The Yale expositor., 1914-03-26
LETTER FROM THE
STATE CAPITOL
STATE BIOLOGIST TALKS OF
VAST MINERAL RE-
SOURCES.
PRODUCTION is NOW GREATER
THAN EVER BEFORE.
Michigan Agricultural College Will
Hold Summer School to
Begin June % and
Close July 81.

Lansing, Mich.-"Probably no state
In the Union produces in such great
quantities such a diversity of min
erals as Michigan" said State Geolog-
list r. c. Allen in speaking of the var
ious mining industries being carried
on within the state.
Michigan has been known as ID
great mining state since far back in
the early forties and fifties when she
began the development of her great
copper and iron mines. After nearly
three-quarters of a century of contin-
uous mining of iron and copper ores
the production today is greater than
il ever was before. So far as geolog-
lists are able to see Michigan will con-
tinue to supply vast quantities of iron
and copper for generations to come.
While Michigan's fame as a mining
state rests mainly on her vast de-
posits of copper and iron ores, she
produces in addition a large number
of other mineral products, among the
more important of which are coal,
salt, gypsum, clay, mari, limestone,
glass, sand, whetstones and scythe-
stones, gem stones and silver. Prior
to 1896 considerable amount of gold
was produced from quarz veins in the
vicinity of Ishpeming.
Gravel, Clay and Mari.
Gravel, clay and mari are all found
in the glacial drift which is the UNI
iversal soil formation of the state.
Gravels are becoming more and more
valuable for use in road building and
road ballast. Marls are used in the
production of Portland cement. Mari
beds occur in many of the inland
lakes of the state, and constitute the
basis of an important Portland ce-
ment industry. Michigan makes more
cement from mari than any other
state. Many of the most valuable
clay deposits occur around the bord-
ers of the state in the beds of the ex-
tinct glacial Great Lakes, which were
the predecessors of the present Great
Lakes and whose shore lines are
found far inland on the present day
land surface. These clays form the
basis of a brick and tile industry,
the value of whose products exceed
100000 annually.
"The Michigan coal basin occupies
over 5000 square miles of territory
in the central part of the southern
peninsula. Coal beds varying from
an inch up to above four feet in thick
ness occur in the upper part of the
coal measure series. 1t has been
estimated that there are S,000,000,000
tons OF coal in the Michigan basin,
most of which is available for mining.
At the present time the active CEN
tiers of coal mining are Bay City, Sa-
ginaw, st. Charles and in Genesee
county. The value of the coal pro-
duced is more than 100000 an
nually.
Salt, Gypsum, Oil and Gas.
Rock salt occurs in the rocks of
the Salina series and is produced
through a shaft at Detroit. The
greater part of the salt production
of the state, however, is obtained by
the pumping of brines and evapora-
tion with waste fuel from lumber
mills or in especially constructed
vacuum pans. Salt is produced main
ly at Detroit and northward along
LAKE. st. Clair, in the Saginaw valley,
and at Ludington and Manistee. The
value OF the salt products of Michigan
is about $2,5O0.O00 annually and ex-
ceeds that of any other state.
Gypsum occurs in the Grand Rap
ids group of the carboniferous series.
The annual production is valued at
from 100000 to 100000.
Michigan produces small quanti-
ties OF oil and gas. Many of the
farmers in the southeastern part of
the state and some other places OBJ
tain sufficient natural gas from shall
low borings for domestic purposes.
Copper Industry Opened In 1845.
"The copper industry in Michigan
began as early as 1845. The copper
mines are located on Keweenaw point
and southwestward in Ontonagon
county. Michigan has the distinction
today of being, all years considered,
the largest contributor in metallic
copper, of exhibiting the largest cop
per mining operations, of attaining
the lowest cost per ton of ore
handled of exploiting with profit ores
of lower grade than are mined else
where and OF paying larger total
dividends than any other mining dis
trict in the world.
Copper occurs in native form,
mainly in conglomerates and trap
beds. The Calumet and Hecla cop
per lode is three miles long and
twelve to fifteen feet thick and is
mined at a depth of over one mile.
From the mines the copper ore is
hauled to the mills, most of which
are located on the lake. In the mills
the copper is separated from the
rock, from whence II is sent to the
smelters where It is refined and cast
into shapes for shipment Great piles