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This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmi au taux de rMuction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X V 1 12X 16X 2DX 24X 28X 32X ils u lifier ne ■ge Th« copy filnriMl h«r« hM b««n r«produc« Prices Outained fok Rivkk Rock SHii>i>iN(i Facimties fdk Loading Rivkr Rock QuANTiTiKa Raised of Land and Kiver I'mosfhate The South Carolina Fertiliser Manukacturinci In- dustry .. .. . . ,. Profits of the South Carolina Phosfhate Industry . . Future of the South Carolina Phosphate Industry.. l'A(iK. '7' 171 '73 176 '77 Chaptkr IV.— CANADIAN PHOSPHATES. Geological Formation Description of the Mining Operations Analysis of Canadian Apatite Preparation of the Ore Transport List of Companies Operating m iHqi Cost of Produ^ tion Shipments of Ca.adian Phosphate .. Prices of Phosphate I **s .. Present Position and Fuiuifil ojf Phosphate Industry •• •• 179 184 • • .. '99 • • .. 201 •• .. 205 . . 208 % • *♦ . . 208 • • <', 213 • • THE Canadian t* »» 219 Appendix.- ANALYSIS OF VAI^JOTts PHOSPHATES. English Phosphates Spanish Phosphates Algerian Phosphates . . French Phosphates SoMME (French) Phosphates . . Belgian Phosphates German Phosphates and Norwegian Apatite West Indian Islands Guano .¥ If' 219 220 220 "il 22'' 222 122 22^ CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. INTRODUCTION. The tissues of -ivery kind of vegetation are composed of a number of elements derived from the air, from water and from the soil. Those elements, therefore, of which the earth is deprived by agriculture, and which are not replaced by tlie action of air and water, have to be restored artificially if the life-supporting powers of the soil are to be kept in operation. Chief among these elements are nitrogen, potassium and phos- phorus, the last-named being the most indispensable for the development of all plant and vegetable life. Phosphorus is one of the most universally distributed of all elements ; it is found in every kind of animal and vegetable matter, as well as in most sedimentary and eruptive rocks, and existed previously to the dawn of life. 12 Introductory. U. The necessity of re-stimulating an exhausted soil was discovered in very ancient times, but it is only during the present century that any real knowledge of cause and eflfect was acquired. History shows that the excrement of birds was in use among the Romans, and that in the 1 2th century the Arabians and Peruvians used the guanos of their respective countries for fertilising purposes. The waste clippings of bone and ivory from the button and knife facLoriwS of Sheffield (England) were utilised as a manure by the neighbouring farmers about the middle of last century, and this was probably the first occasion when any non-nitrogenous phosphatic material was thus employed. Towards the end of the century greensand was used in considerable quantities in the counties of Essex and Kent, and in the early part of the present century bones were so greatly in demand for application to the soil in a crushed form, that large imports were made from foreign countries in addition to the home collections. About this same period the marl beds of New Jersey, U.S.A., were beginning to be exploited, and their contents used for enriching the agricultural lands of that State. In France spent animal charcoal (bone black) began to be used as a manure in 1822, and the results were so satisfactory that its employment for agricultural purposes soon made rapid strides. Introductory. 13 All this time the real cause of the stimulating effect of these various materials seems to have remained unknown, although the results were thoroughly recognised and appreciated. It was apparently the French agricultural scientists who were the first to attribute to the phosphoric acid contained in the spent animal charcoal the beneficial effects resulting from the application of this material to the soil, and suggestions were made that the phosphates, discovered by Monsieur Berthier and others about the year 1 820, should be mixed with the animal charcoal and crushed bones, and in 1841 a patent was taken out for the application of phosphates for agricultural purnoses. In the year 1840 Dr. Justus von Liebig, of Germany, who based his experiments on the researches of his predecessors, suggested the addition of sulphuric acid to crushed bones in order to render soluble the phosphate they contained. The phosphate of lime in bones had hitherto been considered useless owing to its being insoluble, and the fertilising element was thought to be in the gelatine matter ; in fact it was not until the Duke of Richmond proved by his experiments in the year 1843, that bones deprived of their grease and gelatinous matter were equally as efficacious as fresh bones, that the phosphoric acid w?s recognised as being the valuable fertilising element. iMeanwhile iMr. J. B. Lawes (now Sir J. B. Lawes) put Dr. Liebig's suggestions into practical effect, and began the manufacture of artificial manures at Deptford, London, by H Introductory. mixing sulphuric acid with the crushed bones. Soon afterwards (1845) Professor Henslow recommended Cambridge coprolites* (the analysis of which had been published by Monsieur Berthier, about the year 1820) as being a material rich enough in phosphate of lime to be a suitable substitute for bones, and the various bone-crushing factories were quickly converted into chemical fertiliser and superphosphate manufactories. i IMPORTANCE OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. In order to show the great importance of phosphoric acid in relation to agriculture it may be mentioned that one year's crop in France — according to Monsieur (Jrandeau's recent estimation — removes from the soil about 300,000 tons of phosphoric acid, of which about one-half only is restored in the shape of stable manure. In like manner it is estimated that the crop of wheat, maize, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, hay and straw in the United States means an annual loss to the soil of nearly one and a-half million tons of phosphoric acid. Further it has been shown that for every cow kept on pasture lands throughout the summer, there are carried off not less than 50 pounds of phosphate of lime in the shape of veal, cheese and butter. *NoTE. — Professor Henslow named these nodules "coprolites," thinking that they were of coprolitic origin, like the nodules found in the Lias formation. He soon discovered his error, but the name (which is most misleading, since real coprolites are of very rare occurrence) has never been altered. Introductory, K These ifew instances are sufficiently striking to show the enormous annual loss of phosphoric acid that is going on in all agricultural districts, and to prove the necessity for restoring to the soil what is being thus carried off. SOURCES OF SUPPLY OF PHOSPHORIC ACID. By a curious coincidence the discoveries of Dr. Liebig were published in the same year that the first few barrels of Peruvian guano were imported into England. This new fertiliser, which contained nitrogen in addition to phosphate, became at once so popular with the farmers that in the year 1845 the imports amounted to 283,000 tons, and by the year 1861 no less than 3,200,000 tons had been imported into the United Kingdom. The success of this guano resulted in the discovery of other guano deposits in the Pacific, on the east coast of South America, in the West Indies, in South Africa and in the Arabian Gulf. Of these only the Ichabce, Patagonian and Falkland guanos were nitrogenous, the other deposits being purely phosphatic. Of the many guano deposits discovered nearly all have been exhausted, and at the present date the supply of this material is but small. ' Bones, bone ash and bone meal continue to be a source of supply of phosphoric acid, but the quantities available form but a small proportion of the amount of phosphoric acid required annually. t6 Introductory, The use of mineral phosphates* on the other hand has shown an enormous expansion since the early days when its manufacture was first begun, and deposits have been worked from time to time in the following countries : — Norway, Russia, Germany, England, Belgium, France, Spain, Algeria, Canada, United States (South Carolina and Florida), and many of the West Indian Islands, and also in Mexico and Brazil. In addition to the above a fresh source of supply of phos- phoric acid in the shape of ground basic slag was introduced into the European market about six years ago, and this mp.terial i.as given such satisfactory results that the annual consumption exceeds six hundied thousand tons. These are the most important sources whence phosphoric acid is obtained, but there are also various waste and other products which supply smaller quantities. THE PHOSPHATE MINING INDUSTRY. Although Cambridge coprolites began to be worked as early as the year 1845, and used for the manufacture of chemical fertilisers, yet it was not till about the year 1870 that the phosphate mining industry began to assume any regularity or importance. •Note. — The term "mineral phosphates " is used in the commercial sense, as contrasted with organic phosphates, such as bones, bone ash and soluble guanos. Introductory. 17 This was doubtless owing to the immense supplies of guanos which were shipped in large quantities up to the year 1870,* soon after which date the best deposits became exhausted. In the meantime the supplies of Cambridge coprolites had been supplemented by the working of similar beds in Suffolk and Bedfordshire. In France the phosphates at Grandpre, in the Ardennes, began to be exploited in 1856, and applied to the soil in a ground state. Further discoveries were made at Quercy, in the department of Lot, in 1865, followed by the working in 1870 of the deposits of Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne and Aveyron, known commercially as Bordeaux phosphates. A few years later the Boulogne coprolite deposits began to be exploited and shipments made to the United Kingdom. In Spain, phosphate uiining commenced on a small scale at Logrosan, in the province of Estramadura, about the year 1855, followed by mining near Caceres in i860, where an output averaging 10,000 tons per annum was made up to 1875 from one mine alone. In Norway, phosphates were discovered at Krageroe in 1854, and mining carried on for five years, during which time 13,000 tons were extracted and shipped. The Oedegarden deposits were not worked until after 1874. ♦Note.— 10,000,000 tons had been exported from the Chincha Islands alone. i8 Introductory. ifil!" In Germany, the Nassau phosphate deposits were dis- covered in 1864 ; mining was at once commenced, and the phosphate exported, and also manufactured locally. Owing to the competition from other countries in recent years, and the high percentage of iron and alumina contained in these Lahn phosphates, their export ceased some years ago, and the whole production is now manufactured locally. From 20,000 to 30,000 tons are raised annually. Phosphate deposits had also been opened in these years on some of the West Indian Islands, the most important sources being Navassa and Sombrero''' Islands, from which places considerable quantities were shipped both to the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1867 the South Carolina deposits began to be worked, and in four years' time the annual production of land and river rock had reached 65,000 tons. The next ten years showed a great advance in the production of phosphates. Belgium entered the arena in 1873 with phosphates from the neighbourhood of Mons, and France began to supply larger quantities, 20,000 tons per annum being exported from the Bordeaux district alone. In 1875 the Ardennes and Meuse productions reached the figures of 25,000 and 41,000 tons respectively. In 1877, France produced a total quantity of 1 1 5,000 tons. •Note. — The island of Sombrero has been worked for over 30 years, and has produced a total quantity of 500,000 tons of uniformly high-grade phosphate. Introductory. 19 In the West Indies the Islands of Curasao and Aruba were now supplementing the output of high-testing phosphates, and the shipments from these sources in 1880 amounted to over 10,000 tons. Spain was now producing and exporting larger quantities, 33,000 ton- being shipped to the United Kingdom in 1874, 11,000 tons in 1879 and 23,000 tons in 1880. The world's production of phosphates in i88o appears to have been about as follows : — Tons. England (Cambridge, Bedford and Suffolk- coprolites) 30,000 France (Ardennes, Meuse, Lot, Tarn-( Jt-Garonnt Aveyron, Boulogne, &c.) • . • • • 125,000 Belgium (Mons District) 15,000 Spain (Estramadura) . . 40,000 Germany (Lahn District) . . . . 25,000 Norway , . 5,000 Canada .. 7.500 South Carolina (Land Rock) • . . 125,000 Do. (River Rock) . . 62,000 Curasao, Aruba, and Sombrero Islands . . 10,000 Other West Indian Islands, Navassa, &c. 25,000 Other Countries ■ * * 30,000 500,000 In the next ten years the sources of supply altered \'ery considerably. Spain, which in the years 1882 and 1883 shipped a quantity of 100,000 tons to the United Kingdom alone, has now practically ceased to export. In France the old sources of supply for export have been replaced by the newer fields in the Somme and other northern departments. 20 Introductory. Belgium has assumed an important place in the market, about 1 50,000 tons per annum being raised in the neighbourhood of Mons. while fresh deposits of large extent have recently been discovered and worked near Liege. The South Carolina deposits have been developed to an enormous extent, consequent on the expansion of the chemical fertiliser manufacturing industry in the United States, and a new field has begun to be exploited in Florida. In 1890 the production of phosphates had reached the following figures : — Tons. England (Coprolites) . about 20,000 France (Somme Deposits) 170,000 Do. (Other Deposits) 200,000 Belgium (Mons District) 150,000 Do. (Liege District) 50,000 Germany 30,000 Norway 10,000 Canada 26,000 South Carolina (Land Deposits) . . 300,000 Do. (River Deposits) . . 237,000 Florida 40,000 West Indian Islands 50,000 Other Sources 20,000 1,303,000 This rapid development is most remarkable, and clearly shovva a great future for the phosphate mining industry. Agriculture and the demand for phosphoric acid are indissolubly connected, and with the gradual though certain exhaustion of the earth's soil there must be an ever increasing demand for phosphoric acid to be replaced therein. It has been stated on good Introductory. 21 authority that the United States are only using one quarter of the quantity of fertilisers which should be employed to keep pace with the annual extraction of the fertilising elements from the soil. In Europe the manufacture and use of fertilisers in countries, which a few years ago were content to do without them, is making rapid strides. In fact the recognition of the importance of phosphoric acid is apparent on all sides. It seems safe therefore to assert that the phosphate mining industry is still in its infancy, and that its future growth and development are an absolute certainty. CLASSIFICATION OF MINERAL PHOSPHATES. No exact geological classification of the various deposits of phosphate has yet been made owing to the great difficulty of deciding definitely to which formation certain deposits really belong, for not only does the phosphate itself assume a great variety of forms, but the sundry varieties also blend into one another in a most perplexing manner. The ordinary classification is a non-geological one, and divides phosphates into mineral phosphates, whose origin cannot be traced to animal life, and rock phosphates (more m less mineralised) of organic origin. 22 Introductory. Thu only puru niiticral pliosphatus uru thu upatitu deposits of Norway and Canada, and thu apatites of Spain found in liniitud quantities at Jumilla, Zar/a la Mayor and Ceclavin. All these phosphates arc crystalline in form. The deposits of Nassau (Germany), Lot-et -Garonne, Tarn- et -Garonne and Aveyron (south-west of France), Logrosan and Caccri'x (Spain) are usually placed under the division of mineral phosphates, and termed " phosphorite," an arbitrary name which has no practical significance. There is much dispute as to the origin of these phosphates, but most of the sci' iitists attribute to them an organic origin. The term " rock phosphates " covers the rest of the field, and includes in its different varieties phosphatic limestones, coprolites, nodular phosphates, concretionary, arenaceous or sheet rock phosphates and bone beds. Having thus described the manner in which the phosphate mining industry came into existence, and given a rough outline of its development, we will now proceed to a fuller account of the phosphate deposits of Florida, South Carolina and Canada. CHAPTER II. FLORIDA PHOSPHATES. THEIR DISCOVERY. The existence of phosphate deposits in Florida has been known for many years, but owing to a general belief that the quantity was limited and the quality not commercially valuable, no regular examination was commenced until the close of the year 1889. The first to discover and appreciate the true value and extent of the phosphates in South Florida was Mr. J. Francis Le Baron, of Jacksonville, who, while making a survey on behalf of the Government in the early months of the year 1 881, came across the bars and beds of phosphate in Peace River. He at once recognised the fact that the numerous bones and teeth, hitherto considered merely interesting curiosities, were phosphatic, and that the deposit was one of enormous value. His work at that time prevented him from taking steps towards reaping any advantage from his discovery, and it was not until December, 1886, that he was able to 24 Florida Phosphates. visit the locality again. He then communicated with sou^e northern capitalists, for whom he made a full report, dated January, 1887, advising the purchase of about 10,000 acres. His negotiations for acquiring the lands seem to have been protracted and finally to have proved unsuccessful, and his golden opportunity was lost, for Colonel G. W. Scott, of the G. W. Scott Manufacturing Company, Atlanta, Georgia, had in the meantime heard of the deposits, and after a careful survey, made very extensive purchases on the Peace River. In the summer of the same year Mr. T. S. Moorehead, of Pennsylvania, who had learnt from Mr. Le Baron that there was phosphate in Florida, though the secret of its location had not been mentioned to him, came south to look for the deposit, and was fortunate enough to discover and purchase the now famous bars at Arcadia. Supported by Colonel Scott, who agreed to purchase all his output, Mr. Moorehead started actual operations on a very small scale, under the name of the Arcadia Phosphat'j Company, and in Maj', 1888, the first shipment of Florida phosphate was made, ten car-loads being dispatched to Colonel Scott's feraliser works in Atlanta, Georgia. Shipments of phosphate were now made regularly to Colonel Scott's works, and though the railroad tars were actually labelled " Florida Peace River Phosphate for the G. W. Scott Manufacturing Company," more than twelve months elapsed before the outside world appears to nave taken notice of this new industrv. Florida Phosphates. 