Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-12-02
OUR MINERALS.
Wealth of Ores in Western North
Carolina Counties.
Fine Possibilities For Iron and Other Crude
Ores if Railroads Only Penetrated That
Section of Our Grcnt State.
(From the Raleigh Post.)

Jefferson, n. 4, november, 19U0.
Thinking some of your readers might
be interested in Il letter from this sec
Lion OF North Carolina-the mountain
section-I take the Liberty to ask for
space in your columns for these
thoughts.
This county, think. has been as lit
lie written of as any section OF the
GO intry, and deserves to be written of
as much as any.
This county (Ashe) is in the extreme
northwestern part of North Carolina,
in the corner adjoining Virginia and
Tennessee, and is appropriately called
.Ae Switzerland OF America. Situated
int on the summit of the Appalachian
ange of mountains. it is 5000 feet
above the sea level, with some points
reaching an altitude of $500 feet, but
yet possessed of Il climate from April
to Christmas uneXcelled anywhere in
the world.
That this country will one day be one
OF the most important sections of the
United States is beyond question, for
miles in width, beginning with the
Iron mountains in Virginia, running
parallel with the Blue Ridge. through
North Carolina and extending over a
part OF Tennessee. through Georgia
and part of Alabama, which is one
continuous bed of ore.
"A short description of this, / think,
would be OF interest to men who are
interested in miperals. and l will only
mention veins which have been devel-
oped sufficiently TO determine the quail
ity and quantity of the ores. Beginning
with the zinc mines of Smyth county
(Va.) and travelling south, Just eight
fol Nf 7.
and Grayson counties are reached, with
their immense beds of red and brown
hematite iron ores and, coming down
on the south side of the mountain, the
famous. marble and limestone uuarries
of Grayson county are approached;
passing over the Virginia line into
North Carolina, on both sides of New
river. for long stretches of miles. i'm
mense deposits of the finest magnetic
iron ores in the world are found Some
work is being done on these veins now
and it is said that from 300 TO 500 cars
could be loaded with this ore by NOV
ing no more than a car Of dirt. Five
miles further on, in branch of the
Phoenix mountain, we find large de-
posits of fannie acid iron ores, and
looking to our right. fifteen miles to
the west. stands Elk Knob. with its
thirty-foot vein of solid copper sui
pherettes; then turning southwark we
find copper, both native and sulpher-
cites. One Of these veins was worked
extensively about ten years ago by the
ore Knob Copper Company, but owing
to the then great distance from a rail-
road and the cheapness of copper, the
works went down; then further south
over the Blue Ridge. we have large de.
poSits of manganese, tale and kaolin:
then gold sets in.
Between these two copper sections
we have net work of mica veins, ex-
! tending through Ashe, Watauga
Mitchell and Yancey counties. inter
| spersed with soapstone and asbestos
in these counties we have every Kind
of mica known to the trade; amber
| green, white black and speckled 1t is
a well established fact that North
| Carolina mica is of the finest quality
| known.
The business of your correspondent
| is mica mining. This was selected out
| of hundred other things for the
reason that when mica is prepared for
market 1t is not so bulky and can be
drawn by wagons so miles to the rail
| road with small cost and at small
| profit.
We located here because we know
| this county, with it's vast resources
will attract railroad soon and will
! not be always in its present undevel-
| opeu stage, ana TINS article is writ
| ten, hoping that it will catch the eye
| ofrsome of our northern brothers, who
have capital and are seeking a profit
/ able place of investment for it and per-
| suade them to come down with IL and
| hang their harpS uDOn the willows
| of the Old North State, and thew will
meet with the outstretched hand OF
welcome and with the hearty co-opera-
ton of every good citizen of this Gods
most favored section-the beautiful
southland.
Any information desired by any par
ties interested will be gladly. furnished
by The Carolina Mining Company JEFF
| ferson, n. c.