The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-05

State Capitol, Bismarck, N. D., Oct. 5.
The real homeseeker will quite natur-
ally be interested in the mineral re-
sources of the state he is thinking OF
making his future home and to that end
the writer has been intending to tell the
readers of this page something about
the Mineral Resources OF North Da-
kota.'
While making no pretence Of being a
state erich in minerals North Dakota does
have extensive beds Of the finest clays to
be found anywhere for the manufacture
of brick, pottery and cement and OF
what is far more important IN pra1rle
country, practically einexhaustible beds
of Ignite of the best quality. 1
Ignite is usually defined as a miner
al substance, which, like common coal,
is of vegetable origin, but differs from
it in often showing distant hprous
or woody structure. ~:
Many of the western states have ex-
tensive Ignite fields, but none OF them
are the equal of North Dakota in the
area covered or the quality OF the hg'
mite. The whole western half Of the
state is ,underlaid with these vast beds
Of Ignite or in other words there is
$4,000 square miles of land in North
Dakota in which Ignite occurs in guam
titles sufficient to be Of economic i'm
portance The Ignite area Of North
Dakota, is equal to the entire area of
the state Of Indiana and yet we North
Dakotans are inclined to think these
vast coal deposits of only secondary i'm
portance. They are of the utmost I'M
portance and in the near future the
state is bound to be leader in manu-
features of various kinds.
Lignite makes the best Of fuel and
Tolr 10 IN.
terest in the anthracite and bituminous
coal miners strike, which the daily
press tells us is scheduled to take place
April /, 1906, and destined to be the
most momentous strike of modern
times.
There Is a sufficient quantity avail
+ able and the railroad facilities are sucf
: that every part Of the state can b.
readily supplied from the mines already
opened and in operation by simply IN
creasing the number Of miners.
Many farmers have a coal mine OF
their own farms and secure their win
ter's fuel with much less labor tina,
does the Indiana farmer in his owl
wood lot.
Fuel Value of Ignite.
In discussing the fuel value Of Zig
mite, liberal quotations will be mad
from the second biennial report of tn
state geologist, who made an exhaustive
study Of the subject in 1901 and 1902.
Coal in all it's forms Is derived iron
vegetable tissue which is composed o
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Whe'
not ex posed to the atmosphere, part o
theIcarbon unites with part Of the oxy
gen and another part unites with
part of the hydrogen and two gases ar
formed. The proportion Of the carbo
entering into these combinations is low
l. er than that Of either oxygen or hydro
gen, consequently as the gases forme
escape the percentage Of carbon remain
ing uncombined grows higher. There
fore, conditions which favor the forms
ton and escape of these gases favor tn
formation of a coal which is high in ur
combined or what is usually Gale
"fixed' carbon.
By this the reader will understan
that coal having high percentage Q
"fxed' carbon has the most value fc
fuel
An analysis of sixty samples Of Mort
Dakota Ignite made in 1902 gave 51.2
per cent Of fixed carbon. Analyses {
forty one samples Of West Virginia b