The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-01-17
ALMOST THE WHOLE AMOUNT
EASILY AVAILABLE.
THE COST OF MINING VERY Small
Prof. S. E. Asbery Made Exhaustive Analysis
of the Ore and Finds it Averages
About so Per Cent of
Metallic Iron,

in such easily obtainable position lhat
the latent wealth of the land IS alr,ost
incalculable. There have been runorS
and whisperings for a long time of
the iron to be found in the neiyhDorhood,
but little has hitherto been ka IWn with
any degree of certainty as 70 the guam
tity and quality of the ore. Nov, how
ever, exhaustive explorations and ch9ln-
zeal analyses have established beyond
any doubt that the ore exists III wei
nigh limitleSS quantities and OF excel
lent commercial value. The Development
of such vast resources may create
new era in the iron industry of this sec
ton, and result in a very marked in
crease i'll its wealth.
Tradition at Wilson's Mills has it that
away back in the eighteenth century
one Killingsworth used to dig iron ore
out of the ground. At any rate he had
forge in about the same locality where
the ore is being mined now. The mine
is one and tive-eighth miles from the
town of Wilson'S Mills, on land owned
by Mr.. John "A. Wilson, large land
holder Of independent means and man
of excellent business Judgment. MI.
Wilson has always known that there
was Il certain amount of iron ore on has
land, but it was generally thought that
its quality was not sufficiently good to
make it of great value on the markets.
However, a short time ago, at the re-
quest of Prof. s. Il. Asbury. one of the
chemists in the Chemical Division of the
Agricultural Department, Mr.. Wilson
sent some specimens of the ore TO hlm
for analysis. Prof. Asbury was under
the impression that the percentage OF
metallic iron would not exceed 40, which
would be hardly rich enough for com
1nercial use. To his surprise the tests
showed from 80 to 81 per cent. 1t may
be said that the ore already mined av-
erages about 80 per cent, although whole
car loads averaging as high as 90 per
cent have been shipped. Thus, aus far
as percentage of metallic iron is con-
| cerned. there is no further question as
to the desirable quality of the ore. Prac-
| tically no sulphur was found, and no
| titanium. There is about 10 per cent
Of silica. and $40 to $40 of one per cent
of manganese The only ingredient that
might b called deleterious is phosphorus.
! avera ging about y of one per cent, and
| this exactly suits the basic system of
bessemer steel manufacturing, and is
not in sufficient quantity to materially
hinder the pig iron method.
/ Samples of the ore analysed by the
| Empire Steel Company, of Greensboro,
| proved very satisfactory i'll every respect
and already about 1900 tons have been
shipped to that company for blasting.
| And not only the experts of the Greens
| boro company, but every other expert,
| and there have been many, who has made
| an examination in the interest of his
| company, admits that Providence has
| done more for this section than any he
| has ever seen.
The deposits have been found on the
| top and along the slope of hill, whose
rise is about 60 feet. At first a hOrl-
zontal stratum y feet i'll depth was as
certained, extending over the top sur
face of the hill. Then, in laying off
drain from this down the slope, after
passing through eighteen inches of 9th
er material, more ore was encountered
beneath the first stratum. A fourteen
foot drill was let down through this, and
failed to reach bottom, so that the depth
of this second layer is largely matter
Of conjecture. Lower down, near the
bottom of the slope, shale formation was
discovered, and just below this, right
at the bottom, still more ore. Accord
ingly the total horizontal strata would
seem to be about 26 feet in depth. OF
course, very little is known of the eX-
tent of the under stratum, as it has
only been tested by the drill i'll a few
places. The extent of the first twelve
foot layer is known by actual drill tests
to be 220 acres. At all other points
except just at the mine, after removing
an over-burden averaging three feet, the
drill invariably failed to pass through.
All wells sunk in that place have to
pass through fourteen feet of this ore
structure before reaching water, and
how much lower it extends below the
water is not known. Accordingly from
these different indications, it is a most
conservative estimate to place the depth
of the stratum at twelve feet. 1t has
certainly remarkable that spot has
never been found where the drill failed
to be lost i'll the ore formation. 1t
would be a remarkable coincidence If
every one of these tests had fallen into
pocket, and certainly would show
wonderful divination on the part of
the prospector. The truth about it is,
that if it is a pocket it is mighty big
one or a very close consecutive lot of
little ones
A little figuring right here gives some
interesting results. According to the
tests twelve feet is the minimum depth
of the stratum. There are 1850 square
feet to the acre Accordingly the num-
Der of cubic feet of ore to each acre is
522,720. In round numbers there are
ten cubic feet of ore to the ton. so that
each acre has "a possible output of 81
30 tons. This seems fabulous, but it is
a most conservative estimate according
to the facts.
A most important point iii figuring on
the output is the extreme simplicity of
the mining problem that presents itself
here. The stratum being horizontal and
right at the surface, the ore can be tax