The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-03-29
COPPER
INDUSTRY 4 :.
Profitable Deposits Are Work.
ed lnsNorth Carolina.
P' +! \ COUNTY MINES e;
For Forty Years or More Aiming For
Copper Has 6esn Carried on Ii a
Desultory Way The Rockefellers
is.y Are Interested. VI a
especial q The rlnes. Dispat ten. !,

e az M TlTs; D sxnt mn.
10 written In the papers concerning the
copper mining Industry OF North Carolina,
y and few people are aware OF Its n,agni-
a tude and possibilities. The growing de-.
Is niand for this metal has greatly increased
4 the interest In It's mining, and the future
4 will reveal that North Carolina Ii rich
y In this ore. Some OF the developments
Alread y made would. i II the loca ton was
II i12tbe west create a mining furore equal
TO tho earl days Of mining In California
& and tho territories. as5 3S X 81
4 There Ii a copper belt in Person county,
II that tends over and into Ha lifaxs county
Il Virginia. supposed Il to be about twenty
i've miles 3 n length POSSIBLY longer ana
4 some three miles In width. The most fac-
ii tive points are about eight and ten miles.
4 q little south Of east from Iaox boro. Tho
q country Is covered principally with pine
n timber and hard wood, Is rather #undula.
& ting and spnrsely settled. @ I am told by
expert miners that this section abounds
5sir Hthls mineral wealth that will compare
afavorably with many OF the best districts
In the west, and the future has much III,
store for North Carolina along the border
" line of Virginia. Much, X not n1lsof the
land In this territory has been bought, Or
II the mineral privilege leased. by those VINO
Y are ntereste In mining for copper. h "a II
was the writer's privilege a. few dayy
\ ago TO visit the mines OF b. T.. Duke, In
q Person county, come eight miles east OF
\ Rox boro. t would DO a revela ton to
those who have paid title nttention IL
B the sub beet, as II tile has been said about
II In our newspa pers, to see the Develop
ments made and the progress Of copper
mining In that section In the past few
years. & sf$5 Il 81 81
mi Soo
for copper In that portion OF person couii-
iSty. has been carried Son in a desultory
\ way # Lack Of the proper knowledge In
mining methods !: the long hauls OF the ore
4 in5wa CONS to railway lines: and this neg y
slect OF publicity has made 1t difficult to
establish the importance OF the copper
products IL OF the copper mining 58b bolt.
Now practical mining men have become
sintercsted and results arc being achieved
that promise to place that belt among the
most important copper producers.
aS Tho veins are OF the tissue type and
many OF them are prominent and strong.
Some have been prospected to a depth of
& from 10 to $50 feet. The vein material
or vein-filling. consists OF hard but friable
quartz. altered slate, Bepid tic, CALI cite ana
i massive copper ore. evelopmentssha have
demonstrated that the ore Is there Il in
& abundance, and experiments and practical
tests have proven tnat III can De 3concen-s
$trated to a very Ugh per cent OF recoy-$
cry. Il
S Mr. Duke owns about 40 acres. and has
#amineral option on a great deal more
adjoining his property. He has one shaft
Jos feet deep; one ITO feet d eep: one Is
s1eet; and 100 feet, the latter being this
most actively worked At this shaft
there Is not finer shaft house in the
4 belt. 1t has high well-made gallows
frame. and is equipped with boiler, en-
3 gine llp-to- date machinery; steam drills
I and air compressor. This shaft Is tins
&bered In modern style with two compart-:
Sments-one for holsting and one as a
man way. air pipe pumps. and In fact
everything is done in modern miner
manner, The shaft is 100 feet and another
below that 60 feet deep, Each station
drifts out three directions and K cross;
4 cut has been started to run in an easterly
4 direction to cut adjacent parallel veins
Tho veins run northeast and southwest.