25 Following upon the steps uf these developments in Southern Florida came the news in 1889 of the existence of phosphates in Marion County. It was in May of that year that Mr. Albertus Voght, while sinking a well near Dunnellon, noticed some rock which aroused his curiosity, and which upon analysis proved to be high-grade phosphate. This fact transpired in the autumn of that year, and led to an epidemic of prospecting, the results of which were so surprising that in a very short space of time an excitement and fever set in, which have not been parallelled since the Pacific Coast gold craze of some forty years ago. Every train was crowded with prospecting parties armed with spades and with shovels, with chemicals and with camping-out apparatus. The backwoods were dolced with numerous camps ; diggers were hired at fancy prices, and the lucky owners of vehicles and animals of any kind found their exorbitant demands readily agreed to. Men who had been trying in vain to get rid of their lands at any price suddenly found themselves independent for life ; where single dollars had been eagerly sought, fifties were now refused, and hundreds readily oflFered and paid. Speculators invaded every town : lands were bought up right and left regardless of prices, resold again at still higher prices, until the newspapers seriously stated that Florida was richer than the whole of the rest of the United States put together. A few head-lines from leading newspapers may be mentioned to show the state of the public pulse, " the entire gulf a rich phosphate bed " ; "millions on millions in it"; "an acre worth from $30,000 to $12,000,000"; "a gigantic bonanza"; "wastelands will 26 Florida Phosphates. blossom as the rose"; "millions of money in South Florida lands''; "Marion, Citrus, and Hernando Counties to become a veritable El Dorado." DESCRIPTION OF FLORIDA. The popular idea that Florida was a flat country composed of alternate areas of deep sand-banks and impassable swamps seems to have prevailed even in Washington, for the Geological Survey of the U.S.A., which has done such thorough and valuable work in other States, omitted Florida entirely from the scope of their investigations. Consequently there is a great void of scientific data upon the geology of the State, and the only available information to be found is contained in the short treatises of Le Conte and Agassiz, a nummary of which with additional liotes appeared in an article by Professor Eugene A. Smith, published in 1881, in \''ol. XXI. of the Amcrictiu Journal uf. Science. The unexpected discovery of phosphates has led to the commtnicement of a topographical survey by the Government, to be followed by a geological survey, but the work before that department is so arduous and extensive that no results or official reports can be expected for many months to come. Speaking topographically, Florida may be described as an undulating low-lying peninsula, the highest point being Florida Phosphates. 27 260 feet, and the average elevation about 80 feet above the level of the sea. The whole country is a succession of gently sloping ridges, connected in some places by extensive plateaux, in others by low-lying swamps. The ridges and plateaux are for the most part composed of sand and covered by a growth of pine trees, which in some places are excellent timber forests, in others merely thin saplings. The low-lying lands, which are called "hommocks," are covered with a rich soil, and where not too swampy are selected for cultivation. In the swamps every variety of tropical vegetation, more or less dense, is to be found in luxuriant abundance. The altitudes of diflFerent places in the peninsula being of interest, the following may be mentioned. Starting from Fernandina on the north-east, and travelling in a south- westerly direction to the port of Cedar Keys, the following elevations are to be remarked : Maxwell (56 miles), 57 feet above mean low water ; Trail Ridge (61 miles), 210 feet ; Gainesville, 128 feet ; Waldo, 150 feet ; Ocala, 100 feet (with a ridge one mile below the town of 160 feet). Going south from Ocala : Pemberton Ferry, 54 feet ; Lakeland, 244 feet ; Plant City Peace and Alafia Rivers and their numerous tributaries, and in the beds of these same rivers and streams. What appears ta be the main deposit is situated on the high lands (maximum 165 feet above mean Lide level), which form the watershed of the head waters of the Alafia River and of the creeks which flow into Peace River between Bartow and Bowling Green. The rough boundaries of this area would be Lakeland on the north, Bartow and Bowling Green on the east and south, and Chicora on the west. The phosphate-bearing stratum varies in thick- ness from a few inches to more than 30 feet, and is covered by an overburden differing in composition and thickness according to locality. Near the edges of the numerous streams, or " branches," the overburden is not heavy, but in the higher lands, dotted with shallow ponds and lakes, the phosphate is not generally reached until some 10 to 15 feet of overlying earth,, sand, &c., have been removed. The composition of the overburden is as follows : — (i.) Soil and subsoil : a few inches to 6 feet. (ii.) A light-coloured sand : a few inches to 10 feet. (iii.) A variously -coloured stiff clay. This clay, after the first few inches, contains phosphate pebbles, which grow more and more frequent till the regular stratum is reached. Some deposits are covered with a rock capping of sandstone, either in the form of conglomerates or of loose rounded pieces. Occasionally it is solid rock, and crops out on the surface,. 3© Florida Phosphates. and is completely honeycombed. The colour runs from rusty brown to pure white. The thickness of this sandstone capping, which is generally local in its occurrence, is rarely more than two or three feet, but it is hard to remove when conglomerated, or in rock form. It! The matrix of the stratum, in which the pebbles are found, is generally argillaceous and plastic, and the proportion of sand contained therein varies in each locality. In order to ascertani the exact composition of this matrix we sent a sample, taken from the location known as Phosphoria, to Dr. Wyatt's laboratory, for complete analysis, and received the following results : — Matrix dkikd at 212' li' Organic Matter * Phosphoric Acid tCarbonic Acid . . Lime Iron and Alumina Fluoride and Magnesia Insoluble Silicates and Sand . . 2.40 .. 1529 . . 6.70 . . 20.00 . . 13.06 . .60 .. 41.95 100.00 ♦Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime t ,, ,, Carbonate of Lime .. .. ^2.33 . .20 ;-| An analysis by Dr. Maynwald of a sample taken from the I'harr deposit gave Phosphoric Acid 13.93, equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime 30.37, Iron and Alumina 9.90. I III Florida Phosphates. 31 The east side of the main deposit, i.c., from about two miles below Bartow, as far as Fort Meade, is quite different to the centre, for the phosphate in that region is found embedded in a hard matrix. At times it is hardly possible to distinguish between the pebbles and the matrix, both being pure white ; in other places the matrix is brown in colour. The composition of this matrix does not differ from that of the phosphate pebbles it contains as much as would naturally be expected. The percentage of sand is small, and though the iron and alumina run high, there is a large percentage of phosphate of lime, so much so that at Homeland the pebble and matrix are dried and ground together, to a lOO-mesh size, and sold as a fertiliser for direct application, a small quantity of the sand being blown off during the grinding. The name of the Company carrying on this business is the Whitaker Phosphate and Fertiliser Company. The analysis of the rock as taken from the ground is as follows : — Phosphoric Acid.. .. .. .. .. 29.13 Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime.. C3.50 Iron and Alumina .. .. .. .. 13-41 It appears, therefore, that the larger part of the matrix has been formed by small particles of whitish phosphate, which have acted as a binder between the pebbles. There is yet another form of deposit, which is found about one mile south of Bartow, underlying a very small area. This appears to be a hard rock deposit, and the samples exhibited I Florida Phosphates. therefrom show no sign whatever of pebble formation. The analysis runs over 70 per cent, of phosphate, with about 2^ per cent, of iron and alumina. The rock has a close resemblance to some specimens found in Marion County, DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOSPHATE PEBBLES. The phosphate pebbles vary in size from the tiniest specks imaginable up to potato size, the average may be said to run between one and a-half inches and one thirty-second part of an inch. They have no regular shape or appearance, some- times their surface is smooth and polished, at other times it is much indurated and rough. The colour also var'es very materially, even in the same piece of stratum. We have selected the following varieties as being representative of the different kinds of pebble : — (i.) A pure white to cream-coloured variety, smooth and lozenge shaped, with a hard enamel surface and white interior. (ii.) A white chalky variety, soft in composition and easily crushed by the teeth ; lozenge shaped. (iii.) A brown variety, partially covered with a cream to blue-coloured enamel, polished surface, and very hard. i'l' Florida Phosphates. 33 (iv.) A light brown amber-coloured, changing at times to a dark chestnut brown variety, with hard smooth and polished surface, interior is brown but lighter in shade ; lozenge shaped. (v.) A mud-coloured brown variety, with rough surface and jagged edges, very hard. These pebbles are usually found in the small creeks, and also in the upper part of the Peace River. (vi.) A bright slatey-blue and white variety, very hard. In the larger pebbles the surface is much indurated, the smaller pieces being smooth and lozenge shaped. (vii.) A purple-blue , or plum-coloured variety. The pebbles of this colour are larger than the average size, and are to be found in Bone Valley. Their surface is hard and indurated. (viii.) A white porous variety. These are mostly found in the neighbourhood of Little Pain's Creek, and are high in iron and alumina ; lozenge shaped. (ix.) A small hard jagged variety, with broken edges and hard surface; found everywhere; white to cream- colour. (x.) A broken variety, light in specific gravity, and easily broken by the fingers; very porous. Found mostly north of Bartow, high in phosphate and also in iron and alumina. All of the above varieties may be met with in any of the land pebble deposits, and seem to be intermixed generally. B r i' :! ■ I' &t t < 34 Florida Phosphates, (xi.) A hard jet black or blue black variety, with bright enamel surface. These are the pebbles found in all the Peace and Alafia River deposits. (xii.) A black kidney-shaped variety: hard, but with no surface polish ; also found in Peace River. (.xiii.) A light slate-coloured variety ; much indurated. Found in the older river beds, above present water level of the Peace River. (xiv.) A dark brown variety, very highly polished, with enamel surface : smooth and hard. These are founil in the Manatee River and on its banks, and also at Sarasota. (xv.) A light brown sandy-coloured variety : lighter in the centre than at the outside. Generally more or less rounded : surface rough. Manatee River. This variety is really a semi-phosph .tised sandstone rock. (xvi.) A chalky-coloured variety. Found in the Caloosa- hatchie and underlying its banks. Light in specific gravity and of medium hardness. Low in analysis. It is to be noticed that most of the pebbles, which are more than about an inch in length, are really conglomerated from smaller pebbles, even though their surface is hard and polished. The interior is composed of small hard pebbles and of a whitish powder, which has almost the same chemical analysis as the pebble, though the proportion of iron and alumina is in excess of the general average. Florida Phosphates. m ANALYSIS OF THE LAND PEBBLES. Thu phosphate pebbles underlying the land vary in test between 60 and 75 per cent, phosphate of lime, occasionally small samples have analysed as high as 84 per cent. The general average of land pebbles may be said to be between 65 and 70 per cent. The following is a complete analysis made by Dr. Francis Wyatt, of New York, of land pebble dried to 212°: — Organic Matter 2.73 •Phosphoric Acid .. 3219 Carbonic Acid . . 3 95 Lime .. 42.86 Iron and Alumina 4.20 Fluoride and Magnesia 2.25 Insoluble Siliceous 11.80 100.00 * Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime ., 70.21 Part of the same sample was analysed by Dr. C. Kirberger, of Hamburg, whose results gave : — Tribasic Phoi^hate of Lime . . Oxide of Iron and Alumina . . Insoluble Siliceous Matter . . 67.12 2.s8 8.50 B '2 i ! f I Nil 1 i ! y < :] 36 Florida Phosphates. The average results of 36 analyses made by Dr. C. Kirberger, Hamburg, of bulk samples (half-ton each), taken from various parts of the deposit at Phosphoria gave phosphate 67,35, 'ron and alumina 2.27 ; while the following full analyses were made in London from large average samples fairly representing the land pebble deposit of Polk County. Moisture Organic Matter and Water of Combination * Phosphoric Acid Lime Oxide of Iron Alumina .. ^[agnesia, Ac. . . t Carbonic Acid . . Insoluble Siliceous Matter . . ' Equal to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime + ,, Carbonate of Lime . . A, Voolckcr & Sons, Cuiinoii and Newton. Urlcd at •45 212" n 155 — 33 07 .33 '26 45-82 43,86 i.iy 1.63 1 1.80 5'37 — 1,64 2.00 9.28 10.21 Undetcriiiinud 8.87 100.00 100.00 72.19 72.61 372 4-54 If itl, ANALYSIS OF THE RIVER PEBBLES. The land and river pebbles art;, of the same origin beyond any possible doubt, but their composition has been changed since the time when they lay in their original bed. The river pebbles analyse from 60 to 65 per cent, phosphate of lime, with t" Florida Pltos/y/intis. 37 an average of about 2 per cent, of iron and alumina. The following analyses may be taken as representing the average cargo : — PEACE RIVER PHOSPHATE. Cakgi) ok j.ooo Tons. Caroo ok I,(X)" TjNS. Phosphoric Acid (dry basis) equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of I-ime Lime Oxide of Iron Alumina Voelckur. Dyer. Sliipanl. Dyer. iiiui^lior. 2S.0J 27.91 28.00 2H.62 2^-75 61.^0 ! i 1 1 I r ' i 'ill j 5 46 Florida Phosphates. of phosphate deposit with clay matrix. Some of the newer companies working north of Bowling Green, whose river area is limited, intend working the adjoining land deposits when they have exhausted the present and old river beds, and will then employ steam excavators for removing the overburden. The river drifts in this neighbourhood are rarely more than seven feet in thickness, and a tolerably accurate estimate can be made of the contents of a given area of river deposit. An erroneous idea is sometimes cited that the rivers are redepositing pebbles as fast as they are being extracted. This idea has apparently come from the fact that freshets occasionally uncover drifts which had been unnoticed before, and also that the drifts break up from time to time only to form afresh lower down the river, for it is quite certain that the quantity of new pebble actually washed into the river's bed is infinitesimally small. It is most interesting to notice the change in the colour of the pebbles, which are found to be a lightish brown colour near Bartow, a darker brown south of Fort Meade, and an absolute blue-black at Zolfo and further south. There are, of course, black pebbles all along the river's bed, but the above changes are worth noticing. South of Zolfo the pebble is fairly free from impuri- ties, but the further north that examinations are made will be found increasing quantities of wood drift, clay balls, and carbonate rock mixed up with pebbles. Hi ;iii Florida Phosphates. 47 NAMES OF COMPANIES IN OPERATION ON PEACE RIVER. At the close of 1890, the following Companies were in operation : — Name. Works at. Arcadia Phosphate Co Arcadia De Soto Phosphate Mining Co. . . Zolfo Peace River Phosphate Co. . . Arc-.dia Acres Capital. Owned. . $300,000 .. l.oco 250,000 .. 4,100 300,000 . . 9,800 With a daily output of about 200 tons. Since that date the following Companies have commenced operations* : — Name. Jacksonville Peace River Phos- phate Co. Charlotte Harbour Phosphate Co. Gulf Phosphate Mining and Manufacturing Co. South Florida Phosphate Co. . National Peace River Co. United States Phosphate Co, , Works at. Apopka Fort Ogden . . Cleveland . . Liverpool Langford's Bridge Acres Capital. Owned. ftl,00O,OOO . . 