The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-01-03
(By II. w, Kitson in Engineering and
Mining JournaD

Mining JournaD
Comparatively few mining men il
the United States, and especially II
the west. have visited the country.
greatest zinc and lead districts--Jop.
lin and southeast Missouri. Until re-
Gently there has been a dearth Of
technical literature from either dis.
trict, which may be attributed in par
to the unconventional practice in min.
ing and milling at Joplin and to the
policy of non publicity of the part Of
the companies operating in the south
east Missouri area. 1t Is, therefore
not surprising that, with the exception
OF those engineers whose activities
have at some time conferred in one OF
the other of these sections, so little is
generally known concerning either. To
many Joplin is but a familiar name
associated with lead and zinc some
where in Missouri, and the southeast
Missouri lead district is either confus-
ed with it or Is altogether unknown.
Those members of the American IN
stitute of Mining Engineers who at
tended the recent meeting of that
body in st. Louis, and who for the
a first Tina visited the coal, zinc, lead,
oil and gas fields of Missouri, Illinois,
Kansas and Oklahoma, and read the
technical papers 'and other literature
descriptive of the region presented at
the meetings, will agree that the pres
ent and future wealth of the lower
Mississippi valley is beyond any pre-
yious conception they may have form
ed in regard to the variety, quantity
and extent of the regions mineral re-
sources.
1t is the purpose of this series of ar
ticles to present first long distance
view of the entire area of the lower
Mississippi valley, later viewing the
Joplin and then the southeast Mis-
souri, districts at closer range and de-
scribing each in turn, first as whole
and then subsequently in its various
phases. Technical papers descriptive
ing OF both districts have been pub
lished In recent bulletins of the AM
erican Institute Of Mining Engineers
and deal with various technical prob
lens with a thoroughness that need
not be undertaken in the present ar
ticle, which aims only to incorporate
all that has been written in a general
descriptive manner with information
gathered during a recent visit both to
Joplin and southeast Missouri. The
miner from the mountainous west will
wonder at the srnoothness of the top
ography, the absence of blowouts and
evidence of past mountain making and
ore making igneous activity. He will
marvel that country can have a Gull
tivated field on the surface and a mine
below, and will be puzzled to learn
that he can not stake out mining
claim on land that is more valuable
for mining than for agricultural pur-
poses. The millman will note with
establishment the countless number of
small mills dotting the landscape so
profusely in the vicinity Of Joplin and
Webb City, each with it's conical tail
ings pile, said to carry from 05 to
per cent zinc, and collectively appear
Ing like huge sand dunes on a desert,
and until he has seen the cost sheets
and realized the economic situation as
1t actually exists, he may think he has
found rare field for betterment of |
practice both in mining methods and !
in milling. But in this instance has
tily formed conclusions are likely to
be misleading.
The Worlds Largest Zinc and Lead
Districts.
: The value of the mineral products /,
,f the lower Mississippi valley, a re-
sion centering In the state of Mis-
souri, and extending into the adjacent
parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Arkansas. Oklahoma and .
amounted in 1916 to nearly
six hundred million dollars. The dis
Irict is the largest zinc and lead pro- |,
iucer in the world. accounting respec-
lively for one-third and one-seventh I,
II the total of each. In oil Oklahoma Il
md Kansas produced 40 per cent of
he total in the United States; and !,
rom the entire section there was
arge production of bituminous coking
ind non cooking COAL and some semi
'ituminous and semi anthracite of ]
Ugh grade. In addition tile field pro- &
luces barite, bauxite, cement, clay, h
luorspar, gypsum, lime, manganese,
ilstone, phosphate rock, pyrite and Y
alt, and also limited quantities of CO. i
alt "copper" nickel, gems and pre- |,
ious stones, sand and gravel, stone, {
ripoli, and tungsten. Iron ores are l
OF produced extensively at present, \
ut there are large known deposits in Q
.entucky, Tennessee and Missouri b
ther valuable deposits known to ex- d
Il are asphalt. feldspar, fullers earth C
nd pumice. The development of vast \
lineral resources in metals and fuel, I,
he equally great agricultural yield OF I,
heat, corn, cotton. fruit and other IL
roducts of the soil, the abundant @,
infall, moderate climate and natural N
cilities for railway construction and N
yer transportation have built up al
eat industrial and distributing CEN. D,