The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1908-10-23
GEOLOGICAL REPORT
Just Issued by U. 5. Department
Covers Local Territory.

Readers Of the News win remember
that at various times during the sum
mer of 1907 we called attention to
the work of the United States sur
veying and geological corps in this
county and in other paris of this
section Of Kentucky. The corGs
was in charge of w. C. Phalen, Of
Washington, and the work was done
at the joint cost of the United States
and Kentucky
Kentuckys mineral wealth is no.
where manifested SO notably as In
what is termed by the geological sur
vey the Kenoya quadrangle. This
quadrangle covers 93S square miles,
end while small part of Wayne
county, West Virginia and the South.
ern part of Lawrence county, Ohio,
Is included In it, by far the greater
part lies in Kentucky, for 1t in
cludes the whole of Boyd county, the
larger part of Lawrence and parts
of Greenup and Elliott counties.
1t takes lis name from the small
town of Kenova, a name coined by
combining the abbreviations of the
three States named. The town lies
al the confluence of the Big Sandy
and Ohio rivers. The Kentucky and
il portions are sometimes called
Hanging Rock" region from an
outcrop Of massive rock at Hanging
Fock on the Ohio, few miles be-
low Ashland.
W, C. Phalen, Of the Geological Sur
vey has just issued bulletin de-
scriptive of the Kenova quadrangle
The quadrangle, he says, forms part
OF q much larger area, In which, dur
ing the last three or four decades,
the mining OF coal and the mining
end smelling of iron ores have been
actively carried on. The iron ores
of the Hanging rock region of Ken
lucky were Of great importance in
the seventies and eighties, but the
introduction of cheaper ores from
Alabama and the Lake Superior re-
gion and the gradual disappearance
Of the fores s on which the charcoal
furnaces depended have caused a
decline in the iron industry of the
district, and no furnaces using local
ores are now in operation
But, though of little value at pres
ent, the iron ores may be more inn
p0rtant in the future, for when the
cheaper ores now in the market be-
come scarce and prices advance, the
higher CRADLES of ores in the Kenova
quadrangle will be worked. The TACT
that similar thin beds of ore have
|, been successfully worked in Europe IL
|, significant. During the last five
SNoio ihV hlhSS VI luS puaul dn6ic
have yielded approximately 1,S0O,OO(
shorts tons Of coal, and the coal
! Elining in the region is sill active.
, The State Inspector of Mines of
. Kentucky has also reported pro-
: ducion of caanel coal and coke.
Most of the mines are small, equip
ment is simple, and nearly all The
local railroad lines. The camel coal
coal is shipped to places along the
mined at Boghead ard Hunnewel, is
however, shipped abroad Tor use as
gas enricher, and some of the coal
of the Torchlight mine is shipped To
Pacific coast points.
The quadrangle contains also val
liable deposoits of clays suitable for q
variety of purposss, but these de-
posits are at present little developed
The amount of available material is,
however, large, and the clay indus
try of the region should have a
promising future.
Mr. Phalen's report gives details
in regard TO the distribution, char
acter, extent and development CT
the Goals, clays, limestones tad
building stones, iron ores, oil and
gas and other mineral resources OF
, the quadrangle and references to
previous publications containing in-
formation about the area.
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