1,480 350,000 .. 7,500 240,000 . . 5,200 480,000 . . 1,500 100,000 . . 700 . . 680 ! A 1,^ 1 \l The average daily yield of an 8-inch pump is from thirty-five to forty-five tons of pebble, though from time to *NoTE. — There are some smaller companies in addition to these, but as far as we could ascertain, no regular output has been made, nor will the quantities be likely to affect the market. There are also other Companies organised, but not at work. P H ii n 48 Florida Phosphates. ii' Iff \n i m time when an exceptionally fine drift has been found, one pump has produced as much as seventy-five tons. There are at present twelve pumps in operation and three more will be added very shortly, so that when all the plants are working, the extreme limit to the weekly capacity is 4,000 tons. Allowing for the usual contingencies a total quantity of ioo,oc"> to 125,000 tons for 1892 is not likely to be exceeded. A great many wild reports have been circulated and even printed about the colossal output to be made months and months ago by the Peace River Companies. As a matter of fact their present output is a marvel, considering the huge difficulties which have been successfully contended with, and the record of shipments made speaks a volume of praise on behalf of the pluck, perseverance and energy of those who have used their brains, time and money in producing these results. It is an easy matter to speak glibly of a daily output of 100 tons, but it takes a long time to arrive at this figure, and many alterations both small and great have generally to be effected in the machinery before any regular daily output, however small, can be made. Much experience has now been gained, and the new comers are able to profit thereby. The output of the various companies can of course be increased by putting in extra plant, but this is likely to be done in proportion only to the growth of the demand for the pebble. ii W' Florida Phosphates. 49 ALAFIA RIVER PHOSPHATE MINING. The Alafia River and its tributaries contain similar deposits to those in the Peace River. This river rises in Polk County, a few miles west of Bartow, and flows westward into Hillsborough Bay at a point about eight miles south of Tampa. There are at present three companies, />., The Peruvian Phosphate Co., The Tampa Phosphate Co. and The Alafia River Phosphate Co, at work dredging in the river near Peru, a distance of about five miles from the mouth of the river. The total monthly output varies from two to three thousand tons. One company has its works on the river bank nt;ai Peru the other two companies have built their works at Tampa. Just above Peru the banks of the river are steep, and there is no phosphate for a distance of four miles, the bottom of the river being hard rock with scarcely any sand. Above this point the beds of phosphate occur again, but the river is very shallow and most of the pebble is mi.xed with clay. Two companies are going to operate near or in Turkey Creek, and will cut into the deposits underlying the banks of this stnjam with dipper dredges. It is said that the whole of the actual river deposit will be exhausted in about five years' time, as the river is a small one, and its bed near the mouth has not varied much. The phosphate is identical with that of Peace River, but there appears to be more silica and small loose limestone rock in the Alafia River. Ml! : I ■i ' > ' I i ''" '4 III '' * :j * r , hmi Florida P/tosp/iates. mi MANATEE, MYAKKA AND CALOO- SAHATCHIE RIVERS. The Manatee Kivur has a parallel course with the Alafia River, about 24 miles further south, and its tributaries have bars of pebble. Gamble Creek is very rich in phosphate, but the percentage of iron and alumina is said to run as high as 18 per cent., making the phosphate worthless. No mining is going on in this river, which may be said to be practically unexplored. There is an immense phosphate bed at the river's mouth, and its shores arc strewn with phosphate and sandstone, amongst which there is a large proportion of bone. The phosphate is mostly black in colour, though ^me of the nodules are brown. The Myakka River rises . ..c eight miles south of the head waters of the Manatee, and flowing southwards empties its waters into Charlotte Harbour. There is plenty of phosphate all along its bed, but there is so great an admixture of silicate pebbles and shell that no mining has hitherto been attempted. The Caloosahatchie River rises a few miles west of Lake Okechobee, and flows westward into San Carlos Bay. Mining- operations were conducted in Twelve-Mile Creek, but the admixture of shell with the phosphate pro\-ed too great a difficulty, and work has been suspended in the meantime. BLACK RIVER PHOSPHATE. In addition to the deposits of phosphate found in the rivers of South Florida, there is also a deposit in Black Creek, a Florida Phosphates. $t tributary of the St. John's River. The pebble is rougher and more jagged than the phosphate of Peace River, and there is a greater admixture of siUcate pebbles. The analysis runs frotn 4^ to 53 per cent, of phosphate. There is one Company only, the Black River Phosphate Company, operating this deposit, and present daily output is said to be about 60 toi's. The bulk of this material will be used in the United States, as the grade is too low to make European prices remunerative. SHIPMENTS OF RIVER PHOSPHATE. My Water to Ihiited Vcar. River. IJy Rail. Tons. Statts. Tons. ForoiRn. Tons. Tnl.al. Tons. 1888 l^eace River 911 — — 911 i88g M . . 4,2oG — — .. 4,206 1890 tt .. 15.24G . . 8,130 . • 5.750 .. 29,126 )i Black Creek .. — 2,000* . S30 .. 2,850 )i Alalia River 2,000* — — .. 2,000 1891 Peace Kiver .. 18,000 . 14,500 . 37,000 • • 69,500 It Alafia Kiver .. — — — .. '8,000 »t Black Creek . . 3,000* * Estimates 1,200 only. . . 4,200 PRICE OF RIVER LANDS. The early purchases of river lands, before the existence of the phosphate was known, were made at prices varying from a dollar and a-quarter to five dollars per acre. Even as late as the autumn of 1889 large areas changed hands at prices under $20 per acre. In the spring of i8gi many small tracts were secured at prices varying from .i^so to .$50 per acre. Well m til i# Florida Phosphates. liir selected sections have fetched as much as i^2>^^ per acre, and at the present time when only a few small and isolated patches remain at disposal, |ioo to $200 per acre according to location is being asked. There seems to have been less specula- tion and excitement over the river deposits than over the land pebble deposits, as is shown by the smaller number of companies formed for mining the rivers. The total purchases of lands made by the River Companies at present in operation have amounted to cli se upon one million dollars in cash, and the purchase of plant, &c., has cost a little over half a-million dollars, making a total cash investment in the river mining of about $1 ,500,000. To-day's value, however, would be represented by very different figures, since most of the lands were bought before their real value was appreciated. DUTY ON RIVER PHOSPHATE MINING. The following is a copy of the Florida Phosphate Law, enacted by the last Legislature ?.nd now in cff^^-C, under which the State of Florida collects a royalty on all phosphates taken from her navigable waters : — " Be it Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida : " Spxtion I. That the Governor, Comptroller and the Attorney-General of the State of Florida be, and they are hereby constit'ited a Board of Phosphate Commissioners ; Florida Phosphates. S3 i which Board shall have the control and management of the phosphate interests of the State of Florida, in the beds of her navigable waters and of all the phosphate rock and phos- phatic deposits therein, and which may be dug, mined and removed therefrom to the extent of the State's interests therein. The said Board is authorised for and in behalf of the State of Florida, to enter into contracts with all persons desiring to avail themselves of the provisions of this Act in conformity therewith, and to take such means as may be necessary to collect all such sum or sums, which are or may become due to the State of Florida on account of the phos- phate rock and phosphatic deposits dug, mined or removed from the beds of such navigable waters of the State. " Skc. 2. The State of Florida hereby grants the right to persons, natural or corporate, to dig, mine and remove from the beds of navigable waters of the State, any and all phosphate rock and phosphatic deposits therein, upon the terms and conditions as follows, to wit : That there shall be paid to the State of Florida the sum of fifty cents per ton for every ton of phos- phate rock or phosphatic deposit analysing fifty per cent, or less, and not exceeding fifty-five per cent, bone phosphate of lime, so mir.d, dug and removed; seventy-five cents per ton for every tor* of phosphate rock or phosphatic deposit analysing over fifty-five per cent, nnd not exceeding sixty per cent, phosphate of lime, so mined, dug or removed ; one dollar per ton on every ton of phosphate rock or phosphatic deposit analysing in exce-js of sixty per cent, bone phosphate of lime, ■r W. ij >' I i'l 54 Florida Phosphates. U' jjiiiii so mined, dug and removed, an account of which shall be rendered quarterly to the Board of Phosphate Commissioners, and payment shall be made quarterly to the Treasurer of the State of Florida for all phosphate rock and phosphatic deposits so mined, dug and removed during the quarter. Provided, That no person or persons shall be permitted to dig, mine or remove any phosphate rock or phosphatic deposit from the bed of any navigable waters of the State of Florida, until he or they shall have first entered into a contract with the Board of Phosphate Commissioners, in conformity with the provisions of this Act, and shall file with such Board a bond with good and sufficient sureties, either personal or by a guaranty company to be approved by the Board, in such sum as the Board shall deem proper ; conditions to comply with the terms of such contract and the provisions of this Act. " Skc, 3. The Board of Phosphate Commissioners are authorised to give or contract for the exclusive right to dig, mine and remove phosphate rock or phosphatic deposits from the beds of the navigable waters of the State within certain well defined limits and for a period not to exceed five years. In granting such rights, the Board of Phosphate Commissioners shall require that the person or persons, company or companies shall begin mining within six months from the date of the contract, and that such mining shall be continued the full term of the contract, unless the phosphate or phosphatic deposit be exhausted. The Board shall give preference to riparian owners, also to those who may have commenced mining or preparing to mine prior to the passage of this Act ill I Florida Phosphates. 55 but riparian owners and persons having conmienced mining or preparing, in good faith, to mine and remove such phos- phates shall make application for a contract and file his or their bond, as herein provided, within sixt}- days from the date of notice that any application has been made in good faith by others for such contract, which notice shall be given by the Board of Phosphate Commissioners. Provided^ That such contracts shall in no case exceed ten miles by the course of said stream. Provided also, That the provisions of this Act shall not be construed as applying in cases of navigable streams or any part thereof that is not meandered, and the ownership of the lands embracing which is vested in a legal purchaser. " Skc. 4. That the Board of Phosphate Commissioners are authorised to appoint an Inspector of Phosphate at a salary not to exceed $1,500 per annum, whose duty it shall be under the direction of said Board, to visit and inspect the works and operations of all persons mining or removing phosphate rock or phosphatic deposits from the bed of navigable waters of the State, to analyse or cause to be analysed, when deemed necessary or required by the Board of Phosphate Commissioners, said phosphate rock or phosphatic deposits so mined, dug or removed, and to inspect the books and accounts of persons so mining, in the interests of the State and the furtherance of the collection of the moneys due or which shall become due to the State on account of phosphates mined, as aforesaid ; that such Inspector of Phosphates shall in all respects be and act as the executive officer of the said Board of Phosphate Commissioners. r^' ! M ! i I'l' ir', f \ t ■ ■ : 4 ■ > '. '. i ■I \ I 1 ■ f Florida Phosphates, i f,i. gs, \ " Sec. 5. That any person or persons who shall dig, mine or remove any phosphate rock or phosphatic deposit from the bed of any of the navigable waters of this State without comply- ing with the terms of this Act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not to exceed .ti,ooo or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed twelve months, or by both fine and imprisonment. Provided^ hozvever, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to persons mining under a bond fide claim of ownership of said phosphate deposits. " Sec. 6. That the Board of Phosphate Commissioners are authorised to institute all suits and legal proceedings in the name of the State which may be necessary to protect the rights and interests of the State, and to enforce the collections of all moneys due, or which may become due to the State on account of phosphate rock or phosphatic deposits dug, mined or removed from the bed of her navigable waters ; and for such purpose they are authorised to employ counsel at such reasonable compensa- tion as, in their opinion, is right and proper, which, together with the salary of the Inspector of Phosphates, and all other costs and expenses which are incurred in carrying out the provisions of this Act, and in collecting the moneys due or to become due to the State for all phosphate rock and phosphatic deposits mined or removed from the bed of navigable waters of the State, including attorney's fees and other costs of suits now pending for that purpose, shall be paid out of the funds which shall be realised from the royalty paid to the State for the phosphate rock or phosphatic deposits so mined and removed. Florida Phosphates. " Shc. 7. All laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act be, and the same are hereby repealed. " Sf.c. 8. This Act shall go into effect upon its approval by the Governor." The State has made a claim on the above lines upon all the companies who have mined river pebble. Some of the companies have paid the royalty claimed, others have refused to do so. In the cases where companies or individuals have refused to pay the royalty, the State demands the whole value of the phosphate extracted, claiming ownership not only of the actual part of the bed covered by the \vater, but the whole width of the river's basin. The term navigable is held to apply to water down which planks could be floated, or which could be in any way used for the conveyance of the produce of the surrounding country. It seems problematical that the State, which has itself sold lands by the acre without deducting the area covered by the river, can thus re-claim what it has itself sold. Further than this, many companies have been obliged to clean up the bed of the river even where the water is deep, by taking out the fallen trees, sunken logs, &c., which would have rendered the floating of even a plauk for any continuous distance an absolute impossibility. Should the State ultimately be successful in making good its present claims, Peace River phosphate will be subjected to a royalty of §1.00 per ton, since it is sold on a guaranteed minimum of 60 per cent. ! ' I ■ 1 r I I ;8 Florida Phosphates. COST OF MINING RIVER PEBBLE AND COMPARISON OF THE PHOSPHATE INDUSTRIES OF THE FLORIDA RIVERS AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA RIVERS. In the part of this work which refers to river niining in South Carohna, it wih be found that the total cost there, f.o.b. steamer, is estimated at 84.00 per ton. The cost of jireparing Florida river phosphate has been given at figures varying from 75 cents to $2 "2 5 per ton. One of the pioneers states that his total cost to date has not exceeded $r4o per ton, exclusive of depr- elation of plant. The general cost of production f.o.b. cais at works, may be taken as about $1.75 including depreciation and wear and tear of plant. To this has to be added the royalty of $1 per ton, and about 75 cents for lighterage, where the works and operations are on navigable water, making a total of $3.50 f.o.b. Punta Gorda. Taking those works not on navigable water, and supposing the State to be unable to enforce the royalty claimed, we have the following figures, i.e., estimated cost, f.o.b. cars, $1.75 per ton, railroad freight to Punta Gorda 7ocents, and lighterage, &c., 75 cents, making $3.20 per ton, or $4.20 if the royalty has to be paid. If shipments are made via Port Tampa, railroad freight and loading cost about )?i.40 per ton, so that cost f.o.b. Port Tampa is the same as f.o.b. Punta Gorda. (i ■•' •f!| Florida Phosphates. 