The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1904-08-26
ORE OUTPUT
The United States Led all Com.
petitors Last Year.

A special from Washington of Aug
ust 18th says: Again the United
States has surpassed all competitors
in it's yearly output of iron ores.
This is the most important fact con-
tanned in the report made by John
Birkinbine to the United States geo.
logical survey on the Production of
Iron Ores in 1903" The report which
will be part of the annual volume,
Mineral Resources, 1903" has just
been published as separate pamphlet
and may be obtained free Of charge
from the director of the survey. Its
opening paragraph declares that the
quantity of iron ore produced In the
United States in the year ending Dec.
81, 1903, was 35,019,30S long tons.
This means decrease of 534,827 long
tons, or about II per cent, from the
maximum of IS, 554, 135 long tons in
1902. The quantity mined in 1903 is,
however, the second largest recorded,
and is greater than the combined to.
tails for the year 1902 of Germany,
Luxembourg, and the British empire,
which are the nearest competitors of
the United States. The data for 1908
for these countries are not yet avail
able, but the same comparison will
probably prove true for this year also.
The iron ore obtained in 1903 came
from twenty-five states and two ter
ritories. Minnesota, Michigan, Ala
bama and Wisconsin were the leaders
in production. Nevada was added
this year to the list of producing
states, while Vermont and Montana
reported no ore mined in 1908.
The iron ore mined was Of the four
general commercial classes: Red hem
attic, brown hematite, magnetic and
carbonate. In 1903 the quantity of
red hematite mined in the United
States was $685. per cent of the total
for the country, and Of that Minnesota
contributed over one half. Alabama
was the most important contributor
of brown hematite. The three princi-
pal states that mined magnetic in
1908 were New Jersey, New York and
Pennsylvania. The hematite showed
a decrease of about 1 per cent from
the production of 1902, the brown
hematite and the magnetic de-
crease of 7 per cent, Only to the car
Donate ores, the least important class,
showed an increase over the output of
1902. That increase amounted to no
less than 26 per cent. AS in 1902, all
of this class of ore was obtained in
Ohio and Maryland.
The Lake Superior district stands
pre-eminent as producer Of iron ore.
Its annual output exceeds that OF any
foreign country, land the average char
acter of its ore is excellent In the
year 1903 the Mesaba and Vermilion
ranges in Minnesota, the Marquette
range In Michigan, and the MenOmi-
nee and Gogebic ranges in Michigan
and Wisconsin produced total of &c.
573, 271 long tons of iron ore. OF this
ore the Mesaba range alone produced
81 per cent. In addition to the above
ranges in the United States, sixth,
the Michipicoten range was opened in
Canada in the year 1900, but its pro-
duct in 1908, 223, 1915 long tons, is not
included in the above data.
OF special interest in connection
with the production of Wisconsin is
the fact that the year 1903 witnessed
the initial output of iron ore in the
new Baraboo iron range, near the
town of Freedom, in the southern
part of the state. These deposits of
Bessemer ore. which are within con-
venient railroad haul of the blast fur.
naces at Chicago, Illinois, may furnish
important additions to the ore supply
of these furnaces.
The state of Pennsylvania showed
decline of % per cent from the total
of 1902. This decline is due almost
entirely to the diminished output oil
one of the large mines, the Cornwall
Ore Hills, to which Pennsylvania has
been mainly indebted for its position
as prominent producer of iron ores
New Jersey, on the other hand, show
ed an increase of nearly 10 per CEN
over its 1902 production. The con
struction of several modern furnaces
was the chief cause of the increased
output in New Jersey, and it is prob
able that an augmented production
may be expected in the near future
The total value at. the mines of TIL,
80, 1893 long tons of iron ore pro
duced in the United States in thu
year 1903 was S66, 1928, AIS, or s1.S9
ton, an increase of 5 cents a ton, o
per cent over the value per ton il
1902, viz, $1.84. In 1903 the highes
average value at the mine was places
on the Colorado iron ores, viz, $3.12
ton, and the lowest on Texas ores, s
ton. Iron ore to the amount Of 989,
44O long tons valued at 81, 261 ,008 or So.
81 ton, was imported into this coun
T. l..