Iron County register., 1910-11-10
IRONTON MO, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1910. NUMBER
been made to learn how extensive

the deposits of iron ore in South
Missouri really are. Until late
years it was not known that the
metal existed in the abundance
that it does, and there is still more
to be found when all of the Ozark
counties have been thoroughly
prospected over, not to consider
the vast stores of lead, zinc, cad
MUM, and one or two other
minerals also known to be there.
Almost monthly, in late years,
has come the news from some re-
mote and thinly populated section,
that more iron ore had been found.
The best feature is that most of
the deposits are surface affairs,
and therefore, there is no telling
what richness there is further be-
low. Like the coal of North Mis-
souri, some of these beds of iron
ore may overlay one another.
According to Red Book figures
on shipments of iron in the year
1909, compiled by Supervising
,, Statistician A. T. Edmonston from
railroad and smelter returns, the
amount marketed was 131, 1927 tons,
valued at S278, 1882, in the ore
shape. The price per ton Sin the
raw" ranged from St.50 to So.
After giving these facts and figures
on the 1909 shipments the Red
Book chapter continues with.
missouri is again taking rank
slowly, but surely, for the amount
of iron ore it is placing annually
on the market. Years ago in the
days of the old Vulcan furnaces
and rolling mill in Carondelet
(now the south end of st. Louis)
the state ranked high for this
commodity. Iron Mountain, in st.
Francois county, was then one of
the chief sources of supply. When
iron ore began to depreciate in
value the mines of the state shut
down, one after the other, with the
exception of six or eight close to
the two smelters of Missouri, be-
cause it no longer paid to handle
and haul the ore any great dis
tance.
"Three years ago work on the
deposits in and around Iron
Mountain was resumed and since
then many thousands of tons have
been sent to market. The build
ing of new, and the extension of
old railroads in Southeast Mis-
souri,, brought many other rich
iron deposits closer to the con-
suming centers, and gave this
supposed dead industry new
stimulus, which has continued
ever since.
"Nearly all of South Missouri is
rich in various gardens of iron ore
but the chief present sources OF
supply, besides the Iron Mountain
deposits, are: Cherry Valley,
Steelville, Craig mines of Goltra,
Mudville, Leslie, DeCamp, Salem,
Kerrigan, Hendrickson, Vulcan,
Chaonia, Greenville, Poplar Bluff,
Carson, Andersen, Republic, Pal
metto, Bois D'Arc, Pomona, Birch
Tree, Willard, Brookline, Emmett,
Billings, near Grandin, near Will
Evansville, near Jefferson City,
near Sullivan. The ore consists
chiefly of the red and brown hem
attic variety. Wayne county has
made many large shipments dur
ing the last three years.
"Other leading producing coun-
ties, besides st. Francois and
Wayne, are; Butler, Garter, Chris
tian, Cole, Crawford, Dent, Frank
lin, Greene, Howell, Iron, Law
renee, Madison, Miller, Newton,
Shannon and Stoddard. Forty
, eight Missouri counties have iron
ore in abundance.
+ The following table prepared by
i Mr.. Edmonston, gives the CHIEF
J shipments Of iron ore, by counties,
for 1909, and the mine value of the
same: