Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-12-08
ON IRON MAKING.


81 send you by today's mail two cop )
es of our prospectus which contains
Prof. Chances report on the Rich Patch
From all the information L
can get 1 am satisfied of the wonderful
value of this ore deposit and l nave no
doubt that a proper utilization OF the
will result ultimately in the
of large number of al
lied industries based upon this property
as a source of supply and that It's To-
cality will he very greatly benefited.
The SPECTATOR has heretofore called
attention to this property and the ex-
advantages it offers Tor the
Of pig iron at minimum
cost; of iron pipe and basic steel. The
fact that We are now exporting large
tonnage OF iron pipe and steel rails, ana
that the export trade in pig iron IS IN
creasing every year is destined to call
attention to the Rich Patch district as
a very favorable locality for iron in
dustries of almost every description.
The plans Of the Rich Patch Iron Ore
Company have not been fully matured,
OF at least not given to the public. but
what the SPECTATOR learns of them
in a tentative sense they contemplate
one and possibly two furnaces, an iron
pipe factory and basic steel plant
The export of pig iron, iron pipe, steel
rails and fittings to England, India and
the Barbados as recently announced,
and the further fact that Germany is
invading the iron markets of Russia,
Notwithstanding the cost of her pig
iron and steel products, encourages the
belief that we are about entering upon
a period of phenomenal activity in iron
and steel making in this country.
A Berlin letter to the Baltimore Man
ufacturers Record of the End inst, fur,
nishes few figures which of themselves
constitute an over towering argument
in favor of this country in the iron ano
steel trade and their allied industries
The correspondent says: I'm order thai
American producers may know just
| what competition they have to NEE
here l will quote some of their prices
The figures are for the metric ton OF
2,204 pounds and are f. o. b. factory. Ii
Rhine Westphalia country the best Ger
man foundry iron costs $500; Eng
lish foundry No. 3, STATS; Basic iron
S144O; Bessemer iron, $14.52; bar iron
$50 so to $32 IA; girders, $32.14; Besse
mer steel rails, $2S.57; coking coal, 81 81
to $214; blast furnace coke, So 3S; foun
dry coke, $50 to 1898; best bitumou
coal, 50 IA" etc.
These figures show conclusively tia
pig iron and basic steel can both be e1
ported from this country and captur
the foreign markets with profit to GU
producers The steel and iron pip
plants at Rich Patch, direct ocean com
munica ion with Europe at Newpor
News could be obtained in the ships O
the G.. & o. railway at a minimum cost
such as would enable the American ea
porter to lay down his products in Lily
erpool, Berlin, Odessa, Hong Hong
Shanghi, Bombay, and the Barbadoe
at less price than is quoted above l
Germany, and Germany is just takin
the export iron trade from England. )
it is only question of time and tina
not long when the American furnace
and factories will be able to cOmman
much of the eastern trade by reason c
the lower cost of production, to t
gradually reduced by the introductio
of modern economies and machinery il
to ore mining and iron and steel mai
ing.
| Grasping this broad field for reiet
ton it is not inappropriate to introduc
the iron and coal resources of Virgini
and West Virginia tributary to tn
chesapeake and Ohio railway as i'm
portant factors in this revolution in tn
industrial world, emphasizing the CLAIM
| that nowhere else in the United State
are greater advantages offered tor prot
| liable Investment in iron making thar
in Virginia and especially in the Ric
| Patch section.
We have before US the very able ant
exhaustive report recently issued o
Prof. II. M. Chance, distinguished
mining engineer of Philadelphia on tn
Rich Patch property. 1t is prefaced b.
an estimate cost for ton of pig iron
separate from the report, which is PLACED
at $l55 This low estimate may b'
sustained when contemplated ecOno
mics are introduced in mining ano
handling the ores, but at present will
| existing methods and conditions WI
| think the estimate too low from 10 tt
10 per cent. To place the cost at $6.5'
per ton and bring that in conjunction
to the 1920, the cost of foundry iror
in Germany, and we see what a larg'
| margin is furnished for the benefit O
| the American manu- facturer, after de
ductiL g the railroad transportation Il
| Newport News about 81 per ton, an(
The charges for ocean carriage
| What is want now is the enterpIis,
and ii money placed at Rich Patci
| commensurate with the vast ore re
sources CT the property, aggregating II
| brown hematite and fossil or red shall
ores about 800 100000 tons, with lime
stone convenience and the best of New
river 81 Ike and coal known to the com
mercial world. Mining operations havt
been renewed at this property. Jigg
are being placed, the washing capacit,
increased, crusher is to be added an
such other improvements and econo
mics awaited of az are necessary t.
modern mining, essential to profitabl
investment. We are assured by Mr..
7. Lightner, the general manager O
the Rich Patch Iron Ore Co that h
expects to mine and ship from 400 +