59 Freights from South Carolina being cheaper by about 50 cents to 75 cents per ton than from Punta Gorda, it will be seen that there is no advantage to be gained by competition between the two industries, and it is to be hoped that when the production from Peace River becomes larger, steps will be taken to regulate the output in conjunction with the output of South Carolina, and thus avoid a senseless competition, which can do no good but very materially injure both industries. r LAND PEBBLE MINING. Leaving now the subject of the river phosphate, which has been and is still to-day being washed out of the lands (though in imperceptible quantities) into the beds of the creeks and rivers, • let us examine the method of working the land deposits, whence these supplies have been taken. Innumerable borings have been made, and pits sunk in all quarters, with a surprising similarity of results as regards test of the phosphate and yield of pebble to the mass. An average cubic yard of good stratum weighs about 3,600 lbs. in its natural state (which includes about 20 to 25 per cent, of moisture), and may be safely estimated to yield from 600 to 1,200 lbs. of dry pebble. Sometimes the result will be as high as 2,200 lbs., but this is exceptional, and an average of about 900 lbs. to the cubic yard (or 25 per cent, of pebble to the mass) will be about the general ■t Mil i I'll 6o Florida Phosphates. Ilii r! yield of a good deposit. This would be equivalent to 300 lbs. per square yard one foot thick, or say 600 to 650 tons per acre for each foot of phosphate deposit. It is absolutely impossible at the present date to state the maximum thickness of the deposit, though mention may be made of the fact that it has been proved by one company to be 25 feet thick where they are operating. The colour of the matrix varies from pure white to all shades of red, yellow, blue and green ; sometimes these various colours are encountered in succession. Occasionally layers of sand or clay, from an inch to several feet in depth, are found in the phosphate stratum. The upper part of the stratum has generally more clay in the matrix, and as greater depth is reached the proportion of sand increases. The size of the pebbles is always varying : in one place at a depth of 10 feet the pebbles became very small, and it looked as if the deposit was giving out ; a few feet lower the pebbles increased in size and in quantity. Thus it will be seen that no law can be laid down for their occurrence. Testing by auger and by wells is liable to be most mis- leading, and pitting is therefore the only accurate method of determining the contents of a given area. In certain places where borings have been made the limestone rock has been encountered at depths varying from 25 to 35 feet, in others pebble was pumped all the way from the surface to a depth of 2.2, feet. In sinking artesian wells pebbles are said to have been Florida Phosphates. 6l pumped at 250 feet from the surface ; the layer does not seem to have been continuous, and the pebbles may possibly have been washed in from above. The methods of raising and preparing the phosphate seem to be as numerous as the companies. One of the most efficient and cheapest methods is in operation at Phosphoria (owned by the Florida Phosphate Company, Limited, of London, England), where a dipper dredge is being used. The employment of this machine for the purpose in question was most severely criticised, and failure was generally predicted, as the deposit to be operated is situated on high lands away from any stream, and v.'hen the barges were being built there was no water near at hand. A pit was dug to the depth of a few feet, and the water brought by ditches from ponds in the neighbourhood, and when sufficient supply had come in, the barges were launched. Contrary to the general prophecy, the water did not fall upon the dredge beginning to work, and it seems that the water springs about as fast as the deposit is taken out. The second barge, containing the washing and drying machinery, is placed alongside the one carrying the dredge machinery. The dipper bucket drops the phosphate into a hopper (into which a stream of water plays), at the bottom of which there are two iron rolls — with steel teeth — running at different speeds. Below the rolls are two long iron troughs with revolving shafts carrying teeth fixed in screw-form, which separate the phosphate from the matrix and carry it along. The water is fed from above, all along the length of the washers, and escapes through sluices, 62 Florida Phosphates. M! I h I lit cut in the sides, a few inches above the top of the teeth, taking with it the matrix now dissolved in the water. The pump supplying the water thrr ws 10,000 gallons per minute. At the further end of the washers perforated elevator buckets convey the phosphate into steam-jacketed driers, through which a hot air blast is driven by fan from the boiler's furnace to increase the capacity of the drier. After being dried the phosphate passes through a rotary screen which takes out the remaining sand and dust, ai d the phosphate is conveyed automatically on to a scow, which is floated to the storage house, where the pebble is discharged by elevators into the bins. In case absolutely clean water may be required, the Company is sinking an artesian well ; it has also in contem- plation the building of a brick drier on the land, should the capacity of the jacketed drier prove insufficient to keep pace with the dredge, which has a capacity of 800 to 1 ,000 cubic yards per day. The dredge commenced operations in November, and the washing machinery began to run in February. The first shipment of land pebble was made by the Pharr Phosphate Company, in May, 1891. This Company owns about 700 acres of land two miles south of Bartow, and their works are situated alongside the track of the Florida Southern Railroad, and on the bank of Six-Mile Creek. The deposit is identical in character to that at Phosphoria, where Six-Mile Creek rises, and underlies the whole of the Company's property. It is covered with a sand-rock capping which is from a few niches to two feet in thickness. The digging is carried on by Florida P/iosphntcs. (k\ i hand, and a snuiU locomotive draws the loaded cars to the works, where the phosphate is discharged into a washer similar in design to the one just described. P'rom the washer the phosphate passes into a rotary sieve with a serpent flange inside. Fresh water is fed from a pipe running through the centre of the sieve. On discharge from the screen the phos- phate is dried in a steam-jacketed drier and elevated into a storage room, ready for shipment. The total production up to December, 1891, was under 1,000 tons, the numerous breakdowns and alterations incidental to an entirely new industry having caused frequent long delays. At the works of the Rartow Phosphate Company, about one mile north of Bartow, the deposit is rather different to the general character of the neighbourhood, the phosphate being apparently broken pieces, light in specific gravity, very porous and brittle. The phosphate is being raised by a land excavator of the orange peel type, fitted with four lips and capable of excavating about 200 cubic yards in lu hours. The washer at these works is made in three separate sections inclining upwards, through each of which the pebbles are forced upwards in succession, the water being discharged at the lower ends. The pebble is dried in the ordinary rotary iron drier. These works commenced running last October, and about 200 tons were dispatched to northern points by railroad before the end of the year. A few miles further north is Lake Hancoclc, where the Peace River rises, which is underlaid with a bed of phosphate ♦ H ii r M i4 . 'I 64 Florida Phosphates. about 8 to 1 2 feet thick ; the matrix is clay, and over the phosphate are several feet of black sedimentary mud. The Mastodon Company has been organised to mine this deposit, and has a charter from the State under which it has to pay the same royalty as the River Companies. A dipper dredge will be employed. The pebble here runs a little over 70 per cent., with between ij and 2i per cent, of iron and alumina. This Company e.xpects to be in operation by the spring of this year. About nine miles west of Bartow are situated the lands of the Bone Valley Phosphate Company, through which runs a small creek, a tributary of the north fork of the Alafia River. This creek has meandered to an extent which is stirp'-ising, and though the channel is only about three feet wide, the whole bed is about 100 yards across. This area is und^:lai(l with largish pclibles mixed in sand, constituting ir-< reality a drift deposit, and will be mined by a centrifugal pump hum a barge, the stream being dammed up to hold the water. The deposits underlying the land will be excavated by a dredge at a future date, when the bed of the creek has been exhausted. Two miles north of Fort Meade, on Hendry Branch, the Virginia-Florida Phospha'.e Company owns about 300 acres of laud, which slopes sharply on both i-ides down to the stream. The present digging, vhich is done by hand, is being carried on near the bed of the tr^iek, where there is a bed of drift phosphate in sand about thri.c feet thick. The works are situated on the '' ii ■,H iWW!lii"ir?-V*?W--^fi iffi^*"' Florida Phosphates. 65 i high ground, where the main deposit, which is said to be very thick, is overlaid by a few feet of cap rock. The water for washing is pumped from a well sunk to a depth of about 250 feet The drying is done by a brick chimney. It is under contempla- tion to mine by dredge or land excavator. About 1,500 tons were shipped last year, the result of some 100 days' work, extensive alterations in the plant having consumed much time. At Fort Meade a company is mining pebble embedded in a hard white rock, which is broken up by crusher. The pebbles are then screened from the sand and matrix. Iron and alumina runs between 6 and 7 per cent. Several other undertakings have been organised, and are getting in their plant, but the work is not forward enough to enable any description to be made. There is a very fine deposit of pebble on Little Pain's Creek, overlaid with a white rock capping well mixed with pebbles, but no operations have been started in this neighbour- hood. Big Pain's Creek also contains large deposits in its bed and under the surrounding banks, but the iron and alumina is said to run high. It is not known at the present date how far north and east the pebble deposit extends. Lake Hancock is the present northern boundary, and the Peace River is practically the eastern boundary. Bowlegs Creek, just south of Fort Meade and east of Peace River, flows through a fine deposit, with a very stiff clay matrix ; and C. Apopka River, further south, is a , I :; I :i 66 Florida Phosphates. museum for the palcEontologist. Kissimmee Island is said to have a deposit of black pebble, but no thorough examination has been made of this district. At Tampa, when boring wells for water, a phosphate stratum was found at six feet from the surface, 12 to 16 feet in thickness. Below this a sandstone rock, 12 feet thick, was encountered; then a stratum of about 16 to 20 feet of clay; and then three feet of flint, under which was the limestone rock. The Bays of Hillsborough and Tampa are said to be underlaid with black pebble, but the superincumbent sand is too thick for operations to be undertaken. The islands near the mouth of Manatee River are under- laid with a stratum of brown phosphate about one foot thick, but the average test is low, many of the nodules being partially phosphatised sandstone. The shores of these islands are covered with fossil bones, which test about 74 per cent, in phosphates and i per cent, in iron and alumina, but the sand rock is again present. The marl crops out along this neighbourhood, and pieces are intermixed with the phosphate. Travelling south, the Sarasota region is encountered. The phosphate deposit occurs a few feet from the surface, the pebbles being embedded in clay. Pebble is also found in abundance in all the small creeks. There appears to be a great deal of semi-phosphatised sand rock in all tiis part of the country, and though undoubtedly there are good deposits, yet the average stratum in this neighbourhood is unfit for mining Florida Phosphates. 67 purposes. In some pHces a quantity of small bright amber- coloured smooth pebbles are found, which run high in analysis, but the silicate pebbles which are mixed throughout more than counteract this advantage. The shores of Sarasota Bay are literally strewn with bones, mostly the ribs of the manatee, and also with the sand rock. Should a deposit be found without sand rock or silicate pebbles, mining and shipping can be carried on very cheaply. It needs a ca. =:ful and long investigation to determine what tracts are suitable for mining, and while any cheap and rich phosphate deposits remain unsold in Polk County, that section is likely to have the preference. Major E. Willis, of Charleston, South Carolina, gives the following analyses, made by Dr. C. U. Shepard, Jun., of samples taken by him when making an examination of the Sarasota tract for the proprietors : — Oxide Trib. Do. of Iron Mois- Phos. Phos.of Dry and Silic. Condition of ture. Acid. Lime. Basis. Almna. Insol Material. Land Pock : Large size from Bay .. i.io 25.97 56.72 57.35 2.50 18.60 Full of Sand. Phillipi Creek : Small Rock and Gravel.. 1.05 24.05 52.53 53.09 1.63 21.60 Full of Sand. Phillipi Creek: Free of Gravel 95 29.04 — 64.03 3.25 8.60 Free from Sand. Nnrth Creek- Rock) ^ . ^ ^ (Full of Sand Shell Gravel .} ''^ ''■''' '»7." 4775 t 5° 16.16 -^ ^^^ g^^u Land Rock : Small Rock and Gravel.. .90 26.35 5756 58.08 2.13 17.03 Full of Sand Land Rock: Free of Sand 70 29.19 — 64.15 3.87 8.53 FreeofGravel. Bone from Bowlees Creek .. .. 2.80 33.26 72.64 74.73 .50 .13 JustasMmed. f k C 2 in W .1 68 Florida Phosphates. t ■ AREA AVAILABLE FOR SUCCESSFUL LAND PEBBLE MINING. Although such an enormous area of country is underlaid by the phosphate deposit, it must not be thought that it is all suitable for mining operations. As a matter of fact, the further that practical investigations are pursued, so much smaller do those tracts appear which are suitable for economic working. Too great a thickness of overburden, and too thin a phosphate stratum, immediately eliminate about 1,500 square miles of the phosphate area. Taen comes the important question of iron and alumina which is found to be excessive in many tracts otherwise suitable for exploitation. Heavy sandstone capping cuts out a large acreage ; want of water interferes in other places. To sum up, we find that the total area likely to be mined is probably less in extent than the Charleston phosphate fields, though, on the other hand, those deposits which are available in Florida are capable of producing twenty to forty times more phosphate per acre than is raised in the South Carolina phosphate region. The Carolina fields are within measurable exhaustion, from an economic mining point of view, whereas the examinations already made in Florida show an inexhaustible mine of wealth for generations whose forefathers are still unborn. Florida Phosphates. bq ; COST OF PRODUCTION OF LAND PEBBLE PHOSPHATE. The cost of raising and preparing land pebble for market varies very considerably in accordance with the methods employed. The industry is too young at the present date for any actual figures to be given. Where no hand labour is employed the total cost delivered on board cars at works should not exceed $1.50 to $2.00 per ton. Freight to Port Tampa varies from $1.00 to ife 1.50 according to location of mines, and includes delivery to steamer alongside the pier. Thus the estimated cost f.o.b. steamer at Port Tampa would be about $2.50 to $3.50 per ton, where the best appliances are in use. Where the deposit is being worked by hand, cost will be at least $1.00 per ton higher. LIST OF LAND PEBBLE COMPANIES ACTUALLY LN OPKKATION* OK EXFIiCTING TO COMMEN'CK \ KUV SHORTLY. Name, Alafia Mineral Lands Co. * Bartow Phosphate Co. .. Bone Valley I'hosphate Co. ♦Florida Phosphate Co., Ltd. . . *Fort Meade Phosphate Co. Land Pebble Co Mastodon Phosphate Co. *Pharr Phosphate Co Terraceia Phosphate Co. •Virginia-Florida Phosphate Co. Adiiicss. I'lant City Hartow Lakeland Pliosphoria Fort Meade Bartow Wilnioit Capital. ^250,000 1,000,000 50,000 560,000 1 ,000,000 120,000 .\cios Owneii. 400 9,000 40 700 5,600 300 \ i I ■ it] : 70 Florida Phosphates. It is not possible to name all of the numerous companies which have been formed for the purpose of mining land pebble, but the above appear to be the most important at the present time. Several companies which have been organised are waiting till practical results are obtained by the above companies, so that they may be able to decide which is the best method of operating. THE FUTURE OF THE PEBBLE MINING INDUSTRY. It is as yet rather premature to predict the future of the land pebble industry, but it may not be out of place to mention one or two points which seem to foreshadow an important position for the land pebble mining among the various phosphate industries of the world. There has as yet been no discovery made of any phos- phate deposit of such gigantic dimensions as to area. The regularity of the deposit is unparalleled, and the thickness of the stratum, taking lo feet only as the average, is beyond anything hitherto known to exist elsewhere. There are in France a few cases where the Somme phosphate has been found 30 feet in thickness, and one instance where 40,000 tons have been taken from 2^ acres ; but the whole area of the Somme phosphate deposits owned by the companies in operation does not exceed 1, 000 acres. Who then can state the limit of the capacity of pebble lands, when it is known that the stratum has been dug into for 25 feet without going through it, such a stratum being able Florida Phosphates. I* to produce 16,000 tons per acre? In Cliarleston 15 inches is the average stratum, with 6 to 10 feet of overburden ; in Florida the average stratum is thicker than the average overburden, and the test of the phosphate in Florida is ten units higher than that near Charleston. The test of the phosphate and the yield of pebble per cubic yard being practically invariable to any appreciable extent, this industry is based on known conditions which do not change from day to day as in other kinds of mining. Taking these points into consideration, and with the history of Charleston mining as a guiding line, it is not wide of the mark to predict that an industry which can produce a medium testing phosphate at a figure never yet touched by other producers of the same quality, will soon take a high and important place. The increasing demand for phosphates of medium grade, together with an extending market for all phosphates, leaves no room for doubting the probable rapid growth of land pebble mining. That there will be great competition among the companies, iind the likelihood of extremely low prices for some time, is only to be expected, but in view of the expensive plant required it is probable that producers of land pebble will combine in some way rather than enter a war of competition. The necessity for heavy initial outlay will tend to keep the field from being over- crowded, and the similarity of interest should help to establish a more reasonable method of marketing the phosphate than has .been the case in other phosphate centres. r 72 Florida Phosphates. River pebble had a very easy introduction into the phosphate market, for the supplies came forward at a time when such a material was actually required. The difficulties of the Coosaw Mining Company in South Carolina, and the consequent falling off of available supplies from that district, enabled large quantities to be consumed last year without weakening prices. Since river pebble is almost identical with, if not superior to South Carolina river rock, it will always be one of the phosphates most in demand. f * !