Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-11-29

rlore and Ohio main line at Green
Spring to Franklin Is 751 miles. and
a railroad is now ii operation t.
Petersburg, 20 miles north Of Frank
In.
This red ore near Franklin trends
N. so degrees to ~ degrees E. re-
brownsh red in color, full Of fossil
SHELLS and breaks into rectangular
blocks. The vein is 20 to "a inches
wide, and carries 81 per cent. iron
The same ore Is found 10 the west OF
Franklin, on North Fork Mountain.
ii small veins. but carrying high
percentage Of iron An additional
supply will probably come from jack
and Simmons Mountain the south
west but little prospect work has
been done in this section.
Red non-fossiliferous hematiteg
are found on Jack Mountain, 8 IL
miles southeast Of Franklin, in veins
u feet wide, with AZ per cent. iron.
The Oriskany brown hematite ores
are also found IN Pendleton county.
They have been opened on Little
Mountain. three miles east OF Frank
lin, where II showed 80 to As pc
cent. iron.
While at present time the praet'.
cal outlet for these ores seems to
be to the north Of the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad, in past years east and
west railroad surveys were made
across this county to connect the
West Virginia coal and coke fields
with the Southern Railroad in Vir-
ginia Such roads would bring the
coke and iron ore together at the
coast AS the mountain ranges run
north and south, such road WOULD
be expensive in construction, though
gaps are present in these ranges ex
cept at west In the Allegheny Noun.
tain, and engineers have claimed his
can be crossed within practical
cost estimate.
The ores can be brought from the
mountains to the valley near Frank
lin by tram roads and inclines. The
difference in elevation between the
ore deposits and the South Branch
Valley is 1000 to 1900 feet
The Clinton fossil iron ore contin-
ues across Grant county TO the north
and farther north into Mineral coun
ty. In Grant county it is exposed
the old furnace workings in Green
land Gap. IS to 90 inches thick. The
ore here is oolitic in structure and
has lost the scaly texture so charac
ter site farther south in Pendletou
county. In Mineral county the ore
is much thicker, reaching 8 to 10
feet, but It is more sandy and only
carries about 80 per cent. iron. The
Oriskany ores have not been pros
pected in these counties. Il VIII re-
quire a large amount OF prospect
work to determine the value of these
more northern ores. -.
To the east of Grant is Hardy
county, where several old furnaces
were in operation, and many ore op-
enings were made to supply these
charcoal furnaces 1t would be com
paratively easy to open these ole
mines and show the quantity or ores
now available Much can be learn
ed by a visit to these mines at pres
ent time To the south of Moore
field are Clinton ores, with 81 per
cent. metallic iron. The brown ores
are found on the South Branch
Mountain, Farther east in this coun
~. in the Lost River Valley, are de-
posits of the brown ores Is feet
wide. with As per cent. iron. This
is another field where little prospect
work has been done, but the ore
blocks are widely distributed and
there is probably a large tonnage in
this valley and on It's slopes,
In this northeastern portion Of the
county sQatA of Wardensyille, on The
Capon Furnace tract and surround
ing lands, are numerous openings
made IL past years to supply brown
hematte to the Capon and Crack
Whip furnaces. Capon furnace was
one OF the most successful charcoal
furnaces in the state, and was work
ed almost continuously for IS years
from 1892 TO 1880 The Pee Dee
mine used by this furnace Shove /
the orc vein 20 feet thick and was
worked to depih OF 40 feet still IA
orc At ;ue bottom, and the opening
was 115 feet long on the strike of
the vein, The ore contained A 20
AZ per CEN metallic iron, phosphor-
us was a quarter Of ] per cent. and
silica about IS per cent The miae