The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-04-18

1ron Deposits 81 .he south.
Every dag brings accounts % new
discoveries Of mineral wealth ia the
South. and It bids fair to be one cf the
Misunderstanding districts Of our ration.
The expert testimony Of so eminent q
scientist Is n. $. shaler Professor Of
Geology 10 Harvard University, 10 the
wealth Of its resources will interest Al.
our readers who wish to keep up with
the industrial progress Of our nation.
The Professor thinks that the South
land has il itself almost iilimiiable Op-
portunities for development ia q re-
cent number Of the arena lie SAYS.
@The iron ores Of the South are NOS
only extremely abundant, but occur in
several widely separated fields. The
Shenandoah district Of Virginia and the
neiqhb0ring valley Of the Roanoke,
Western North Carolina, Eastern Ken
tucky, and Tennessee. Northwestern
Georgia and Northern Alabama, an dis.
tricts belonging to the system Of the
Appalachians, abound 10 workable de-
posits Of this mineral Texas, Arkansas.
Missouri, also contain valuable iron
ores, but they lie remote from deposits
of good coal. The peculiar advantage
Of the Appalachian district is found in
the fact that the ores lie in the neigh
bOrhood Of excellent coal beds which
in certain cases can be used as it comes
from the mine. or may be made TO serve
the needs Of the smelier after it is con
yerled into coke. The average distance
Of the iron ores from the coal needed 10
reduce it 70 the metallic state does not
probably exceed one hundred miles.
The ores Of the Lake Superior district
have to be transported from seven 70
ten times the distance to find an appro-
pirate fuel 1t is true, that the average
richness Of the Lake Superior ores ia
metallic iron is probably nearly one
third greater than those found in the
Southern States, and the former yield
Bessemer iron, which, save in rare in
stances. cannot be produced from the
Southern deposits. On the other hand.
the Southern ores are generally won
with considerable ease. Enough ore TO
make a ton Of iron can at many points
be mined and put 10 the furnace at a
cost Of between one and two dollars,
while to bring the same amount Of raw
material from the earth about Lake
Superior to the smelling point costs, at
the present time, from nine to twelve
dollars. Moreover, there is a method
Of making steel known as the Basic
process, which, for general purposes. is
as good as the Bessemer system. This
method is we'll proven, and, with the
expiration Of certain patents, which in D
few years will cease 70 be valid, will
doubtless come into general use in the
Southern States.
The peculiar ease with which the
Southern ores are mined is in good part
due to their geologic conditions They
are generally in the form Of true beds
which once werc lime-stones, and hayo
been converted by percolaiing waters
containing iron in a dissolved form into
iron ores; being beds Of this origin tho
beds are more continuous than those Of
other nature. such as those about Lake
Superior where the ore occurs in much
more irregular deposits Moreover, tho
Southern country was not occupied by
the glaciers Of the last ice roricd; thus
the soft oxidized ores were not worn
away as has generally been tho Gaze il
the glaciated fields, nor have tho out
crops been hidden by tho deep accumu
lations Of drift materials which arc SC
common ia Northern districts In par
also their advantageous conditions are
due to the fact that the Southern eli
mate permits work TO be carried on ia
open pits throughout the year, whilC
such uncovered openings would not bC
workable for more than seven month.
Of the year in more northern cliines.
pf9,ssla,s Tittle rriucs.