■ H THE ROCK DEPOSITS. The extensive prospecting that followed the discovery of rock phosphate at Dunnellon, in Marion County, led to similar finds in all the western counties, from Talahassee to a few miles north of Port Tampa. These discoveries gave rise to the idea that millions and millions of acres contained solid beds of high- testing phosphate, needing only the pick and shovel to turn them into gold. The careful and conscientious investigations that were made as soon as mining operations were entered into, quickly proved the fallacy of this delusive theory, and it was found that even the best deposits were extremely capricious in- their formation, and that the phosphate could not be extracted' as easily as was originally anticipated. The phosphate occurs in a series of pockets, and also in- drifts, and is covered by an overburden of sand and clay of a thickness varying from a few inches to many feet. Sometimes the rock crops out on the surface, and in certain localities these Florida Phosphates. n f 1 ! I- outcrops comprise an area of about a quarter of an acre of nearly solid rock. The contents of these pockets are sand, clay, flints and sandstone, rough and jagged pieces of phosphate rock, soft phosphate, and phosphate bowlders. The bowlders, instead of being smooth, as the name would naturally imply, are irregular masses of rock, with a rough surface, weighing from a few pounds up to many hundreds of tons. In the larger bowlders there are jagged interstices, filled with sand and clay. The question as to whether a pocket or deposit is worth exploiting depends upon the jToportion of its various ingredients, and the ordinary method of examination by the sinking of a few pits is apt to be most misleading. In order to get a real knowledge of the value or contents of a property it is advisable to cut long ditches and cross trenches, for pitting does not sufficiently reveal the nature of a deposit. DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCK PHOSPHATE. The phosphate rock itself is found in a variety of types, which have been grouped and classified as follows by Dr. N. A. Pratt, who kindly placed his classification at our disposal. 1st. The Laminatrd Typic. Hard bowlders or fragments thereof, more or less distinctly compacted in layers, sometimes with interstices between the laminations, filled with sand or clt.y, or else empty, sometimes compact and solid, but in all cases the laminations can be distinctly traced on the fractv.^d edges. : ii ■ \\ i jilt 74 Plorida Phosphates. and are curved concentrically or spirally around a central point, like the leaves of a head of lettuce, except that the lamination* are continuous. In a small bowlder the curvature is distinctly traced on the fractured edges. On a large one the curvature may scarcely be detected, and the laminations appear as plates or slabs. The colour is brown, amber, grey or white, but generally of one colour from the same locality; they all have a coarse, harsh, hackly fracture. The average composition of this type, whatever the colour or ^^ ' re found is practically the same ; an average of eighteen samples of this grade analj'sed, yields (excluding sand) : — Lime Carbonate Combined Water and Organic Matter Alumina and Oxide In Ml Lime Phosphate Sand and Insohible Avcr.'iM''- I'lircst 7.53 7.46 32J 2.50 3.21 .f)0 80.HH • «4-95 _— .10 2nd. Thk Conchoidai. Tn i'K. Hard bowlder, generally smooth, sometimes polished exterior, solid and massive within. The fracture is smooth and conchoidai, like the interior of a conch shell, colour cream, white or light, sometimes intricately banded with irregular or broken streaks of darker colour. Its average composition computed from sixteen analyses is, when sand free: — Lime Carbonate Combined Water Alumina and Oxide Iron I'hosphate of Lime . . Silicic Acid combined Average. Purest Saiiiplc 0.25 5-75 4.10 4.10 215 1.28 S3- 53 8C.J2 1.60 1.75 Florida Phosphates. 75 3rd. Thk Wkdokwoi)!) Tvi'K i> bowlder-like, has a scini- coiichoidal fracture that looks like Wedgewood or semi-porcelain ware — it lis dry and rough to the touch, brittle, and rings under the hammer. White and cream colour generally, some- times stained and spotted. The tough, white, rainpitted rock, type 5, may be included here (see type 5). Its average composition computed from twenty analyses is, freed from sand : — Average. Best Sample Lime Carbonate 6.43 . Not • OHtimatot Combined Water 385 . 385 Alumina and Oxide Iron.. 2.25 344 Lime Phosphate . . 83,71 . 86.44 Silicic Acid . . — 2.10 4th. Thk Orkolk Tvpk. — This is a soft mass occurring in layers, irregular strata or masses, sometimes of several feet thickness and considerable area. It is perhaps the widest disseminated and most abundant of all the types. Pure, it is chalk white in colour, soft and satin-like in feeling. It is very porous anil light when dry, and smooth and fine as pearl powder ; when mixcil or wetted it ln)lds from 30 to 40 per cent, of water, works uniler the fingers to a pasty mass, easily shaped or moulded ami dries into a hard cake, friable but of consider- able tenacity. When subjected to heat in either its natural or moulded state it becomes tough, resists abrasion and loses more or less of its smooth feeling ; it does not shrink in bulk nor crack, nor is it restored to its former condition by soaking in water. T 76 Florida Phosphates. m k I It is almost free from sand and grit, but contains alumina. It invariably occurs under and around the bowlders and extend?* laterally beyond them, and underlies tracts of land where no bowlders are found. Sometimes it is harder and heavier than described, but having similar composition both kinds are classed together. In its pure state it is unfortunately closely associated with intervening beds, or layers, or pockets of pure- white sand and clay, or both, which is difficult to separate, and the grade is reduced thereby. Analysis of a pure sample yields : — From t-'roni AiiKostu Mines. Jordan's. Combined Water 5,60 .. 2.01 Lime Carbonate .. .. ., .. z.O.s .. 4.55 Alumina and Oxide Iron .. .. .. 2.30 .. 12.60 Lime Phosphate .. .. .. .. 87.64 .. 78.10 Insoluble Silica .. .. .. .. .75 .. 2.75 5th. Another type is as white as Oreolc, but is in ledges or bowlders, is very tough, resists fracture, though sometimes soft and smooth to the touch. It is compact and heavy. On exposed surfaces it appears deeply pitted as if by rain drops, but probably due to growth of a species of lichen. Along with it occurs rock of the Wedgewood type, and as their compositions are so nearly the same, I think best to class it under that head or type, and call it " Wedgewood " too, for the present, at least. 6th. The Fossil Tvpk, so called from the fossil impressions contained, and from the cavities of I to J of an inch. This fossil, called Orbitoides, accompanies the nummuUite in all its nummullitic limestone, and in this state is a characteristic Florida I'hosp/iaies, 77 • I fossil of a sand rock that overlies the prevailing lime rock, and which is ttot a sponf;e flint rock. It is of good quality, hard bowlder, '..rown in colour, breaks in all directions easily, exposing the cavities just mentioned. The fractured parts, very harsh and sandy in one piece, more smooth in another ; in any case the cavities will identify the type. It resembles sand rock :o closely thai it might be rejected in mining. Analysis of the roughest and most unpromising piece yields : — Sand and Insoluble Alumina and F"erric Oxide I.ime Carbonate. . Phosphoric Acid Hone I'hosphate Lime . . I.ime 3.95 3.65 4,40 36.32 7943 48.7a I ! 7th. RrvKR Rock Tvi'K consists of either or all of the above types, except the Oreolc, all darkened even to blackness by the staining action of the water and mud, and exclusion of air. It is sometimes blue, sometimes pink and even green on the surface. They seem more massive and heavy than any of the other types. The percentage of lime phosphate, in samples from Blue Springs Run, was above 82 per cent. All these forms or types run more or less into each other, yielding mixtures of more or less uniformity, dependent also on the quantity of clay and sand that may adhere to them. » 1 ,' 8th. To these types we venture to add another found in the phosphate deposits of the basin of the Ochlawaha River, which had not begun to be worked at the time when the above classification was made. I 78 Florida Phosphates. I , 1 i 1- :! 1 ;■ j Thk Pebblk Tvfk is found in the drift deposits in the Anthony and Sparrs district, 12 to 20 miles north of Ocala. These pebbles are indistinguishable in appearance from some of the pebbles found in Polk County. They are smooth and hard, and vary in colour from cream to brown. Analysis runs from 58 to 62 per cent, of phosphate. :5i I ■ ROCK MINING. The first company to commence actual mining operations was the Marion Phosphate Company, which broke ground near Dunnellon, in December, 1889, and shipped their first cargo, 700 tons, per bark "Gler," from Savannah, in April, 1890, to Liverpool. The Dunnellon Phosphate Company took the field in February, 1890, and in May shipped 1,500 tons, per s.s. " Hallamshire," from Fernandina to London and Hamburg. The general method of mining is as follows : — A considerable area is first cleared of the superincumbent sand and clay, which are removed to some distance from the edges of the pit — or mine, as these openings are generally ilesignated. The phosphate is then attacked with pick and shovel, the smaller bowlders are separated from the sand and clay in which they are usually embedded, the larger ones being broken up with blasting powder. The pieces of broken phosphate, which occur both in the soft phosphate and also mixed with the sand and clay, are raked out during the process of excavation. Originally the phosphate was wheeled out of the mines in barrows, and during Florida Phosphates. 79 work hours the mines had the appearance of a beehive, being densely crowded with men and planks and wheelbarrows. In some mines an incline has been cut into the deposit, and the material is brought to the surface in cars running on the sloping track, and hauled up by a stationary engine. A third system and apparently the most practical, is to make a deep cut, using a cable hoist to extract from the pit, and then remove the overburden for the next cut, drill the rock phosphate and fire the holes. This method keeps the production in progress with the uncovering, and seems to us to be more in accordance with the usages of mining. In most of the mines where active operations are being carried on, cable hoisting machinery is employed. The buckets in use hold about a quarter or a half of a ton, and on an average about 300 buckets of material are raised per day. The contents of the buckets are emptied into cars, which run along an elevated platform round the mines, which are generally about 100 to 400 feet square, and drop the phosphate into the drying sheds which are built round the sides of the mine. These sheds consist of wooden roofs, supported by wooden uprights. On the ground a flooring of cord wood is arranged, and the phosphate is piled on the top to the height of 8 or 10 feet. When the pile is complete the cord wood is ignited and allowed to burn out, by which time all the organic matter and moisture in the phosphate is eliminated. During the prevalence of heavy rains the sides of the drying sheds are boarded up loosely with scantling. The size of the kilns (or i < 111 f I 8o Florida Phosphates. phosphate piles) varies from 200 to 700 tons, the usual quantity in one pile being about 300 tons. It takes about five cords of wood to burn 100 tons, 10 cords for 200 tons, and 15 to 20 cords for 700 tons. The phosphate is ready for handling and shipment about three to four days after firing. It was with great diflSculty that the rock for the early shipments was selected, as n<^th";ig was known of the various qualities, and the work in the laboratory was very heavy. Similar looking pieces of rock were found to vary largely in their percentage of phosphate and of iron and alumina, and pieces of white sand rock were often mistaken for phosphate ; in fact the whole business of selection was a puzzle to even the longest heads. The question of main importance in rock mining is the pro- portion of first quality phosphate {i.e., rock testing 75 per cent, of phosphate and upwards, with less than 4 per cent, of iron and alumina) to the total quantity of cubic yards to be removed. Careful calculation shows that about 1 5 per cent, is the ma.ximum proportion of bowlder phosphate produced from the whole mass excavated, including overburden. The a\erage of prime rock mined, exclusive of overburden, may be taken to be about 25 per cent., the remainder being soft phosphate, clay, sand and sandstone and flints. Sometimes in a good pit an average of 40 per cert, has been reached, but taking the good with the bad, the usual percentage will not exceed 25 per cent. In some mines there is as much as 50 per cent, of soft phosphate, in others this material does not appear. This soft Florida Phosphates. 8i phosphate is evidently the detritus of the bowlders, probably worn off before the bowlders had reached their present degree of hardness, and though it has very little sand mixed with it, yet as it is usually surrounded by both sand and clay, it is not possible to extract it in its pure condition. There are two qualities of this, according to the admixture of deleterious elements, the first running from 70 to 78 per cent., the second 65 per cent, and upwards, but the percentage of iron and alumina is excessive. It appears, however, that there is a market for this material, and small shipments have been made both to Europe and the United States. Mixed up with this soft phosphate, or mixed with the sand and clay in those deposits which arc fice from soft phosphate, there is a good proportion of small pieces of hard rock phos- phate. In the earlier days little attention was paid to this, but since the reduction in the prices obtained for phosphate, miners are increasing their production by at least 50 to 100 per cent, by saving this material, the test of which is about 76 per cent., with 3 to 4 per cent, of ire and alumina. There are places where this broken phosphate occurs, together with small bowlders, in the form of a sandy drift along the banks of the Withlacoochee River, where the deposit seems to have been formed by the river in the same way as the drift deposits in the beds of the rivers of South Florida. Phosphate is also found in the bed of the Withlacoochee River, mostly in angular pieces, and also in indurated black nodules, which are very similar to the pebble of Peace River, though larger in size and heavier Florida Phosphates. in .specific gravity. These nodules are black throughout, and run about 80 oer cent, phosphate with under 2 per cent, of iron and alumina. The Dunnellon Phosphate Company are by far the largest operators in rock phosphate, and, at one time, had tweK^e mines opened and running acti\ely, employing upwards of 400 hands. About 3,500,000 feet of lumber have been used in the building of their houses, drying sheds, elevated platforms, &c., and the nines are furnished with cable-hoi.sting apparatus. In addition to the work being carried on in their ordinary mines, a barge fitted with a clam-shell dredge is working on the deposit in the river's bed. The rock thus raised is washed on a barred grating, fitted on a second barge, and the phosphate is then conveyed to the rotary drier, built on the banks, and finall)- prepared for market. During last December a further enterprise was taken in hand, viz., the mining of the drift deposit near the river's edge. Here over a good many acrt-^; the phosphate crops out on the surface, mostly in the form of small bowlders, and the deposit is covered by about two feet only of overburden. Relow this, small bowlders and rouwh ragged pieces of phosphate are fo'uid packed closely together, and the yield in proportion to quantities moved will be very high, probabl-- 40 per cent. Sometimes there is a serious admixture of clay, but in most places the rock is embedded in loose sand, and can be washed with ease and economy. A small trial plant is now running successfully on this material, the process being as follows : Florida Phosphates. '^.