Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-25
THE MESABA RANGE.
Not All Gold That Glitters in the New
Iron Ore Region.
1T HAS GOOD AND BAD POINTS,
And Time and Development Alone Can
Bring Them Out.
RESULT OF SOME CAREFUL ASSAYS
1T HAS GOOD AND BAD POINTS,
RESULT OF SOME CAREFUL ASSAYS

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATCH.1
DULUTH, April 24-In an age when our
chief commercial and industrial interests
center so largely about the iron and steel
industry, the opening up of what gives
every indication of becoming an important
new iron ore field is a matter of national
Importance. The new Mesaba range, over
which there has been such craze the past
winter, is an attractive topic to everyone
interested in Lake Superior iron mining.
The extent and richness of the new deposits
and whether or not they are brought into
the market rapidly, will prove potent fac
tors both in the ore market and ina measure
upon the price of iron the country over.
The Mesaba range is in one sense no new
discovery. The existence of ore there has
been known for dozen wears. The whole
northeastern corner of Minnesota is a great
wilderness abounding in mineral wealth, and
the Vermilion and Mesaba ranges like par
allel vertabra run through it from nearly
east-northeast to west-southwest The Mes
aba crowns the watershed and at points rises
to an elevation of 800 feet above Lake Su-
perior. Vermilion Lake. north of the Mesa
ba, near which the richest deposits of the
Vermilion range occur, finds its outlet north
ward TO Hudson Bay, while the St Louis
river and other streams to the south fall into
Lake Superior.
The First People in the Secret.
Eight years ago, when Mr.. Charlemagne
Tower, of Philadelphia, and his associated
capitalists of Chicago and Cleveland began
opening up the wonderfully rich Vermilfon
deposits by building the Duluth and Iron
Range Railroad from Agate Bay, now better
known as Two Harbors, 6s miles to Tower
on Vermilion Lake, they were aware that
ore existed on the Mesaba range, but they
preferred to push IS miles beyond and open
the Vermilion deposits to turning aside at
the Mesaba. The difference in the quality
of ore between the soft and more common
red hematite of the latter. and the rarer
hard, well crystaliZed, dark gray, specular
ore of the former in part ex plains this pecu
liar business operation.
In the years since the Vermilion has be-
come famous, prospectors have been busy on
the Mesaba, but the wlldnesS of the country
and the absence of railway facilities have
prevented its development. For the 20 miles
along which mines are now located. but one
railroad touches the Mesaba, the Duluth and
Iron Range. Without railroads in broken
country, largely covered with the scrubby
forests of the far North in latitude where
winter is a serious obstacle to exploration, 1t
was out of the question to get in machinery
or open up any deposits. Early in 1880. how
ever, the Mailman mine, four miles east of
the Duluth and Iron Range road. on the
Mesaba, began to be developed and attracted
attention to the range. Ore bodies during
the summer were located west and south
west for IS miles, the Diamond and Paulson
mines near Grand Rapids, in Itasca county,
on the Duluth and Manitoba Railroad, being
rurthest west and south. Since then the
Mesaba has steadily grown in public atten-
tion until during the past few mon tbs the Or
ganization of mining companies and the de-
sire to secure territory there has become a
craze.
More Stock-Floating Than Mining.
Many OF the companies now busy floating
their stock have hardly begun to develop
their properties. Some of them were mani |
festly organized to sell out rather than to
mine ore. Others have placed their capital
stock at figure out of all proportion to the |
probable value of the property controlled. |
In short, speculation has begun, and the Bit |
ter experience of many innocents who sunk |
money in the Gogebc range will doubtless |
find q parellel in this Mesaba boom. This is |
SO from the nature of mining enterprises. |
Hundreds of pits were opened in the Goge. |
bic, but only one Norrie property, produc- |
In every case. Comparatively few proper
ties developed in any mineral district prove |
really rich and win large returns; i
in the majority of cases the money
ence fund of humanity. Still railroads /
are being pushed, and with their construc-
tfon it will be possible to get in machinery
and discover the full extent and richness of
the deposits. Until then caution is advis-
able in accepting Mesaba range news.
Without doubt the deposits cover a
wide area and at many points are rich.
The Mailman mine, which marks the east
ern end Of the Mesaba district, Is months
ago was said by experts to have $1,000 tons
OF high grade ore in sight. Thirty-four miles
west of this is the Mountain Iron Company,
and u miles south and 35 west are the Dia-
mond and Paulson properties marking the
of the recent excitement, however, has been
about midway between the Mailman and
Mountain Iron properties.
Eight companies, taken at haphazard, as
organized recently, have G total capitaliza-
tion of S23, 0,O00 Many of them own no
more than 40 or 80 acres of land, with State
leases at 25 cents ton royalty on other land
or leases from private parties at higher
figures. Usually 20 to 30 per cent of the
stock is kept in the treasury, and the re-
mainder, fully paid and non-assessa able, is
from the sale of Treasury stock from time
to time is used to develop the mine.
Easy TO Work New Mines.
The ore of this immediate district is quite
distinct from that of the Yermilion range.
1t occurs in BEDS titled from II to 40 degrees
from the horizontal, instead of the more
vein-like formation of the hard Vermilion
ore. This gives 1t the advantage of cheap
exploration and of low cost mining during
the early years of mine. But |
where the dip of the strata is pronounced,
cost would increase rapidly. The soft drift
deposits that cover the beds near the out
crop can be easily stripped off for a consid-
erable distance in many cases, but when the |
everything strata of states and slaty quart
Zites are reached it is quite a different story. |
In some properties the dip is such that un-
less the beds pinch out" they reach depth |
Of !. 600 feet two miles from tie outcrop. How
far south the beds extend and how deep they
go are yet unansr. cred questions. The
fact in regard to the greater cost
Of mining in the later years of property is
that the ore frequently imprOyeS in quantity 1
at greater depth.
In many cases for hundreds of feet it will
be possible to mine the Mesaba ores by
stripping off the soft DRIFT and TALK is heard |
Of mining as much of it as is soft and granu-
ar with steam shovels. Should this prove
practicable the cost of mining would be
greatly reduced and q much lower grade
0re could be mined as profitabiy as richer |
ore in the Vermilion region. Mesaba enthu-
siasts claim it will be possible to put ore
rom these mines on the market ct so cents
'anges, and one heavily interested party has
declared he will supply Duluth iron and |
'teel company with ore at 81 so a ton in |
,rder to induce the location of such a plant
here, but this cannot be taken as reliable |
evidence OF what experience is likely to |
ieveiop. Conservative ore men are inclined |
o pronounce all estimates of mining cost at |
his stage OF the development little more
han gu ess work.
Result of the Assays
large number of assays of Mesaba ore.
made by reliable chemist, show an average
# about 81 per cent in metallic iron and .0i5
yer cent in PHOSPHORUS. Many samples
we're, of course, much richer in iron and
over in PHOSPHORUS, and consequently
more valuable. Prof. H. N Wincbell of |
minneapolis, the Assistant State GeoIogist
# Minnesota, thinks the Mesaba ores will
verage go per cent metallic iron and low in |
Some will reach GA per cent |
nd he does not hesitate to add that others |