This, instead Of dlsre-
garding the phosphorus, Immediately attracted IL.
Tic result was n pure product from l%ow-grade ore
The basic process revolutionizcd the whole
steel business. 1t was like teaching IA sailor TO
steer by Il compass in place Of a star. OF all
ore, little is approximately free from phosphorus
Under the Bessemer, or acid system. west
Virginia could never have turned out enough
steel to pay for the mining. Now her possible
ties are limited only by the number and rich
ness of her veins, and as soon as the basic rights
expiIe-I am told il will be in about two years
furnaccsSSill be " blown in" by the dozen. Smelt-
ing has hitherto been often attempted. But rows
-4-nI.nnA.,,nA nvo,A .ln,r fln InucIcNSneSS of in