The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-16

STILL DEVELOPING
Is Now Installing Skip Hoist
at Florence
SIX FURNACES IN BLAST
Seventh Stack Will Be Ready for the
Torch In ApriI-Sloss-S hefffId
Company's New and Rich
Developments.

The Sloss-sheffield Steel and Iron COM
panys furnace al Florence, which is I'M
dergoing repairs, will be ready for blast
about the LIST of April. 1t is being equipped
with a skip hoist and good deal of
money is being spent on various improve
ments now under way.
OF the company's seven furnaces, all are
In operation except the one at Florence.
The six furnaces in blast would be ordi-
narily making iron at the rate of $4,000
or $4,000 tons a month, but owing to the
scarcity of cars considerable time is now
lost in waiting for the delivery of raw
material, resulting in a reduction in out
put The fires are banked frequently from
six to twelve hours. Instead of normal
production the company is doing well
under present. conditions to make $500
OF 1000 tons a month.
lle Sloss-Sheffield is the largest maker
of foundry iron in this country. 1t has a
capacity of more than 100000 tons year.
and when labor becomes plentiful again
and the railroad situation improves the
output should reach something like 10000
tons a month
Development Work.
During the year past the company
pushed important development at Its
Bessie mine in Jefferson county where
a thick seam of most excellent coking
coal is being worked The output at this
new opening will be increased, and when
an adequate supply of cars can be count
ed on 1t will be more than doubled!
Perhaps the greatest feature of the
Sloss- Sheffields development within re-
cent years is in connection with its red
ore property at Irondale just beyond Gate
City. Some years ago the company used
the soft outcrop from this mine, and after
that had been exhausted, so-called experts
employed at the time gave it as their
opinion that the hard ore was of little
value. and would not be worth mining.
AS the Sloss-S Sheffield was well supplied
with ore on Red mountain the manage
ment, accepting the statements of those
who had inspected the Irondale property,
abandoned 1t temporarily. Last year, how
ever, President ]. c. Maben decided TO
have the mine opened to see what was
there The experiment was most crafty
ing 1t turned out that this ore bed was
exceedingly rich.
1t was a veritable find" Development
went ON steadily and the company is now
mining six or seven hundred tons a day
al Irondale. The output there will grad
ually be brought up to 1900 tons a day.
Inc ore runs 3S 10 81 per cent III meldlne
iron and it is there in great abundance,
This mine may be reckoned. therefore,
as one of the company's best assets.
Mineral Acreage.
The mineral holdings OF the Sloss-Shef-
field include 5000 acres of coal lands,
45 600 acres of red red ore. about 10000
acres of brown ore of a superior
quality, and a large quarry
]. S. Grasty of Baltimore, the we'll
known geologst. who, it is said. has done
much field work in this district within
the last two years, remarked recently that
after he had inspected all the mineral
properties in Alabama he found the Sloss
Sheffield company had more good ore to
the acre than any other concern in this
section: less waste land or land that
would prove unproductve
Under President J c. Mabens admins
tration the company has been steady
money maker. 1t has surplus of several
million dollars. Its preferred stock, pay
ing a per cent dividend ranks practical
ly as bond. and its common stock pays
a dividend at the rate of per cent an
nually.