The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-10-17

0cpIcSslOu an All llleS Oh DlGSlHtSS anu
especially in the demand for pig iron,
has been extreme, and the labor troubles
have to more or less extent interfered
with the mining industry in this state,
although only to a slight degree as COM
pared with the other coal mining states
in the Union.
There are really four distinct iron
manufacturing districts in Alabama, as
follows: Birmingham district. Tennes-
see river, Gadsden, and the limonIte dis
trict of which Admission is the csnten
Aside from the difference in geograph-
icaq location there Is also a difference Sn
the furnace burdens in these districts;
for instance. in the Birmingham DIS
trfct the red hemat ite ore of Red Noun
tain with a mixture of brown ore, in
some, but not in all cases, is the furnace
burden; in the Gadsden district the same
practice is followed; but in the Ten
nessee river and admission districts the
furnace burden Is almost exclusively
brown iron ore or limonite.
OF course there is no comparison be-
tween the quantity of pig iron produced
in these different districts, because while
There are usually about fifteen furnaces
in blast in the Birmingham district there
are only one or two in each of the
others. The advantages possessed by
the Birmingham district can never be
equalled by any other.
The introduction of coke furnaces in
the Admission district may be almost said
to date from the blowing in of the
Woodstock companyis furnace in Jan
uary last, because although two coke
fin 1NtriIf Of bot ai,+
eight years back, neither has been oper-
ated any length of time since, until the
present year. But If rumors are true
there will be a marked increase in the
production in this district during the re-
naming four months of the year. Be
cause the Clifton Iron company, at IRON
atom, last year rebuilt one of their
charcoal furnaces and enlarged it in or
der to substitute coke for COAL and it
is reported this furnace will be put in
blast in short thing. Years ago the An
mission district produced cn1ch more pig
iron than at present because charcoal
furnaces were in blast at Tecumseh,
Langdon, Rock Run. Round Mountain,
Ironaton, Shelby and Brarfield Most
of these, though, have been out OF blast
for some years, and during 1897 there mas
been no charcoal iron made in the state
except that at Rock Run.
The mn Sins IF Joke iron in the browf.
ore districts where the coke has to be
brought in from Birmingham or vicinity
is an experiment, because the ques-
ton of cost which is the most impor-
tant item involved, also whether with
the improved furnace practice in the
Birmingham district iron can be made at
other points in the state and success
fully compete with the Birmingham pro-
duct, must be solved by actual demon
stration before it can be considered be-
yond the experimental stage.
The Woodstock company, however,
claim to be perfectly satisfied and fig
actual cost per ton, as because Of the
fact that the product of their furnace
has been, during the entire year, almost
entirely confined to No. l and No.
foundry and No. and No. soft iron,
which grades. of course, command the
best prices.
The industry of mining bauxite on
commercial scale Us still confined to the
dykes" district in Cherokee county in
close proximity ito the state line. A
deposit of this mineral was prospected
to some extent within the corporation
limits of Admission last year. In sew
eraD localities between the Dykes dis
trict and Admission the mineral
has been discovered, but none of these
discoveries are developed to any ex-
tent. There are still only two compan-
les engaged. In mining and shipping
bauxite from Alabama. The produc-
ton has shown an increase during each
year since 1891, when the first ship
ments were made. 1t is usually during
the last four months of the year that
the shipments of bauxite are the great
est, because during the months of Jan
uary and February when we usually
receive the greatest rainfall, this min
era1 absorbs SO much water that it is
in an undesirable condition for ship
ment. The Alabama bauxite has been
chiefly used for the manufacture of
alum, although a proportion of the pro-
duction has been employed in the man
ufacture of aluminium, but the demand
for this purpose is very limited at pres
emit.
According to the Dingley bill duty
Of 81 per N was placed on bauxite and
as result it is expected that the ship
ments from our mines will be greatly
increased in the future. The impor-
tation of French bauxite in 1895 fell off
to 2,119 tons, being a decrease Of 3,67S
tons from the imports during 1895. The
consumption through 1896 was 5,S82 tons
less than during 1895.
The mining of bauxite will for
several years to come probably be on
a, limited scale unless the cost of the
metal aluminium decreases very con-
siderably, in which event, of course, the
demand for bauxite would be increased
in proportion. The territory in which
bauxite may yet be discovered is
limited to portions of Cherokee, CAL
houn and Talladega counties. No pros
pecting whatever has been done south
west from Admission, and, in fact, but
little to the northeast of that town ex-
cept in the immediate vicinity OF the
mines which were discovered in 1891,
.but as the geological conditions are IA
IL