The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1907-05-02
Our Mineral Wealth.
The Mining Industry Of North Caro-
lima Of Vastly More Importance
Than Many Persons Suppose
An Instructive Pamphlet Just
Published BY the State Ceelegist

Wilmington Messenger.
The Messenger has Just received
from Mr.. Joseph Hyde Pratt, State
titled: ''The Mining Industry in
North Carolina During 1905, by
Joseph Hyde Pratt" It is designa-
ted as Economic Paper No. IL" "and
we advise all of our readers who wish
to post themselves on what this
State is doing in the way OF mining
the useful and-the precious metals to
apply to Mr.. Pratt for a copy OF the
pamphlet.
The information it contains as to
what is being done in this line in our
State will be a revelation to many o:
our people. evil be candid enough
to confess that we have had our eyes
opened and our knowledge greatly
broadened by reading this report, as
we may call it, of Mr.. Pratt Of what
is being done in the way of mining in
this State.
Our people are too prone to take
for granted the truth of the state
ment that has often been made that
North Carolina furnishes n sample
and sample only of almost every
thing produced in the United States,
whether dug out of the ground or
grown from it.
To those who have paid little at
tention to the real facts, but have
taken the above statement to be the
correct one as to our States re-
sources the facts and figures present
ed by Mr.. Pratt, will be somewhat of
revelation.
The pamphlet referred to contains
nearly one hundred pages and is a full
exposition of the mineral resources
of the State and for the develop
ment of the same up to the present
time.
We wish we had time and space to
go fully into q summary of the con-
tents OF the pamphlet; but as we
have neither at our disposal we will
mention only a few OF them. In 1905
North Carolina produced, in coin
value, gold to the amount OF $129,-
l53, Montgomery county being at
the head of the list of counties, her
output being $61, 900 Cabarrus
coming next with $4,000.
During the same year the State put
on the market $SS,OOO worth cop
per as compared with $51 400 worth
for the year 1904.
For the year 1905, the State pro-
duced Sc, ,282 tons of iron ore, valued
at $72,352. For the year before the
production was some 5000 tons
greater. The great drawback to
iron production is the inaccessibility
of the mines.
The only deposit that was produ-
Ger in 1905 was what Mr.. Pratt calls
1.-The celebrated Cranberry mine in
Mitchell county, which contains
magnetic iron ore and furnishes a
pig-iron of superior quality" He
says "a similar ore occurs in Ashe
county and only it's distance from
railroad transportation prevents its
being mined" He says there are
other iron ore deposits in the State
which are not worked principally
on account OF their distance from
fuel and flux or their distance from
railroad transportation.
Then comes tin mining, which is
most interestingly treated, details OF
the initial work in Cleveland, CASTOR
aud Lincoln counties being gone into.
Then many other minerals to be
found in this State, such as cobalt,
corundum and precious stones too
numerous to be summarized here are
mentioned and interestingly discuss
ed in reference to the possibilities oi
our State when these classes OF bel
mineral wealth are developed