Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-26

HSSe d month, ana
they have. 1 am told. over 100000 tons in
sight, and are discovering new deposits
right along At the present cost of work
ing their mine, hundred thousand tons
Will net them more than a million dollars
and this is, it is said, just the beginning
OF their work. Manganese is, YOU know
one of the rarest of metals 1t is used in
making fine steel and is needed in the
manufacture of armOr plate and gun fore-
ihss. as IL makes the metal tougher and
more flexible. There is a little manganese
Iouhu IN Virginia, Georgia and Arkansas
but Mr. j. NJ Hyatt. the assistant srperin-
tendent OF the mines here, tells me that we
annually produce only about IJODO tons
While our consumption is 10000 tons The
remainder We buy from Russia and else
where Manganese costs, according to
quality, from S14 to SO per ton. II lies
mere III a great lump or deposit on the ton of
mountain. and is mined much like iron
MI hyatt says it costs the company only
ABOUT - per ton to get out the ore and land
IL IN Baltimore, that there is a clear
Proht OF ;? or so ton or, at the present
shipments, OF from $27,0oO to $4,000 a
month within the past year and a half
this company has shipped ~ 900 tons and
II Is now only two years since it got nos
session of the property. The companv is
capitalized at 500, 900, and the chief stock
l.
more and Ohio railroad. Mr. Woods. the
president of the Maryland Steel Company
and Henry Parr of Baltimore
How the Mine Was Found.
1T was discovered" said Mr. Hyatt. "by
Spaniard. who showed specimens of the
ore to man named Popham who was a
United States inspector of customs at
Colon Popham went to see it. He did mot
then know manganese from stove backing
and had no idea whether the stuff Was
worth anything or not. He took specimens
however, to New York and every one told
him that if there was much of the stufr i,
was better than gold mine He Interested
the baltimore parties and they sent az
perts down 10 examine the property Their
report was that there were several thou
sand tons in sight. and company was at
once formed to buy the mine and daI-ornr
1t. This was two years ago. We now bay-n
nine miles of railroad running from the
port Nomhre de Dios, where our wharves
are, to the mines. We have put I'D works
and are now employing about 800 men
The superintendent of the mine is F. n
Williams of.Connecticut. He has charge of
shipping" anu
How did it come that the mine was not
discovered sooner?' | asked
i d"n't KNOW" was the reply. There
We're great boulders of mansanese living
on the top of the ground, but 1 suppose
such prospectors as saw them were look
ing for gold and had no idea that the stun
was of value"
rs the mining very difficult"
No was the reply. I'VE blast down
the ore with dynamite and load it into
buckets which run by gravity on an over
head cable line down to the cars at the
foot Of the mountain. the loaded buckets
carrying back the empties as they go
down. The sells in the shape that
we take II out without smelling or any
other treatment"
Are there other drpoSits in the sam.
region2'
Il think there are" said Mr.. Hyatt Eve
have bought all the land in sight and have
prospectOTs out all the time. We have dis