The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-01-04
NORTH CAROLINA GEMS.
SOMETHING OF THEIR EX-
TENT AND VALUE.
That This is More Than a "Speci-
men State" One May See by
Investigating the Subject a
Little---An Interesting Extract
From Gov. Carr's Address.

North Carolina has been facetiously
styled the specimen State in regard to
the matter of minerals. To those de-
string to see the largest and most
varied collection of gems and geolog
ical specimens, and to have the history
of that most wonderful mineral Sec
ton, Western North Carolina, l
would refer them to Mr.. +. X. Bru-
ner, who had charge of that depart
ment of the North Carolina exhibit at
the Columbian Worlds Fair. More
than one hundred and eighty species
have been discovered some Of great
rarity. Nearly score of different
species of gems have been found, in
cluding the diamond, ruby, sapphire
emerald, beryl, lazulite, amethyst,
garnet, agate, and zircon. There are
many minerals occurring having special
applications in the useful arts, viz:
mica, corundu,n asbestos, baryte,
chronic iron, garnet zircon, kaolin,
black oxide Of manganese, tale, etc.
Mica is found in large veins or dykes
in the gneisses of the middle and
western counties, but the most exten-
sive and valuable mines are found in
the mountain region, where veins are
numerous and extensive and yield
sheets of mica of unusual size and ex-
cellence. Corundum is about as widely
distributed as mica, and occurs in the
same series of rocks, as we'll as some
of the slate belts. Corundum is not
only found but extensively mined
throughout the entire mountain section
lying between the Blue Ridge and
and Smoky Mountains. In this region
are also beds of white and variously
colored marbles. Building stones of
every variety are found in nearly all
the sections, and milestone, milestone
and grindstone grits, as well as potters'
clay and fire clay, and in the seaboaId
section are immense beds of peat and
mari. Iron, copper and gold ores are
co-extensive with the outcrops of all
crystalline rocks. Several PARALLEL
ranges of magnetic and hema.ite iron
ore beds cross the State in a north
east direction in both the middle and
the mounta! IN regions. These ores are
of high grade and are in demand at
the Bessemer furnaces in Pennsylvania
and elsewhere. Beds of limonite are
numerous and extensive in all parts of
the State. Iron for domestic purposes
has been manufactured tor a hundred
years in the middle region and half as
long in the other sections. A fifteen
ton blast furnance is in operation at
Cranberry, one hundred ton blast
furnace has just been completed at
Greensboro, and it is expected that
another furnace will be erected at an
early date. Coal is found in Chatham
and adjoining counties, and coal
mines are being operated at Egypt.
Gold occurs in both places and veins
from Halifax county on the upper
margin of the eastern region, within
ITO miles of the seacoast, through all
the intermediate sections to Cherokee
county in the extreme northwest. The
more extensive and productive deposits
are found in the southern half of the
great slate belt and in the central part
of the Piedmont region among the
foothills and spurs of the mountains.
These places conist of coarse shingle
in the beds of streams and Of the bor-
dering level bottoms. Climbing the
slopes and benches ofthe hills adjacent
they pass insensibly from half stratifed |
shingle gravel and sand beds into un-
stratihed earth with mingled fragments
of stone. These deposits cover sew
eral hundred square miles of territory |
and are Of recent age. Compared !
with those of California, they are of
very slight thickness, generally not
above five, ten to twenty feet, and !
only occasionally reaching forty to
fifty feet. The most important vaiu-
able vein mines are also found in the
regions. One Of these, the
Gold Hill mine, near Salisbury, has
been worked to depth of $50 feet,
and its total production exceeds two
million dollars of bullion. The total
yield of all the gold mines in the
State has been about s22, 1000, 900. In
the same section are several noted
silver mines-Silver Hill, Silver Valley
and others. Many Of the veins of the
regions carry also copper
pres, and there are numerous copper
veins in varinnS na rfS of the midland