Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-02-12
Willis r. Lee, of u. S. Geological
Survey, Makes Report of
A Reconnaissance.
THE FIRST COKE OVENS BUILT
In This Region--Produce Was Used by
Early sellers for Smcit
ing Iron.

The coal of southwestern Utah has
been known since 1854 when the first
| mine was opened, but its remoteness
| from any large market has restricted
| it's utilization to the supply of local
demands, for which It has long been
| important. The construction of the
| san Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake
| railroad has, however, brought trans
| portation facilities within IS miles of
the important outcrops, and branch
| line from this road to the principal
mines could easily be built. Such rail-
| road lines are said to have been sur
veyed but no construction work has
been done,
The coal is in Colob plateau east of
Cedar City and Kanarraville. and west
of the plateau in the eastern slope of
| Pine Valley Mountain. near New
Harmony.
The structure of the region is such
that some of the coal crops out In
precipitous cliffs bordering the,
plateau. 800 feet or more above the
plains to the west. and some of ii is
exposed at the bottoms of canyons
and near the level of the plains, For
this reason n knowledge of the geog-
raphy, the stratigraphy and the
structure of the region is essential to
proper estimate OF the value of the
coal land With the purpose of gain
ing such knowledge, Mr.. Willis T.
Lee one of the biologists OF the
United States geological survey
made a reconnaissance survey of this
Iron county field in the summer of
1906. visiting the principal coal OPEN
ings. sampling the coal, and determine
ing the position of the various coal
bearing rocks. brief preliminary
report on this work has Just been
published by the survey in Bulletin
316 which forms part ri of "Contr-
buttons to Economic Geology. 1906"
and contains the results of the govern
ment Investigations of coal. Ignite and
peat deposits. This report may be
obtained free of charge by applying to
the director of the survey at Wash
ington. D. c.
But little prospecting has been done
in the Iron county field. partly because
the coal has been used only in the
small towns located near the outcrop,
and partly because it is exposed at the
surface at so many points along the
outcrop. The workable coal of the
plateau is probably all at the same
horizon, though thin seams occur here
and there at several other horizons
Mr.. Lee calls special attention to a
thin bed OF limestone. containing many
fossils locally known as SCREW shells"
Which lies GDOuI lUU 1eet above the
coal and Is used by prospectors as a
guide In locating the coal bed.
Several prospects have been located in
this way whore the coal was covered
with slide rock.
The first coke ovens in southern
Utah were built near one of the mines
OF this region, and early settlers used
the coke for smelling iron. but reports
differ as to cooking qualities OF the
coal from different narfs of the field.
proximity OF this coal field to
deposits of iron ore in the Iroun Noun
tains will doubtless prove a most i'm
portant factor in It's future develop
ment. The ore is too remote from
existing shelters to be profitably
utilized at the present time but the
iron properties are rapidly being ac-
CURED by large operators aud will
eventually be productive. It is possl-
BILE that the coal might be used for
5,neitlng the iron ore near the mines.
The New Harmony coal, particularly.
which is a semianthracite may prove
satisfactory for this purpose If 1t can
he obtained sufficiently free from i'm
purities. This coal differs from the
other Goals of the region in its position
In the lowlands west of the plateau
and its occurrence in several beds OF
workable thickness.
SAN FRANCISCO MARKET.
James A. Pollock & Co, bankers and
brokers, furnish the following from
San Francisco on Nevada mining stocks
today:
coMSToCK.
ophir. 2.92tsa2,95; Mex, 1.25Q1. 27A.
Gould & Curry 22023; Con. Va, 72a73:
Savage. $3.50; Hale & Norcross, foG
II; Yellow Jacket, 1901 60: Beicher
2SM94; Sierra Nevada, 41G49 Union, IS
@40.
ToNoPAH.
Tonopah Nevada, 5OOQ5.25; Montana
Tonopah, 1sO@1.924; Tonopah Exten-
sion, $50 asked; MacNamara, 35nsG.
tlidway, 79ns0; Tonopah Belmont. I'd 4,
Gl.a5i Tonopah North Star, 15al6: Ohio |
Ionopah, asked; West End Con. 37p |
ssi Rescue, l2Wl3' Tonopah e. Califor-
mia, bid; Golden Anchor. sac; Jim |
Butler, nd42; Cash Boy 3dl4 Monarch |
Pittsburg, Ext. 8 asked: Montana Mid |
way Ext, bid; Golden Crown, 6 asked.
GoLDFIELD.
Sandstone. S5as6. Col Mt. 2sa24.
Jumbo EXT. 1898; Vernal bid; Penn
Booth, 26q27; Blue Bull, 1890; Adams,
6qS; silver Pick, 32a94; May Queen 4
asked; Nevada Boy 56p6. Black Butte
hNtn, 4a5; Blue Bell, 10 asked: Dixie.
4@5; Goldneld Columbia. l2 asked: Hi
hernia, 4q5i ST. Ives, 47Q4s: Conaueror.
COS; Black Rock, 2a3 Lone star i2T
~ @, Wonder. asked. orc. I4a15
kendall Ext l@2; Sandstone Ext, 2
BID; Mayne Sdi; Atlanta. 35d86: o.
Bend, S4@S5; slmmerone, bid Empire,
; asked Red Top Ext. l561l6; Florence
SCq4,32h; D'deld b. b. Cons, t0Q2i,
Goldneld Daisy, 1O2iad1.o5: Laguna'
LOO bid, Comb. Fraction, 7OG7lt al
Bend Ext. Sos; Ct Bend Annex. Ans.
3, B. Bonanza, 8 bid; Kewanos. 47a4s.
Esmeralda, bid. Crackorjack aSi0.
Hed HIS. 3SUS4; Mohawk Ext, 546: L.