^ The cars containing the phosphate empty their contents on to a screen over which water is thrown : the rcjjk passes thence into a revolving washer, with teeth and angle iron affixed to the sides. A perforated iron pipe supplies the water for washing. A circular screen is fixed to the end of the washer to enable the sand, &c., to pass out, and the phosphate falls into elevated buckets which discharge it into a wet bin, whence a spiral takes it into the rotary drier. After passing through I he drier, the rock is elevated into the storage bin, undergoing a final screening as it passes along. This plant is both neat and efficient, and will doubtless be enlarged to enable this drift deposit to be worked on the large scale which it obviously merits. The cost of producing this phosphate is about 40 to 50 per cent, cheaper than mining the bowlder rock. Several of the mines working this gravel phosphate, as it is termed locally, have been unfortunate in their selection of plant, the general mistake being too great a complication of mechanical devices and too light machiner}-. but a short course of experience will soon remedy present defects. Many of the rock miners have been very careless in their method of preparing the phosphate for market, and shipments have been made running high in iron and aknnina, simply because the rock was coated with clay. In order to avoid the .shipment of improperly cleaned ore, we are in favour ci using a crusher to reduce all rock to a maximum of a few inches only, and screen out the sand and clay, after passing the phosphate through washing and drying apparatus. This is now being done ■1 H n gAgmM«^-'MM 86 Florida Phosphates. ditions were of the usual order. The area investigated may be thus represented : — 5» 120 ACRES OF LAND. A B C D fi F G ! H Each division representing 640 acres. Very fine phosphate indications were scattered more or less all over this tract, sometimes in the form of big bowlders out-cropping at the surface, sometimes in the form of small debris, brought up from below by the mole or the gopher. A local expert had intimated that it contained millions of tons, and our own first impressions of it were of the highly sanguine order. A systematic exploration was, however, at once instituted and carried out, first by boring all over the tract with a twenty-foot auger, and then by sinking con- firmatory pits at short intervals to a depth of 15 to 20 feet. The result oi" our work was extremely disappointing, and may be briefly summarised thus : — (rt). No phosphate in workable quantities. (3). A small basin or pocket of good phosphate, covering an area of about 15 acres. {c&d). No phosphate in workable quantities. Florida Phosphates. 87 (e). Large quantities on surface leading to a very large pocket, covering about 35 acres. Very much mixed up material, principally low grade. {f^j^). No phosphate in workable quantities. (//). The highest point in the tract very densely grown, big bowlders of phosphate, sandy conglomerate on surface. Fifteen small pockets of phosphate, ending in limestone at a depth of 13 feet." '\ ! ■ i The total acreage covered by these widel>- scattereil phosphate deposits was set down at 83 acres, and the character, quantity and composition of the phosphate itself as shown by the pits dug, and the material extracted from them, were estimated after experiment to be as follows : — Bowlder material, large and small, after screening 13 per cent, of the mass. Debris and whitish phosphate, soft and plastic -9 •■ » Sand, clay, flints and waste . . 5^ >• •• .11 The principal mines now being worked are situateil ui Alachua, Levy, Marion, Citrus, and Hernando Counties, and though the proportion of good deposits to the total area ni which phosphate is found, is merely fractional, yet there is beyond doubt an enormous quantity of available phosphate ''! S8 Florida Phosphates. u which can be cheaply and profitably mined, and the iikely demands of the market cannot make any appreciable diflference in the sources of supply. ANALYSIS OF ROCK PHOSPHATE. Turning now to the question of the analysis of Florida rock phosphate, and taking samples right and left without any selection, it is difficult to imagine a greater incongruity and apparent contradiction of results. Samples which closely resemble each other give results as divergent as the poles, and the collector can range his samples from tests of pure carbonate of lime up to 90 per cent, of phosphate. The percentage of phosphoric acid though in itself of vital primary importance, must only be considered in conjunction with the question of the proportion of iron and alumina. A few months after the commencement of the development of P'lorida phosphate, vague rumours were floated about that the phosphates of Florida were phosphates of alumina, and though there seemed to be adequate reason for certain apprehensiveness on this score, there can now be no doubt whatever that the rock phosphate is a genuinely good marketable and workable phosphate when properly pre- pared. There are of course places where the iron and alumina runs excessively high, and in one instance 23 samples taken from a property, the purchase of which was being seriously enter- tained, gave 19 per cent, of phosphate of iron and alumina. ^-'i ir Floridu Phosphates. 89 There is a point, liowcvcr, that seems to us to have been overlooked by most of the companies mining, and that is the distinction between phosphates of iron and akunina and siUcates of iron and alumina ; in other words it is advisable to ascertain the form in which the iron and alumina is combined. Experiments prove that if the average piece of phosphate is broken up into small fragments, and then carefuUj washed and screened, the analysis of the washed sample will show a much smaller percentage of iron and alumina than the unwashed ore. This proves the benefit to be derived by crushing, washing and drying and screening all phosphate as recommended previously. ^ , Ml ANALYSIS OF CARGO FROM DUNNELLON DISTRICT. The following analyses may be taken as fairly representing a good average shipment : — Am'. B. Dyer. 36 73 50.06 .70 0.46- A. Sibsoii. Aii«. Voulcktr & Sons. Phosphoric Acid . 36.80 .S6G3 Lime 51.20 49.08 Oxide of Iron .52 •74 Alumina 1.73 1.60 Insoluble . . 3.90 3-39 Undetermined 585 •• • 7-93 OrKanic matter »n >^^]^_^^\.^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ - 4 t/. 1.0 II I.I 1.25 1^ 1^ |2.2 IM 2.0 1.8 U ill 1.6 III % 71 '> .v^ #/ ^^/ ^j>* ^ fliotograjiiic Sdences Corporation 4^ ^, ^. ^ 4^."^ ^^4^ '<^^^ 23 WBT MAIN STMIT WIBSTIR.N.Y. 14SS0 (716) •72-4503 *^ ^ >5' s ^ 90 Florida Phosphates. ilF" ANALYSIS OF CARGO OF ROCK PHOSPHATE. From Pemberton Ferry District, Hernando County. Augustu s Voelckei & Sons. Bernaid Dyer, Moisture in fine sample dried at 212" Fah. 00.00 0.00 0.00 00.00 00.00 Organic Matter and Water of Combination . . 1-39 .90 .90 1.36 .98 •Phosphoric Acid .. 35-11 35-39 35-40 35-57 35-79 Lime 47.07 47-54 47.27 47.09 47.46 Oxide of Iron •65 •75 •75 .81 Alumina 1.49 1.29 1.71 1-97 Magnesia . . Carbonic Acid, &c. .26 1 5-54 i 536 5.65 3-57 ti.48 7-33 Insoluble Siliceous Matter 8.49 8.77 8.32 8.15 S.44 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 * Equivalent to Tribasic I'hosphate of Lime ,. 76.O5 77.26 77.28 7765 78-13 The Rough Saniple con- tained Moisture . . . . 2 04 I-5I 1.50 2.06 1-45 And accordingly Tribasic Phosphate of Lime 75-09 76.09 76.12 75-58 77.00 tEquivalent to Carbonate of Lime . . . . . . — — — 3-36 — The above analyses fairly represent what the average results of well selected and prepared cargoes should test, but many badly prepared shipments have given very different results from the above. Florida Phosphates. 91 The following table shows the results of a number of samples taken on the field* : — Averages from Results of Several Hundreds cv Complete Analyses of Samples (Sun-dried) taken on the Spot »v Dr. Francis Wvatt, of New York, and Analysed hy Him- self OR his Assistants. SAMPLES CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS :- Bowlder Phosphate meaning Clean high-grade rock. Unselected phosphatic material. Soft white phosphate in which no bowlders are found. Everything that was thrown up from the pits (phosphates and inert and waste matter). Oxides of Iron Inso- Phos- and luble Car- phoric Alu- Sili- bonic Flu- Acid. Lime. mina. ceous. Acid, oride. ..34.15 42.10 6.32 5.20 1.80 1.70 Bowlders very carefully selected (86 analyses) 36.10 45.90 4.80 4.95 1.70 1.57 Bowlders and Debris (160 analyses) .. 29.70 38.20 9.42 13.25 2.10 1.49 Soft White (97 ana^ses) .. ..32.50 41-70 8.70 5.20 4.80 1-15 Unselected, total outcome (76 analyses) 13.80 27.40 18.65 31.00 3.16 0.37 Bowlders and Debris Soft White . . Unselected . . Bowlders (137 analyses) COST OF PRODUCTION OF ROCK PHOSPHATE. Numerous inquiries from the various companies have elicited widely divergent figures for the cost of mining and preparing rock for the market. Some place the cost as low as $1.50 per ton delivered free on rails, others as high as $10.00. No doubt when mining was first undertaken the cost of produc- • Vide New York Mining and Engineering Journal, August 23, 1890. i\' 1 ■|!i 92 Florida Phosphates. tion was very materially higher than it is to-day, owing to the crude and expensive manner in which the earlier mining operations were conducted, but the fall in prices necessitated economy on all sides, and the average cost to-day is less by several dollars than it was a year ago. In order to arrive at a fair basis of cost, it is necessary to estimate the quantities of material likely to be moved, and the proportion of phosphate to be won, allowing an average depth of say 40 feet. Many miners who give a low cost of production are working on a calculation derived from the raising of a few hundred or a few thousand tons extracted from their initial opening, which naturally would be where the rock is found nearest the surface. The fact that when larger quantities have to be raised a greater depth will be reached is lost sight of, and cost of repairs and wear and tear of plant is entirely overlooked. After inspecting a large number of mines, and studying closely the methods of raising and preparing the phosphate, we have formed the following conclusions, viz. : — (i.) That the cost of putting the rock phosphate in clean condition f.o.b. cars in those mines which have the soft phosphate intermixed with the gravel and large bowl- ders will average $5.00 per ton. (ii.) That the cost of raising, washing and preparing the phosphate in the mines where gravel and bowlders occur without the soft phosphate should not exceed $4.00 per ton. '' I '^ • il Florida Phosphates. 93 (iii.) That the cost of raising, washing and preparing the phosphate in the gravel deposits along the Withlacoo- chee River should not exceed $3 per ton. (iv.) That dredging and preparing the phosphate found in the Withlacoochee River should not exceed )ji2.5o per ton. The above estimates are based upon a minimum production of 1,000 tons per month, under good practical management. It is, of course, possible to produce small quantities at very low figures, where an owner of the lands containing the deposit employs a small gang of men under his own supervision, but when considering the subject as a serious mining undertaking, where a steady output of considerable size is expected and required, the matter assumes a different complexion. GRAVEL ROCK MINING. In addition to the rock mines described above, there is another form of deposit known in Florida as the gravel or plate-rock deposit, which has not yet been referred to. These deposits occur in Alachua, Levy and Marion Counties. Although the Peninsular Company commenced operations in the autumn of 1890, on a small scale near Anthony, in Marion County, and shipped a cargo the following spring, yet it is only during the last few months that any attention appears to have beei) * ] I i ' 1 'ij:'^ ., 94 Florida Phosphates. paid to this locality. This is rather surprising, seeing that the distance from Ocala, the headquarters of the rock mining industry, is only a few miles, and that the occurrence of the phosphate is more regular than that in the ordinary rock mines. The formation of the rock mines closely resembles the phosphate deposits in the south-west of France, where the same uncertainty and want of continuity exists, and it is a remarkable fact that the deposits in the Anthony district lie in a formation very similar to that of the Somme deposits in north-east France. The overburden of earth is very light, a few feet only, and below this is found a drift deposit of jagged phosphate, mixed with sand and clay. The phosphate sev,ms to be much the same as the gravel in the rock mines ; but, whereas in the latter the gravel is found together with bowlders by the edge of the Withlacoochee River, or mixed up in the ordinary mines with the large bowlders and soft phosphate, it exists at Anthony and Sparrs entirely by itself, and the presence of bowlders weighing over forty or fifty pounds has not yet been discovered. In addition to this, the gravel phosphate of Anthony is found overlying the lime rock, which latter occurs in the same form as the grey phosphatic chalk underlying the Somme deposits : in other words after extracting the phosphate, the limestone appears in angular pyramids of various sizes. In some places the layer of phosphate follows exactly the steep undulations of the limestone, in others the whole of the intervening space is filled up with the phosphate. The thickness of this stratum appears to vary from three to eight feet, when following down the Florida Phosphates. 95 inclined surface of the lime rock : in some of the cavities which have been completely filled up with the phosphate, the thickness of the deposit from the point where it commences to the bottom of the conical hole is about 30 feet as a maximum. The tops or shoulders of the pyramid lime rock comes close to the surface of the ground, and in some instances break through the deposit. The lands round the Anthony and Sparrs district have now been very thoroughly prospected, and this region will undoubtedly become an important phosphate mining centre, owing to the uniformity of the occurrence of the phosphate, and the ease and economy with which it can be raised and prepared for market. It has been stated that an average cubic yard of this deposit will yield about Hoo lbs. of phosphate ; and by making a systtjmatic examination it is possible to arrive at an approxiniately close estimate of the contents of any given area. The Peninsular Phosphate Company have sold iheir undertaking to a French Syndicate, and there are eight other companies in the field, all busy in the erection of their works, which are expected to be in operation by the spring of the year. The phosphate, being mixed with clay and sand, has to be washed during preparation for shipment, and two different processes are being adopted. One consists of a compound log washer, or hollow cylinder, revolving in water and fitted with a 'J I i iiil I 96 Florida Phosphates. wooden shaft to which strong iron paddles are attached in screw-form. After passing through the log-washer, the rock enters a second cylinder or screen, and fresh water is poured on it from a perforated pipe traversing the centre. The second system is a circular iron washer with internal flanges, fixed in screw-form, and with a perforated pipe supplying water all the length of the washer and of the circular screen fixed at the end of the washer. 11 None of the plants are as yet in operation, so it is not possible to speak of results, but we think that in some instances larger and stronger screens will have to be adopted before good work is obtained. Judging by the general outlook, and comparing these deposits with the rock mines, it seems likely that the cost of production in this district will not exceed about $3.00 to $3.50 per ton for phosphate washed and dried f.o.b. cars. This estimate is based on a minimum production of 10,000 tons per annum, under efficient and practical management. ANALYSIS OF GRAVEL ROCK. Local reports differ very widely as to the proportion of iron and alumina contained by the gravel phosphate, but most of the analyses submitted to our notice show a quantity which I i Florida Phosphates. 97 averages between 2 and 3 per cent. In order to produce phosphate which can be sold with a guaranteed maximum of 3 per cent, of oxide and alumina, it will be necessary to give the material a very thorough washing and cleaning so as to get rid entirely of any clay or other impurity. The following analysis is the mean result of the tests of a number of samples taken in the Anthony and Sparrs region and analysed locally, viz. : — Phosphoric Acid . . 36.08 Carbonate of Lime . . .. 2.17 Oxide of Iron and Alumina.. 1.94 Silica . . 450 Moisture.. .. .• •• 2.50 •Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime 78.76, The following are the analyses of the European chemists; Voelckcr. Organic Matter and Water of Combination 0.59 •Phosphoric Acid .. .. zC.'G Lime 5208 Oxide of Iron 1.36 Alumina.. 1.39 Magnesia, &c., Carbonic Acid 7.17 Insoluble Siliceous Matter . . 0.85 Gilbert. 36.33 1. 12 1. 14 Mareta 36.84 1. 12 0.29 m H \ M 100.00 •Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime 79.81 79.31 80.43 n iih lit o8 Florida P/iosphates. 