The age-herald., 1902-04-20
UNDEVELOPED MINERAL
 WEALTH OF ALABAMA
RICH DEPOSITS OF GRAPHITE, COPPER AND GOLD THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN ToucHED-THE WORK IN ITS INFANCY.

Tuscaloosa, April 1s.--(Special.)--I is a
 recognized fact that Doctor Eugene
 Smith. state geologist and in charge of
 the scientific department of the State
 University here, knows more about the undeveloped mineral wealth of Alabama, as well as that which has been developed
 than any other man in the state. He talked to me at length today on the sub ject, principally of the undeveloped wealth from a mineral point of view, in Alabama. To put 1t in his exact lan- guage, this Is what he said:
 First in the older crystalline forma- tion, Ghe resources of this region con- sist of. ores of gold, copper, pyrites, graphite mica. kaolin and magnetic iron. Of all these, 1t seems that the mica and kaolin are destined to be hereafter of most importance. The two are nearly al- ways associated together, and immense deposits are known, especially in Gle burne and adjoining parts of Randolph county Many test pits have been sunk both for mica and kaolin, and material of most excellent quality has been ob- tained. The kaolns have lately been sub jected to tests by Doctor Ries, clay specialist at Cornell University, and the results are in the highest degree satis- factory. No railroad passes nearer than 15 miles of these deposits, so that their development at present is out of the ques- ton.
 "A belt of rock impregnated with grap- ite can be followed from Chiffon county through Coosa and Clay to Cleburne county, and thence into Georgia At many points along this belt of rock, the graph ite is sufficiently abundant to be profit ably extracted. Much has been done at a mill at Graphite, and another locality further south Is being extensively worked We may hope that the production of graphite may soon come into promise in this state.
 Copper ores have already been work ed in Cleburne and Clay counties and most of the richer surface deposits have been worked out, but the main bodies of the low grade ore still await develop ment which must be, as in the previous case, after railroads traverse the coun- try. The same remarks apply to an inn portant bed of pyrites extending through Clay county.
 ol SOlu ores, We nave several lOCan- ties that can undoubtedly be made pro- fitable. I might mention Pinetucky, in Randolph: Chulanifee in Cleburne; Idaho in Clay; Goldburg, Goldville, Hog Noun tain Silver Hill and Gregory Hill in Tal- lapoosa county.
 At Arbacoochee, gravel deposits have been worked continuously and with mod crate profit since the early forties. Concerning the region of the older sedimentary formations. which include the coal measures and the iron and lime stone regions not much need be said, for the reason that we already have made great strides In the direction of utilizing these resources and while we have per hap5 made only a beginning of what will be done in this field. yet we know pretty well what we have and also tolerably well how to utilize 1t. We have only to consider the great mining industries of coal red iron ore, brown iron ore and limestone already established and con stantly being enlarged, to appreciate the fact that we are in the way of utilizing what we have of these important prod ucts.
 We must not overlook bauxite, which Is now being obtained near Rock Run in Cherokee county. and in the adjacent parts of Georgia. This material as IS well known, Is the ore of the metal
 
 in the manufacture of alum. The depos- Its just mentioned are somewhat limited, but 1t Is known that the bauxite occurs further south nearly to Talladega, so that the industry promises to continue for many years to come.
 Tn some parts of this section of the state, especially in Wills Valley, exten- sive deposits of first class china clay have long been known and worked.
 Beyond the limits of the so-called mineral district towards the south, we find a belt of more recent formation con- taining immense beds of clay. including some most excellent china clays, perfect ly white and free from all contaminating substances. Other clay depos<ts in this region which extend from the north western corner of the state through Fay cite courthouse, Tuscaloosa, Centreville, Wetumpka to Columbus. Ga, are exten- sive and contain material suitable for the manufacture of the various qualities of stone ware. tile drains, vitrif1ed brick and common brick. and the most prom ising absolutely undeveloped portion of this belt lies in Marion county around Chalk Bluff. where an entire township seems to be underlaid by a five or six foot bed of the purest china clay. This like the kaolin and mica mentioned be- fore. lies 15 miles distant from any rail- rohu, anu us UeVelOpment therefore, is a question of the future. From this re- zion in the vicinity of Woodstock and Bibbville immense quantities of clay are shipped to Bessemer to be used in the manufacture of fire brick. Up to this time, no first class fire brick Is made exclusively of Alabama material, but in the report on Alabama clays prepared for the geological survey by Doctor Ries, there are analyses and tests of quite a number of our clays which he considered suitable for fire brick. The great draw back to a new untried frebrick, Is the expense. No one perhaps feels like lining furnace at the cost of thousands of dollars with a f1rebricR, the qualities of which have not been thoroughly ascer- tained by long continued use, so our fire brick, when manufactured, will have to make their way very gradually into use. There can be no question about the i'm mense saving in cost which would fol- low the introduction of Alabama brick in our furnace districts.
 Portland Cement.
 Further south. a belt of limestone crosses the state nearly east and west A portion of this limestone is quite pure and has been found to be we'll adapted for use in the manufacture of portland cement. An immense plant for the manu- facture of this product has Ia atsIv haa,