The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-03-31
VIRGINIA ORES.
e G. Pechin in The Engineering
and Mining journal.


In my second article the following an
pears; ''Of the magnetic ores of the
older rocks little is known as yet as t.
quantity, and the mining is on so linn
tied O scale as to make them valueless
except for admixture to small exten
with the brown Ores" Since that wa:
written have made an examination o.
the only mining operations on these
ores in Virginia, and can give some de-
tails that, if not of positive value, are
! at least interesting.
The mines (so-calledl are at Pitts
& vile, seven miles from Franklin juno
tion, Pittsylvania county, Va, on the
Franklin branch of the Virginia Mid
land railroad. Mr. II. b. c. Mite, E
M, last July made very careful ex
animation Of and gave an elaborate re-
1 port upon the property, from which
make some extracts: The vein CT ore
which varies in character from true
magnetic to q specular hematite verg.
ing into magnetic, is situated in q
long, low ridge striking nearly north
east AMI southwest with the same.
It's longitudinal extent on the Pitts.
vile property is about three miles,
about one n lie of which has been de-
veloptd at different times.
"The general strike of the vein is be-
tween north and northeast and south
and southwest. At the Cook shaft the
vein has normal dip to the southeast
of from co to 70 degrees; east of this, at
the Davies shaft, it stands almost YER
tical, while at the eastern extremity of
the present workings the general dip is
toward the northwest, varying from the
vertical to IS degrees, occasionally ly-
ing quite fiat. though usually more in
clined, but showing strong evidence of
folding. Evidently some local pressure
has disturbed the vein here and pro-
duced rotary fault. The true hanging
wall of the vein at the western end of
the workings, where the vein is in a
normal position, is hard, compact,
garnetiferous gneiss, the foot wall be-
ing slaty sandstone"
went through all the levels that
were accessible, the lowest being at a
depth of $50 feet. AT places, notably at
the face of a level 90 feet deep at about
the middle of the workings, there was
fully four feet of excellent-looking ORE
at other places the lead had pinched to
IN inches, 18 inches and 16 inches, and
was told that at times it was narrower;
then again it had evidently widened to
possibly or feet. AS nearly as could
ascertain, the ground had been opened
In 1879 by the Pennsylvania Steel Com
pany, which states that it received from
these mines some 1855, $50 tons. 1t aban-
doned them number of years since, the
reason being given that freightage to it's
works was too heavy. Since then the
mines have been worked in a small way
by Major e. S. Hutter, of Lynchburg,
Va, and lately and now by a lessee
under him, and the product has been
shipped to mum Der Of Pennsylvania
furnaces. and to the Pulaski, Grocer,
Glen Wilton and Lynchburg furnaces, Of
Virginia. 1t is now going to the Buena
Vista furnace.
The mining at present is being done
in tho crudest sort of way, and can
scarcely be called mining at all. There
is no attempt at assortment, and the
lump and smalls, the latter containing
gangue and at times being very dirty,
are dumped on common pile.
Even as it runs, the ore is fairly
within Bessemer limits. A large num-
Ter OF analyses, running over two years,
kindly furnished by the Pennsylvania
Steel Company, give the iron 5S.6l per
cent. to 6342 per cent, and the phos-
phorus from .047 to .064 per cent. Six
analyses in February, 1891, gave iron,
59.O2 per cent; silica, 9.93 per cent;
alumina, 4.73 per cent; phosphorus, .O49
per cent; lime, SO per cent. The Pu-
1aski Iron Company, in 400 tons received
IN the spring of 1889, found about 62 per
cent. iron, the line running lower and
the lump somewhat better. 1t was low
In manganese, and phosphorus did not
exceed per cent
Edmund ID. Smith & Co, Of Phila-
delphia, write, April 90, 1890: Upon
examination Of shipments of this ore
made TO Carnegie Brothers and others,
we find the average analyses of run Of
mine ore, which excluded red specular
and magnetic, about thirds fine
and one-third lump, 5s.O11 per cent. iron
and .O0l per cent. pho pl orus. A number
OF the analyses If magnetic lump ran
rom 62.353 per &C mt. to 64.22 per cent.
ftol, wlCn or.U56 per cent. to Oh. O44 per
cent phosphorus. The red spccular ore
averages from 55.3S7 per cent. TO 5744
per cent. iron, with phosphorus .042 per
cent. TO DAB per cent.
The average of over 400 analyses of
the ore. representing actual shipments
without assortment as tallon from the
mines, gave: Iron, 80 per cent; phos-
phorus, 05 per cent: silica, $40 per
Get; titanium, none; manganese and
sulphur, traces; lime. SO per cent.
The samples taken by Mr.. Mite,
from the workings at four shafts, gave
respectively:
F !F21 F Fsp g. f Fs e. F Nan &, s4 %
No. 1..... G2.3il .OA 1883 .0g II