St. Tammany farmer., 1901-07-27
BAux1TE FIELDS.
neDort Of q Government Expert
Their Extent, Use and
Value.


The United States geological survey
has just sent to the printer an inter-
esting monograph on the bauxite
fields of Arkansas. 1t is the work of
Charles Willard Hayes, who recently
returned from an extensive investiga-
tor in the field there, and who has
now gone to Cuba to make researches
into the mineral deposits that can be
turned to commercial account. The
interesting feature in the monograph
to be issued lies in the fact that the
author points out that other bauxite
fields in the United States are nearly
exhausted, and hence the discoveries
of deposits in Arkansas indicate that
it soon will be the principal source of
supply for the country, writes COR
respondent for the St. Louis Globe-
Democrat. The bauxite is used in the
production Of aluminium, but to .
greater extent in the production OF a
number of by-products. Mr.. Hayes
says in his report:
ssBauxite has been discovered in COM
mercial quantities at only three local
tiles in the United States. These are
the Georgia-Alabama district, small
district in southwestern New Mexico,
and the Arkansas district. In the re-
port on the Georgia-Alabama district
by the present writer it was pointed
out that the ore there occurred in
small isolated deposits, which would
probably be exhausted within ten
years from the time the report was
made, in 1894. Since then the demand
for the ore has increased, and the de-
posits may possibly be exhausted be-
fore the expiration of the time esti-
mated. Three companies have been
actively engaged in mining bauxite in
this district; one of these has exhaust
ed all of the deposits which is con-
trolled, another is working upon its
last deposit, and the third has less
than half a dozen which contain any
considerable amount of ore. The con-
stantly increasing demand for the ore
and the prospective exhaustion OF
these deposits in the near future have
compelled the operators to seek an
other field. Anticipating this neces-
sity, two Of the companies operating
in the Georgia-Alaba district have
invested heavily in the Arkansas dis
trict, and two additional companies
have recently been organized in the
latter field.
'sThe Arkansas deposits have been
known since 1891, when they were
briefly described by the state geol-
ogist, but owing to the abundant sup
ply of ore in the more accessible dis
trict they received little attention ,ln-
til it became evident that the deposits
Of the latter would shortly be ex-
hausted. Only small quantity Of ore
has yet been shipped from Arkansas,
but preparations are being made for
large output in the near future. Addi-.
tional railroad facilities have bee2. re-
Gently secured, SO that the difficultiess.
of transportation have been largely
overcome.
''The bauxite deposits in Arkansas
are also, as far as known, confined to
a small area lying south and SOUTH
west of the city of Little Rock. The
legion is about 20 miles in length and
five or six miles in breadth, it's longer
axis extending northeast and sou1h.
west. It lies in the eastern part Of
Pulaski county and the northern part
of Saline county. The second district,
which is the more important of the
two, occupies the southwestern ex-
tremity of the region, embracing
about IL square miles in Bryant town
ship. Between these two sub-districts
are several isolated deposits Of ore,
generally without any associate
igneous rocks, but so distributed as to
connect the main deposits at the ex-
tremities of the region