'Mj W'l ^i' INFLUENCE OF FLORIDA PHOSPHATES ON THE MARKET. The discovery of phosphate rock in so many places, and the wild excitement and speculation that ensued, naturally resulted in the formation of a number of companies. Some of these were Aoiid fide business undertakings, controlled by men connected with the phosphate industry; but by far the larger number were purely speculative, and it is the operations of these companies that have had the effect of reducing the price of phos- phate at such a rapid rate. No sooner was a company formed than flourishing reports were published in the newspapers as to the gigantic richness of the deposit acquired, with a view of selling stock to the unwary traveller bitten with the phosphate mania. Ocala lost its head completely under the influence of the red-hot excitement which was prevalent. The hotels were swarming with speculators who were selling and buying lands with surprising rapidity. The porticoes resounded with the tales of the fabulo ■, wealth to be acquired almost in a few days. Sellers of stock were narrating the tempting offers they had refused for tens of thousands of tons of rock, while those who had not yet bought their picks and shovels were talking glibly of raising fifty, seventy-five, and even a hundred thousand tons of phosphate within 12 months, and every ounce to test over 80 per cent. The greater number of people who were investing in lands or forming companies had absolutely no knowledge of mining, Florida Phosphates. 99 and still less of the phosphate market and its requirements. Directly a company was organised its sponsors wanted to sell thousands and thousands of tons before a single labourer had been engaged, imagining vainly that merchants and manufacturers were even more anxious to buy than they were themselves to sell. Other companies had no working capital, and were endeavouring to make large sales in order to borrow money on the security of the contract and of the buyers' names. Each company had so many officers with their special friends and agents, and a dozen diflFerent people were oflFering the same phosphate for sale. Besides this there were plenty of speculative operators making large offers, hoping to secure the material at a lOiVer figure after making sure of a buyer. It so happened that at the particular time when these offers were coming forward {i.e., the summer months of 1890) the European market was prepared to receive large additional quantities of phosphate without prices being materially lowered. In order to understand the feeling of the market at that time it is necessary to look back a few years in the history of the prices and consumption of phosphate in Europe. In the summer of 1887 South Carolina phosphates (the barometer of the phosphate market) reached the lowest price they have ever touched, falling as low as 6^d. per unit ; freights were of course very cheap, but phosphate was being shipped from South Carolina at prices below the actual cost of produc- D 2 Mf f 1 i hi '< •;¥ ,1 ' ii M I; 100 Florida Phosphates. Hi tion. That year the Sommc (France) phosphate fields (dis- covered the previous summer) began tf) produce, and though at first no large quantities were supposed to exist, yet before the end of the year it was known that this was one of the most important jjiiosphate deposits ever discovered, close at hand and with easy facilities of production. Added to this came the introduction of ground basic slag as a fertiliser, and the general outlook appeared very gloomy, for these two new sources of supply meant an addition of 200,000 tons of phosphate and 300,000 tons of basic slag on the lop f)f a weak market with abnormally low prices. Trade, however, was beginning to expand, and a wonderful increase in the consumption of phosphatic manures was being developed in Southern Germany and in France, and by the summer of 1890 there was an increase in the yearly consumption of phosphatic manures in Europe of over 1,000,000 tons. No fresh sources of supply (excepting the deposits of low-testing phosphate at Liege) had been heard of. Rumours were current that the Somme produc- tion was to decrease very rapidly : large quantities of Carolina river rock previously shipped to Europe were being retained for manufacture in the United States, thereby diminishing proportionally, if not actually, the supplies available for Europe ; increasing difficulties in raising both land and river rock were known to exist, and manufacturers who had been eagerly buying all the phosphate they could secure were openly acknowledging their belief that prices would go still higher, and some of them were themselves becoming raisers and miners of phosphate. I Florida Phosphates. 10 1 The discovery of phosphates in Florida was therefore most opportune, and good prices were paid for the shipments to be made up to the spring of 1S91. When, however, these hjrge and incessant offers kept on pouring into the market, tlie reaction was violent, large buying ceased and manufacturers were afraid to operate beyond their innnediate requirements. Most of them had bought considerably ahead, looking for a good trade in fertilisers in the spring of 1H91. The winter, however, of 1H90-91 proved unusually severe and protracted, and when at last the frost broke up, the expected heavy demand was not forthcoming. Offers continued to pour in by every mail from the United States, every broker was offering several cargoes, until at last it was said in Hamburg that cargoes were being hawked round '^crywhere, in liiii '' the same manner as matches were lor sale t all the street cornem, Consequently, alth(jugh the first shipiin: ii»'^ realised ifd. per unit, netting about $17 to ."jiiH at the mines, prices have (Jr'>py>ei1 to 9d. per unit. This leaves rking capital to start with, and consequently were obliged to ^ell and ship immediately they had sufficient phosphate ready. Other companies had borrowed money at rates even as high as 2 per cent, per month, and were bei:ig pressed to refund the loans. Others again, frightened by the fall in prices, were willing t: iccept any offer. Consequently, within 18 months 1 !i l! II 102 Florida Phosphates, from the first shipment, the market price dropped 40 per cent.,. viz., from izd. to gd. per unit. The Florida sellers have themselves to blame for the great fall in price and depression in the markec, for it is quite certain that no such abnormally rapid fall could have been produced b}' the actual quantities shipped. Florida rock has up to date met with no competition from other phosphates : this trouble has still to come. The raisers of Somme (France) phosphate being incredulous of the extent of the deposits in Florida, kept almost entirely off the market, expecting prices to rise again before long. Last April the price for 70 per cent, ground (Somme), delivered free on rails in the Somme, was 1.25 francs per unit, in December it was 98 centimes, with a stock on hand of over 100,000 tons of all qualities. Aruba phosphate, testing about 74-77 per cent, was also kept off the market. The usual yearly shipments are about 30,000 tons ; and, as this material has in past years been sold at 8|d. per unit, there is apparently no reason why the same price should not be accepted again. In other words, though about seventy thousand tons of high-testing Florida phosphate were shipped to Europe last year, yet owing to the non-shipment of the usual quantities from the Somme and Aruba deposits, the available supplies were actually not perceptibly larger than usual. Buyers, however, were Florida Phosphates. 103 scarcer than usual, that is to say, that small quantities only were being contracted for as required, every one waiting for the situation to develop more fully. During the end of the summer prices in Europe for the various phosphates seemed topsy turvy ; the following were the quotations c.i.f. London: — South Carolina River Ptiosphate Peace River Phosphate . . Somme Phosphate (ground) . . t% i> „ „ (ground and washed) . . Florida Phosphate Liege Phosphate (ground) »> i» It Belgian „ Canadian Phosphate In point of fact, prices were entirely nominal; every one was anxious to sell, and no one wanted to buy. The fall in prices made things the reverse of cheerful in the neighbourhood of Ocala, and a meeting was called in November to consider the best method of remedying the situation. The result of the meeting, which many of the important companies did not attend, was a resolution that a syndicate with a suitable capital should be formed and establish a bureau of information regulate the output and have exclusive control of the handling and selling of rock, and all matters pertaining thereto. Wh;it the issue of this resolution will ultimately be, still remains to be seen. It is absolutely impossible at the present moment to make any complete combination owing to the refusal of many Minimum. Per Cent. Per Uni 55 lod. 60 . loid. 75 . 13d. 70 12d. Co . lo.id. 75 . 9id. 55 8d. 50 7d. 40 6id. 80 12d. 60 • 7id. rj i ' I 1! ) !i !| i U' li I04 Florida Phosphates. m companies to join, and the difference of ideas among those who are willing to combine. Granting for the moment that all the companies were to enter into some agreement, we fail to see how this will help matters other than in a negative manner by keeping the sale in ttwer hands. There is a firm conviction in the minds of many people in Florida that the European buyers have combined to put down prices, and it has even been stated in influential New Yr>rk journals that the English manufacturers are trying to " bully " the Florida hard rock miners. We quote the following para- graphs, written from Florida, and published in New York, as an example of the foolish ideas that are prevalent : — " If the Britishers can depress prices of raw materials in this State for a year or two, securing to themselves sufficient rock for their home trade, at prices which mean enormous incomes (stc) to fertiliser manufacturers, at the same time plant- ing themselves here as miners and shippers of high-grade, it will certainly prove them to be sharper traders than ourselves.'' *' Why should we admit for one year longer the necessity of accepting such prices for raw high-grade phosphates as may be tendered by our worthy but sharp-dealing brothers from England?" The answer to this, a very simple one, is that there is only a limited market in Europe for high-testing phosphates, and that Europe can supply her wants without buying any Florida Florida Phosphates. lo: hard rock. If therefore Florida high-grade rock is shipped into the European market at all, it must be in competition with other high-grade phosphates already in use, and the natural result of over production and too heavy shipments is a weak market and low prices. The idea that English manufacturers have benefited by the fall in prices is hardly correct, for last year's business was far from being prosperous, and the statement that they want to mine in Florida for themselves is really grotesque. The facts are exactly the contrary, for London has been overrun with speculators and promoters from Florida and from New York, each offering "the best mine in the world " to every manufacturer and phosphate broker whose name they could discover. Over one hundred rock companies have been organised in the United States of America, and at one time 41 companies were in actual operation ; in December last only 17 companies were at work. It was stated at the Ocala Convention that there were 47,000 tons of phosphate ready for shipment which had not been sold, so it does not seem probable that any reaction in the prices to be obtained in Europe is likely to take place for a long time to come. River rock stands on a totally different footing to hard rock, for it is a class of phosphate which has been the back- bone of the European medium-testing fertiliser trade for many years past. Price has been well maintained, and there has never been any accumulation of stock ; in fact there has 1 ' I'! if '. 1 r j T ''I ^ I ■ ii ^1 !. i- ■ft 1 06 Florida Phosphates. nearly always been a difficulty in filling steamers as they arrived, and the large amounts paid last year for demurrage by the various companies u'ould show an unpleasantly imposing total if put together. 1^1 I MARKET PRICE OF FLORIDA HIGH- GRADE ROCK IN 1891. In January, 1891, the price in Europe for 75 per cent, was nominal at i4^d. per unit. Pressing offers were made by one company in particular, which has since become involved and ceased mining, and sales were made from 13d. downwards to lo^d. per unit c.i.f. Continent. During the spring and early summer price dropped to lod., and in the autumn fell as low as 9id. c.i.f. Continent. In December quotations were nominal at 9d. per unit without finding buyers, and there is every appear- ance of a further decline, which will probably close down some more of the mines. Local prices in April were from $12 to si^i; fo.b. Fernan- dina, equivalent to .to. 50 to .^12.50. free on cars at mines. By August there were offers at !^G to $7 at mines, and in November 6,000 tons were sold at .^4.50 free on cars at mines, which is the lowest figure touched. The average market price in December was from $•■ to #5.50 per ton at mines, and it was a curious feature that several companies who had sold ahead were unable to complete their cargoes without buying from their neighbours, who were thus able to get a little advantage above market pr>ce. .if Florida Phosphates. 107 SHIPMENTS OF HARD ROCK PHOSPHATE. Year. Shipping Port. 1890 Fernandina it • Port Tampa 1891 Fernandina i> Port Tampa »y Water to U.S. Tons. 1.330 2,180 Foreign. Tons. 9.155 700 55.084 12,949 In addition to the above quantities, several shipments have been made from Savannah and Brunswick, Georgia, amounting to about 8,000 tons. Most of the rock phosphate has been carried by the Florida, Central and Peninsular Railroad to the eastern ports, the shipments from the Pemberton Ferry district are made over the South Florida Railroad to Port Tampa. A i.ew extension of this latter railroad is now being built to Dunnellon. Railroad freights from most rock centres to Fernandina and shipping expenses at the port average about $2.50 per ton, from Pemberton Ferry to Port Tampa about ;|i.25 per ton. At the loading docks at Fernandina, where two large or three small steamers can load at one lime, there are 18 to 26 feet of water. The loading costs 25 cents per ton, and no hoisting by the steamer is required. Pilotage varies from ISo for 16 feet draft to .tq2.5o for a draft of 18^ feet. Depth of water on the bar ut low tide is iif feet, and tide rises 7^ to 8 feet. The Florida, Central and Peninsular Railroad have built a loading elevator which is at present in an experimental stage only, but quick dispatch ib given by manual labour. There are no port dues. \ i' i 'I \m -.1 loS Florida Phosphates. i| 11 I At Jacksonville there are 1 8 to 20 feet of water alongside the wharves. Average depth of water at the bar at low tide is 13J feet, with I7i feet at high tide. Pilotage is charged at $«3 per foot. There are no harbour dues. At Port Tampa there is a depth of 30 feet uf water at the pier and 21 feet at the bar at low water. Pilotage costs $2.50 per foot, trimming 20 cents per ton, wharfage and loading 50 cents per ton. Great alterations are going to be made at this porf., and ultimately eight steamers at least will be able to receive the cargoes simultaneously. There are no port dues. The followiiig is a list ' of the Companies which shipped one or more cargoes during 1891 to Europe : — Name of Company. Mines at County. Capital. Dunnellon Phosphate Co. Dunnellon Marion . . $1,200,000 Marion Phosphate Co. i» »» ■ 5,000,000 Sterling Phosphate Co. Pemberton Ferry Hernando . 3,000,000 Netherlands Phosphate Co. . . Ocala and Blue River Phosphate C- Pemberton Ferry Dunnellon 1) Marion . 3,000,oco Withlacoochee Phosphate Co. Cove Bend Citrus 400,000 Standard Phosphate Co Archer Alachua . 2,000,000 Albion Phosphate Co Gainesville > t 300,000 International Phosphate Co. . . Dunnellon Marion — Peninsular Phosphate Co. Anthony ,, 200,000 Florida Phosphate Co. — Citrus 210,000 Stonewall Phosphate Co. — — 500,000 Glenn Alice Phosphate Co. . . Bay Hill Sumter — Jacksonville and Santa Fe Phosphate Co. 500,000 Itcheetucknee Phosphate Co. — — 30,000 High Springs Phosphate Co. . . — — — Cove Bend Land Phosphate Co. Tompkinsville — — *NoTE.— Ttiis list Is as complete as our investigations could make il, / Florida Phosphates. lOq THE LABOUR QUESTION IN FLORIDA. One of the chief initial difficulties which faced the mine manager directly he arrived on the spot was the scarcity of labour of any description. Outside of the sparsely settled negroes, there was only the native or " cracker " labour on hand. Trials made with the " cracker " element have shown the futility of relying on this class of hands for steady work. Though naturally intelligent, the " crackers " have grown accustomed through their indolent life to taking things easily ; they are most independent in their views, and as most of them own a homestead and cattle of their own, they like a holiday after about a v/eek's work. The consequence is that they are now rarely employed for anything but cutting cord wood by contract. Florida was ransacked in vain for any class of labour, and importations of coloured gangs from Georgia and Alabama had to be resorted to. When night fell, gambling, drinking and shooting commenced, and there were wild times and much actual danger to the overseers, who frequently had to go out with their "Winchesters'' and quiet matters down. Firm determination and prompt action soon ended these troubles, which were mostly confined to the small villages or towns adjacent to the mining camps, and now the coloured labourer is well under control. M 5 ■ 3 i i: r- The absence of any skilled labour was a serious drawback to the pioneers, but when the extent of the industry became im Florida Phosphates, li n ■;;■ circulated through the Northern States, there was a rapid immigration of engineers and surveyors, mechanics and blacksmiths. The trouble now is the itinerant character of all labour, and the carelessness with which one company employs the hands discharged by neighbouring works. All this, however, is merely a matter of time, and the labour problem — the difficulty of which only those who have confronted it can fully appreciate — will settle into normal conditions. Some mines employ convict gangs, for which they pay 40 cents only per man per diem, as against the usual charge of $i.cx) per day with board supplied, paid for ordinary labour. Mechanics receive from $50 per month upwards ; surveyors $5 per day, and dredge engineers from $75 to ^150 per month, according to their work. Ordinary engineers, for running engines, hoisting machinery, &c., are paid about $75.00 per month. FLORIDA PHOSPHATE MINING AS AN INVESTMENT. A great number of enquiries have been put into circulation in Europe, as to the advisability of making investments in the phosphate mining industry of Florida. Naturally, the first question asked is as to the price and value of phosphate lands. The answer as to the real value I Florida Phosphates, III ill must always remain an open question until results are achieved. The price to give rests upon a number of conditions. In order to discuss this matter fully, we will give our own views of the most desirable class of investment to make. Taking all things into consideration, we regard the land pebble mining ^ the soundest investment, for the following r^jasons : — (i.) The minimum contents of a given area can be closely estimated. (ii.) The quality can be ascertained precisely. (iii.) All the conditions of mining can be calculated, and do not vary materially. In selecting a land-pebble deposit, the following points have to be closely considered. (a). Location as to available water for washing, and as regards economic use of machinery. (b). Location as to transport. (c). Average thickness of overburden. {(i). Thickness of stratum. {c). Whether there is a capping of sand or phosphate rock which has to be removed by hand. (/). Admixture of foreign matter, such as silicate pebbles, sandstone or shells. {g). Supply of timber available for cord wood. {Ii). Price to be paid for the lands. If! ' I \\\\ t:i \ , ■ V V '.