The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-02-15
DISCOVER TWO
new MINERALS
Field Museum Expedition Brings
Back interesting Specimens
From Brazil.
5-POUaD TOPAZ CHE TROPHY
Scientists Tell Of Mountains Of Iron
Ore OF FiaesF Quality fer Steel
Manufscsure--V Gem
Fic.Ga Visited.

Chicago.-A TOPAZ weighing five
pounds, remarkable not only for its
size but for its clearness. is among
the specimens brought back TO Chi
cago by DR. Oliver G. Harrington,
curator Of the department of geology
of Field museum, who has just re-
turned from an expedition to Brazil
The expedition travelled 1900 miles
through the diamond, gold and pre-
cious stone fields of the South Amer
lean republic, covering more than 300
miles through the mountains of the
State of Minas Geraes on muleback.
The specimens obtained include
gold diamonds aquamarines beryls,
emeraldS and topazes, besides a num-
Der of minerals of the rare earths.
Doctor Harrington believes s-he has
found one or two minerals hitherto
unknown to science.
The five-pound topaz is one of a
large number of enormous semi-pre-
cious stones obtained by the scientists.
but is small compared to 25-pound
topaz which they saw at one OF the
mines. The giant stone was valued
at about $75 a pound. Cut up and
polished a first-grade topaz is worth
from So to $40 carat.
Visit Diamond Mines,
Diamond mines were visited in the
region Of Diamantina, 500 miles north
Of Rio Janeiro, in the center of a vast
diamond bearing area. The stones can
be mined only in the neighborhood Of
water for washing the coarse earth
away The diamonds are found in
beds totally different from those in
South Africa, the matrix being
quartzite composed of sands washed
from older lands.
The semi-precious stones in the
State of Minas Geraes are found in
coarse GRANTEES or pegmatites so de-
composed that the gems can be mined
with a shovel.
The expedition visited MORO Velho
gold mine, the deepest mining shaft
on earth It's lowest level is 1000
feet below the surface. At this great
depth the temperature of the rock is
lit degrees Fahrenheit, making IT
necessary to maintain an elaborate
refrigeration plant on the surface to
force cold air down to the miners.
The deeper the shaft goes, however,
the richer the ore found, so the addi-
tional cost of mining is more than off
set by the returns.
Iron Ore Common.
Iron ore of the finest quality for
steel manufacture is so common in
this district, Doctor Harrington said,
that his party rode for day after day
over mountains, valleys and plains Of
solid iron deposits. Manganese, alum
insm and other valuable ores were
also found in abundance.
The Brazilians of the interior were
almost uniformly friendly and willing
to give every assistance to the scien-
fists, Doctor Harrington reported, ex-
cept in one town, where he was nearly
mohhed when rumor spread that he
intended to buy gold mine which
was to he sold at auction. The ma
tives objected to foreigner obtaining
the mine and spent most of the night
in a demonstration in front of the
house where he was staying, shooting
eNplod ng dynamite cartridges, sing
ing and shouting derisively.
American automobiles, typewriters,
sewing machines and other mechanical
appliances We're very common in the
interior, and American movies enjoy
almost monopoly, he said. Even the
remote villages have their movie the
alters, where the American screen
favorites are shown Wild West films
were the most nonnlar