Evening journal., 1894-02-16
THE KAOLIN DEPOSITS.
Creston Land VIII Be Bored
and Mined When Spring Opens.
PROCESS OF MINING DESCRIBED

The value Depends Upon the Distance
From the Surface and the Thickness or
the Deposit- Mining WIN Begin when
Spring opens.
'ln view Of the fact of clay suitable for
the manufacture of china having been
found at Creston. in the Ninth ward. it
might be interesting TO know something
about the mining and preparing for
market OF the article known as kaolin,
or china clay, said Market street man
this morning.
"In the FIRST place, kaolin Is decomposed
feldspar aud is found from Within few
feet of the earths sarfnce to a depth
sometimes OF from sixty TO eighty feet
but averaging probably IN the neighbor-
hood Of thirty TO forty feet.
From Eight to Ten Feet.
"At times a solid bed Of this thickness
will be found, while at others Il will be-
very much mixed a greater part Of the
depth or in layers. as the case may be
That found at Creston is from eight TO
ten feet from the surface, and varies in
depth according 10 location II has been
tested by the Golding Sons Company,
of Hookessin. and proven 20 be OF the
best quality.
How II ~ Mixed.
"The manner Of mining this clay Is as
ollows: A shaft twenty-one feet In
diameter Is located on the spot where
clay has been found in paying quRuti
ties As this round shaft is extended
into the earth a wall OF wooden blocks
about 10 inches wide by 2 feet long and
3 inches thick is built around on the in
side 90 keep the earth from caving into
the WELL and whenever eighteen inches
In depth has been added TO the shaft.
the wall Is extended downward this
iepth, care being taken to undermine
but eight or ten feet az q time. When a
depth has been reached at which the clay
has become exhausted three-inoh well Is
bored FIVE 10 ter feet to make sure they
are ~ the bottom of the clay strata. II
this be the case the filling In process
commences.
The Filling In Process.
"This is simply the act Of putting back
the dirt and understandable clay that
has come out Of the well, and taking out
the wooden wall in sections as IL was
placed therein, commencing at the bot
/
been put back into the we'll, additional
dirt is obtained in sufficient quantities Ia
fill the shaft to the top.
The Process of Dlslntegration.
From the well the clay IS taken to the
weshing or disintegrating machine where
1t Is shoveled into n trough In which re
wolves large shaft having numerous
teeth. Water having been added, tn,
whole Is made into a pasty mass Of 1
consistency TO flow. IL passes from thi
machine TO vide shallow troughs of S0I
70 400 feet in length. In passing owe
these troughs all the heavy portion o
the mass. consisting of silica, mica, etc
(Which usually constitutes City per cent
Of the crude clay settles, allowing thl
pure clay to flow 10 the farther enc
Of the trough. from whence n
Is pumped into large woodeI
presses lined with canvas bagging. Her,
IL is pressed nearly dry, when il is taker
out and placed on dryiag shelves in th'
open air. or in the steam drying room
as the case may be, some factories beinf
supplied with the latter. This com
pletes the process. makes the clay ready
for market, where Il sells at from Sll Z,
$lj per ton, according to quality. Th'
price of the clay in the pit, TO be minde.
by the purchaser, ranges from 20 cents q
81 per ton, for the crude article, anG
one foot in depth Of solid clay in
tWenty-one foot well, will yield abou
twenty tons, or a value Of S15 to $50.
Value Depends on the Depth.
"The value Of the clay also somewha
depends upon the depth Of earth TO b
removed from the TOP Of the clay, an'
also depends upon the thickness Of tn
strata Of clay itself
1t has lot yet been determined jus
how much clay there is on the Ciestoi
tract, bat the indications are that j
covers a large area. including the Who'll
valley included in portions Of Crestol
and East Lake. As soon as the weathe
settles sufficiently 1t Is the IN
tention TO sink a number Of wells, wit
an instrument made for the purpose. Z
locate, If possible. the greatest depth o
clay, and II sufficient quantities are found
il will be mined and shipped, or prepare
on the premises for market"
A sample Of the Cresion clay, cred 0
Hockessin. is being exhibited in WilliaI
LaWton's window.