The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1921-08-19

per lVV square 1eet, were shlppeu.
That the deposit possesses a high
commercial value is attested by re-
port Of Michigan's mineral resources,
issued several years ago by the state
geological and biological departments,
which says: "The roofing slate sent
out from the quarries at Arvon is Of
an agreeable black color and Of uni
form quality. The grain is fine, silky,
homogeneous and combines durability
with smoothness, bearing favorable
comparison with the product from
the east. Cleavage or splitting planes
Of the slate dip very uniformly TO the
south, bat the bedding plane is in
broad anticlinical and .synclinie !.
waves which trend east and " 18th
"a consequent Dip, to Tic south or
north, as the case may be-"
Z A. P.Swineford, .nimissioner of
mineral statistics during the period
when the Arvon quarries were in op.
eration, declared: "The time is near
at hand when the slate interest Of
Baraga county will come to the front
and take rank as one Of the most i'm
portant Of our Michigan industries.
Indeed all that is new needed to make
it permanent profitable industry is
the employment Of he capital, backed
by intelligent management, necessary
to its thorough development"
Recent Investigations of the slate
possibilities at Arvon have been made
by the state geological and biological
survey, and in statement, R. A.
Smith, director Of the survey, de-
clares: "In answer to numerous in
quiries from asphalt single manu-
facturers / have always suggested
the use Of the black states at Arvon
for making rich, dark single, for
/ believe that such single would be
salable."
Further in his report, Director
Smith declares: "The operators evil
IDENTIFY did not understand the geol-
ogy of the slate deposits and in
ferrred that the cleavage planes were
bedding planes. AS consequence
their quarries were planned wrong
and the results of their operations
now form a serious obstacle to the
economical opening of the quarries.
Personally l would lie to see COM
bination CT good business men and
a practical slate operator try out the
commercial possibilities of these
States"
A new company, taking hold at !
Arvon today, would be greeted with
a distinct advantage as a starter.
They would find that, while prepare
tons for re-opening were in progress,
considerable shipning could be done
from the three or four substantially
built and slate-filled warehouses now
standing on the property. A vast |
amount of roofing slate, neatly cut
and piled, had been stored in the
warehouses at the time of the prop
erty's abandonment-and both slate
and warehouses are in excellent con-
diticn. Another shac contains hun
dreds of sample drill cores, taken
from the pits which have been
worked. There is possibility that
if these samples could be identified
with the sections from which they
were obtained, much Of the expense
and labor attendant upon new exper-
mental and survey work could be
avoided.
At any rate the slate quarries at
Arvcn are idle--and have been idle
for the past forty years or more.
Great, gaping shelves of fine, black
slate remain to tell the visitor the
sad story of poor management. The
pioneering, namely, the location Of
the deposit, the opening of the quar-
ries and the cutting Of roads and lay
ing of rail beds, has been accomp-
t]ished. 1t now remains for some re-
ally wise and level-headed business
man, or group Of men, to step in,
with practical operators to conduct
the work.
1t is an established fact that there
is almost an indefinite supply Of the
finest grade of slate at Arvon. And,
in the meantime. the village Of Ar
Won patiently awaits the day Of its
reclamation, the caretaker is firing
CT his one-man job, an, once more,
opportunity knocks in vain.
There is evidently not enough of
the "wild cat" element to the propo-
sition at Arvon to interest capital.