The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-29
EXPERT OPINION ON
WYOMING IRON ORE
Government Geological Survey
Is Made of the Harhilie
Iron Range.

in the summer OF 1905 Mr.. sydney ".
Ball of the United States Gelogical Sur
vey. spent three months IN studying tho
geology and the iron-orc deposits of the
iron range ~ lIartvillc. Wyo, \ brief
preliminary description OF the results of
his work viii he found in ;hc Survey s
Forthcoming annual entitled "Contribu
tion TO Economic Geology, 1906" The
ilartvlle iron range. lying north and cast
OF North Flatic river. Is situated In Lar
annie county, in cast-central Wyoming.
ramaie county. in cast central Wyoming.
II forms n portion Of the tIartyllle up
lift, broad and low domAl mountain
mass similar in many respects TO the
Black Hills in South Dakota, The max
imum height of the uplitt is about 5000
feet above sea level and the region is
one Of comparatively small relief.
Tho iron range extends from Guern-
Scy To Frederick, n distance OF miles.
The iron bearing rocks reach y maxi
mum exposed width ot , miles. The pro-
ductive area is, however. considerably
smaller and extends from Sunrise north
point southeastward mile, The towns
OF the Iron range are Sunrise, lTartville,
lronton. and Guernsey. Tho principal
mine Of the range and the local Offices
are AT Sunrise, a village which has q
population of 1900. HartNillc, town Of
l50 people. is supported by the miners
OF Sunrise Ironton is the mining camp
OF the Chicago mine. Guernsey Is an
orc shipping town OF $50 people. The
Hartville iron range has two railroads.
the Colorado and Wyoming railroad
which extends from the Colorado and
Southern railroad at Hartville Junction
TO Sunrise and is the line by which the
Sunrise ore is shipped, and the Chicago
Burlington and Quincy railroad, which
has built q branch from irs present
terminus at Guernsey TO the Chicago
mine.
The history OF the lIartyiIle ircn
range may he divided !nro f3lr periods
D That during which the Indians mined
soft ore for war paint: (2l period
stretching from 1850 to 1887. during
which the range was a copper mining
district CD an iron prospecting period
extending from 1855 To 1897. and tD the
period OF productive mining, from 1898
10 the present day. Most OF the valuable
claims are now controlled by the Colo
RADIO Fuel and Iron company, which Is
rapidly developing two mines known as
the Sunrise and the Chicago. These now
furnish the greater portion OF the ore
used at this companys smelters at
Pueblo, Colo. In 1905 the Sunrise mine
was In point OF production the twentieth
iron mine I'm the United States. only two
mines outside of the Lake superior re-
gion exceeding ii. The product Of the
which will presumably become greater
from year 10 year,
After discussing the stratigraphy and
geological structure of the region, Mr.
Ball describes the ore bodies. telling
where the most important iron ore de-
poslts OF the Hartvillc range may be
found and what formations will perhaps
repay careful prospecting. The ore OF
this range is n high grade hematite.
some. masses OF which contain over 6S
per cent of iron, although the ore as a
whole will probably not average over 60
per cent, The iron countent in he sun
rise mine increases perceptibly with
depth. indicating. perhaps, considerable
redcposition of iron at depths through
secondary processes. The ores O: This
range eXar.iued by early writes were
low in phosphorus. many samples show
ing only a trace. whereas much of the ore
shipped at present is OF non -Bassemsr
grade Some Of the ore Is high IN silica.
It's only other detrimental constituent
Sulphur, so far sas known. is absent,
while the copper minerals occupy suCh
restricted areas that their presence is
not Troublesome in the sorting Of Inc
CrGs.