The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-05-11
SOUTH CAROLINA TIN MINING.
$500 Every Time the Sun Goes Down.
j. O. Darlington in Columbia State.


the production Of gold, for each bulle-
tin from the government assay Office
gives the indisputahle figures. In
monazite and several other valuable
minerals, this State ranks first, but it
now seems that in the matter Of tin
production South Carolina is destined
to occupy the unique position Of fur.
nis!,ius more tin and of higher grade
than acy other locs.;ty has heretofore
furnished III ali the world.
Very little has been said or written
about the tin development Of Chero-
kee County, for the reason that the
property is owned by man who is
able to. work it, who is working it,
and that not one dollar Of the stock is
for sale, or likely ever to be.
About two years ago, after heavy
wind storm, Capt. Samuel S. Ross
went out into timbered section Of
his farm to ascertain what dana xs, if
any, had been done to the timbers.
Finding large tree blown down with
it's roots sticking above the ground,
he observed black rock, resembling
anthracite coal, imbedded in the, red
clay. Pulling this out, Capt. Ross
was struck by the extraordinary weight
of the rock and determined tohave it
examined. Accordingly, it was for
warded to Clemson College and was
promptly pronounced cassiterite. This
is the purest Of tin ore.
Capt. Ross began to pr ospect the
land thoroughly, and found 9 oonsid-
erable deposit. With ordinary frying
pans, such as miners use in prospect
ing, and crude monazite boxes, he COL
leoted several hundred pounds, and
the question arose as to how to get
tin ore assayed, there being no smell
ters in this country. And it was q
further problem as to how and where
to market the ore if it should prove
valuable. Capt. Ross heard there was
smelter at Bayonne, N. j., and after
considerable correspondence he learn
ed that this he'd been abandoned,
owing to the scarcity oe the ore in this
country, and the prohibitory tag on
imported ore. The owners os this
plant, however, did him great ser-
vice in putting him in communication
with the smelters in Hale, Cornwall,
England. In june last the ore that
had been so crudely washed ont Of the
red clay OF Cherokee County was
shipped to England, and the report
was awaited with breathless anxiety.
Meanwhile Dr.. Day Of the United
States geological survey, visited the
locality and confirmed the Clemson
analysis, He gave o, great deal of
light on the tin situation, showing
how anxious the government has been
to discover this metal in paying guam
titles, how eagerly miners have sought
for it aud how that millions Of dollars
have been sunk. in the Black Hills Of
Dakota, where it is embedded in gran.
ite. where labor is high and transpor-
cation diHioult. i He was much inn
pressed with the GafSney rook, and
advised Capt. Capt. Ross TO- continue mis-
work on conservative lines until he
was sure Of the extent 81. ,the deposit.
The report came from England that
the ore assayed 7s;.a2' pure tin and
thatsthe English smslters would .en-
gage to take the entire output OF the
mines or o basis Of 20 per cent. The
sups.:yr,ty Of this ore san Be readily
seen when it's known that the Eng
lish ore .runa 2 per cent. and the best
heretofore found in this country
scarcely % high % G; per cent. ...
DR.. David, q. Day d, the geological
survey. who hAaa ainna 7 u;sikash He
mines four times, wrote as follows
after recent visit: 81.
Taking the lode deposits Of tin the
world over, they would not average
more than from 3 TO 8 per cent. metal
10 tin; therefore, they are only mined
where labor is cheap. The m;aes in
Cornwall only yielded when tin was
higher ID price, but while .hey now
run less than 3 per cent, cheap labor