> ■ ii: Florida Phosphates. It will thus be seen that the question of price is not so materia! as would be considered at the first glance ; for given a deposit of say i,cco acres in extent, with a stratum 10 feet in thickness, there is a supply of at least 6,000,000 tons contained therein, and the greediest speculator could not want more, although ot course the whole area of such a tract would not be suitable for profitable mining. As a general rule it has been found advantageous to start the o])erations at or near the bed of a creek, the existence of which should be a sine qua noil of a purchase. On the other hand it is advisable, and indeed necessary, to control the water course, in order to make sure of a supply of clean water for washing purpos«is. A point in favour of this branch of the industiy is the extensive market for the product. On the other hand, land pebble mining requires at least twice as heavy an outlay for machinery as do the other kinds of mining, takes longer to get into operation, and is hedged round with serious difficulties in separating the phosphate from the matrix. In fact, so difficult was this separation considered by many northerners, and even miners from South Carolina, who came at the outset prepared to invest their mone}, that the would-be buyers returned home saying the deposits were worthless, since no separation could be effiicted. As regards price, the first purchases were made at from $2 to $5 per acre. When several tracts had changed hands and companies had been formed, the price rose rapidly to $25 an acre ; and to-day the quotation for well-selected lands in good Florida Phosphates, "3 1^. location, with heavy deposits and slight overburden (six to eight feet), varies from .^75 to ."^150 per acre. Second in order comes river mining. The available lands are now very small in area, and the drifts light ; in fact, there is no land available which contains enough phosphate to last more than a few years. When the river in these places has been exhausted the adjoining lands containing the usual clayey- matrix deposit will have to be worked. Consequently this branch is practically the tsame as the land pebble -is regards investment. We now come to rock-mining, and though all through this question of investment we are likely to have ou views severely criticised, we will be bold enough to follow out our argument to its limit. Our selection here is the gravel deposits at Anthony and Sparrs, and any similar deposits which may be found elsewhere, such as in the basin of the Suwanhee River, in Alachua County, and the drift deposits along the banks of the Withlacoochee River, for the following reasons : — (i.) The area under consideration can be sufficiently prospected to enable definite conclusions to be arrived at as regards quantities. (ii.) The test can be accurately ascertained. (iii.) Overburden is light. (iv.) Deposits are near the railroads. i I ■" i 114 Florida Phosphates. (v.) The separation o\ the phosphate is not a diffitult matter. . , (vi.) The (.'itlay for plant is light in comparison with quantities to be treated. We now come to the question of rock mining. Th-; chief advantage in this is the high percentage of phosphate, and the small outlay requireii to commence operations. On the other hand there is the great difficulty in determining any approximation as to contents, and the limited market available for the product. (This latter applies also to gravel mining). The variation of the proportions of rock, soft phosphate, clay, sand, &c., from day to day, and the capricious nature of the deposits are all in disfavour with those who look for a steady investment. The price of gravel deposits in the Anthony district is now from $200 to Jjijoo per acre ; of rock deposits, from $2^ to $100, according to area and outcropping of rock. To sum up, we are of opinion that any carefully selected deposit, whether rock or pebble, drift or bowlder, which has been thoroughly prospected, can be made a good paying investment by practical business men. The Somme Phosphate Fields have given universally good results to the companies and individuals mining them, and Florida can be made to do the same. But to the butcher and baker, the clergyman and professor acting as manager, such investments are likely to prove most disastrous. It may be of interest to mention the prices paid for phosphate lands in other countries. Florida Phosphates. lis In the Somnie, as much as J^^o.ooo was given for 2^ acrts of land, which produced 40,000 tons of phosphate, netting the raisers at least #200,000 of profit. Lands there are usually sold at a price per cubic metre of phosphate (about one and a-half tons) extracted, for which as much as 40 francs (.*7.50 or a royalty of !ji5.oo per ton) has been paid. A recent purchase of a few acres, very rich, was made for the sum of $240,000. The Liege deposits, containing about 1,300 to 1,800 tons of phosphate per acre, testing between 50 and 60 per cent., have brought latterly about 10,000 francs ()jS2.ooo) per acre, though in the beginning (two years ago) the price was only about ^i,o per acre. Canadian phosphate lands, with all the risks incidental to this most varying class of mining, have brought from $50 per acre upwards. A recent sale of 121 acres was made at about $70,000, another of 800 acres at $150,000. South Carolina lands are offered at from $10 to $30 per acre, according to location, depth of overburden and thickness of stnitum. ORIGIN OF FLORIDA PHOSPHATES. While it is admitted on all sides that the pebble phosphates of Florida are entirely organic in their origin (as can be readily observed by the use of the microscope), there are very divergent theories as to the origin of the rock phosphates. :iii ! hi ii6 Florida Phosphates. Mr. N. H. Darton, of the United States Geological Survey is, among others, of opinion that guano was probably the original source of the phosphate deposits; and this theory seems to cover the conditions of the problem more completely than most of the hypotheses advanced. Others again consider that the underlying limestone rock originally contained a certain percentage of phosphate of lime, and that by the action of water the carbonate got leached out, leaving behind a crust of phosphate of lime. The objection to this theory is the tremendous leaching out of carbonate of lime which would have to have taken place in order to leave behind so thick a bed of phosphate. For, supposing even that the limestone actually did contain 5 per cent, of phosphate of lime, this would mean a leaching of a thickness of 1,000 feet of limestone to produce 50 feet of phosphate. A third theory is that the upper surface of the limestone rock, bein^ continually washed with phosphate in solution, derived from the decomposition of animal remains, gradually lost its carbonic acid and became phosphatised. In this '. ! no South Carolina Phosphates. Dr. Pratt at once contiiiijed his investigations, and profiting by the publications of Professor Tuomey and Professor Holmes in former years, succeeded within a very few weeks in extending the known limits of the bed far beyond the boundaries previously marked out. I ^!1 i 1 ; ' ^'i ; i! ■ i i! ; . ■( II i\ , ■ ;i if COMMENCEMENT OF MINING OPERATIONS AND FIRST SHIPMENTS. The next point was to draw the attention of capitalists to the importance of the discoveries made and to the chances of turning the same into pecuniary profit. The Southerners, however, did not seem inclined to believe in the value of the phosphate beds, though the Hon. C. G. Memminger, who at first was most incredulous, ultimately changed his ideas on seeing Dr. Ansted's book, and advised Dr. Pratt and Professor Holmes to take great care of it as a means of establishing the worth of their discovery. After six weeks of unsuccessful work in Charleston, money was furnished by Mr. James S. Welsman of Charleston (one of the few men who at once fact but lately ascertained. The basin-shaped depression of its under- lying calcareous and other beds (as determined in the survey just made by Professor Tuomey) occupies a considerable extent between the Savannah and Pee Dee Ri-ers. This basin seeins destined to become as famous in the eyes of the scientific world as thui of Paris, from the number of new and interesting fossils with which it abounds, while ihose cf them already exhumed claim for it a rank above that of the London basin. . . The first ten feet of the underlying (Ajhley) marl may be properly called the ' Zeuglodon or Basilosaurus bed of the Charles- ton Basin.' Professor Agassiz pronounced it the richest cemetery of animal remains he had ever seen." South Carolina Phosphates. 131 appreciated the discovery at its true value), which enabled Dr. Pratt and Professor Holmes to visit Philadelphia, and lay their plans before more enterprising people. Messrs. George T. Lewis and Frederick Klett, of Philadelphia, immediately took the matter in hand, subscribing the money necessary, and in a very few days the Charleston South Carolina Mining and Manufacturing Company was organised, with Professor F. S. Holmes as president, Dr. Pratt as chemist and general superintendent, and Colonel "^""ates as engineer. Some 10,000 acres of land were acquired and mininj; operations were begun at Bee's Ferry; and sometime before the close of the year Professor Holmes forwarded 16 barrels of rock to Philadelphia and the first parcel of superphosphates was manufactured by Messrs. Potts and Klett of that city. In the meantime, a second undertaking called the Wando Fertiliser Company, with Mr. John R. Dukes as president, which had been organised locally by Dr. Ravenel and his associates, started work, and on April 14th, 1868, the first cargo of phosphates left Charleston, 100 tons being shipped from their mines by the schooner "Renshaw" to Baltimore. Four days later the Charleston Mining and Manufacturing Company shipped 300 tons per schooner "Anna Barton " to Philadelphia, and its reception there is described by Professor Holmes in the following words* : — " The arrival of the first cargo in Philadelphia caused no little excitement in mercantile circles, especially among ij [ ■; 1 ii 1 1 - k'l f 1 •;' ;' H I J', Ih! I Vide p. 77 " Holmes' Phosphr.te Rocks of South Carolina." .! I E a I 'f :i' : I ^-\^ i>.; # 132 5oi///i Carolina Phosphates. manufacturers of fashionable fertilisers, and in a very short time after the chemists of that city, New York and Baltimore, had pronounced it a true bone phosphate rock, the phosphate fever became epidemic in those cities." IM DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOSPHATE ROCKS OR NODULES. The nodules are very irregular in shape and vary in size from tiny specks to pieces weighing several pounds. There are also large masses weighing up to a ton, but these are composed, as a rule, of smaller pieces conglomerated. The average nodule varies from pea to potato size. The shape is generally egg or kidney form, and the nodules are all more or less water-worn, frequently contain the cast of shells, and are often perforated, in fact honeycombed. They vary in hardness from 2 to 4, and have (according to Dr. Shepard, Jun.) a specific gravity of 2.2 to 2.5. Generally speaking, the land nodules may be described as light brown in colour, and very porous, while the river nodules, which are a bluish black, are hard and smooth, and contain little moisture. Dr. R. A. F. Penrose, Jun., classifies the nodules into eleven varieties, differing both in their physical character and chemical composition. '■= (i.) A jet black variety, with a bright, shining, glossy enamel of the same colour. It is very rare, and generally * Vide p. 62, Bulletin No. 46, United States Geological Survey, 1888. li ill South Carolina Phosphates. 133 occurs in small patches. It contains numerous fossils and shells. It is found in Parrott Creek. (2.) A brown variety, with a bright enamel of the same colour. It is very rich, and is found in considerable quantities at the Bradley Mine and on the land of the Charleston Mining and Manufacturing Company. (3-) A light blown variety, with little or no enamel. It bleaches white when exposed to the sun, and is found on the land of the Bradley Company and in many other localities. (4.) A light chalky variety, containing many shells, and generally poorer in quality than the varieties mentioned above. It is very widely distributed over the South Carolina phosphate region, and is simply marl which has not been so highly phosphatised as the harder and darker varieties. (5.) A dark greyish-black variety with little or no enamel. It is very siliceous and contains many shells. It is generally found in rivers, and is especially characteristic of the Stone River district. (6.) A grey variety composed of a mass of shells and transparent siliceous sand, cemented together by a phosphatic cement. Sometimes sharks' teeth are included in the mass. At times it is hard and compact, and at others it is loose, soft and porous. Such varieties are found in large quantities in the Beaufort River. They are often mixed with a much better quality of nodule, which raises the average phosphatic contents. i \- \i i| ? : :i ; h i- i mw ma .:: i I I , ] mi \ 134 South Carolina Phosphates. (7.) A dark grey phosphatic conglomerate, in which the pebbles are quartz and feldspar, varying from the size of a mustard seed to that of a buck-shot. The matrix is a dark grey phosphatic marl. This variety is very rare in South Carolina, but is found in small quantities in the Bull River district. (8.) Nodules having a black enamel and a light or dark grey interior. They contain many shell casts, and are found in the Coosaw River, and on the Edisto River at Fishburne's Mine. (9.) A variety consisting of a mass of concentrically laminated nodules cemented together with c matrix of marl, containing many shells. This variety is rare and was found only in the Bull River. It is generally rich in phosphatic matter. (10.) A ferruginous rusty-brown variety, very siliceous and of poor quality. (11.) Brown or black masses having the general appearance of fossil dung (coprolites), and probably of that nature. They are hard, and very rich in phosphate of lime. Real coprolites are of rare occurrence. ANALYSIS. Different specimens vary very much in the proportions of their chemical composition, but from a commercial standpoint the general average of whole shipments may be taken to be between 56 and 62 per cent, tribasic phosphate of lime, though cargoes of marsh rock run about 52 per cent. only. South Carolina Phosphates. 13: Dr. C. U. Shepard, Jun., gives the following as an average result of many hundreds of analyses* : — * Phosphoric Acid t Carbonic Acid Sulphuric Acid Lime Magnesia Alumina Sesqui-oxide of Iron Fluoride Sand and Silicia Organic Matter and con- bined Water .. from 25.00 per cent, to 28 per cent. .. 2.50 „ „ 5 ,, " 0.50 „ ,, 2 .. 35-00 „ „ 42 „ traces 2 „ 2 from I per cent, to 4 „ .. I „ ..2 „ •» 4 11 I. 12 „ •» 2 „ )i 6 ,, * Equivalent to 55 to 61 per cent. Tribasic Phosphate of Lime, t II 5 ,, II ,, Carbonate of Lime. Dr. Shepard, Jun., adds : — " In addition to the ingredients mentioned above, sodium, chlorine and occasionally other ele- ments occur in small quantities. Iron pyrites rarely found beyond one per cent., is included under the estimate of s- Iphuric acid and sesqui-oxide of iron. The organic matter is nitrogenous, containing occasionally as high as a quarter per cent, nitrogen." TABLE OF ANALYSES ok Phosphate kro.m various LOCALITIKS .MADK MV Dr. C. U. ShKPARD, Ju\. Moisture Organic Matter and Combined Water Carbonic Acid Equal to Carbonate of Lime . . Phosphoric Acid . . Equal to Tribasic PhosphateofLime Sand on s 3-68 .2 2 §81 •a .> S 2g. Hi's "S c S (J n c aj'd > a (JB CO o o U a 1.50 o.io 0.84 0.79 0.57 0.66 478 .. 5-59 5-26 0.07 4.22 5.80 4.31 3.75 4.68 4.28 3.89 4.47 3.55 3.54 3,61 3.79 4.34 10.69 9-73 8-84 1004 8.06 8.04 8.19 8.61 9.84 25.61 26.6S 25,75 27.01 27.11 27.26 25.14 27.26 26.78 55.91 58.24 56.31 58.95 59.18 59.50 54.88 59.51 58.46 11.55 12.41 11-77 "37 15-39 yo6 13.30 9.06 T1.77 Vide p. 75, " .\nnual Report of Commissioner of Agriculture of South Carolina," 1880. 'in :ii I 1 i f w I i > 136 5o/^//f Carolina Phosphates. ORIGIN OF THE PHOSPHATE ROCKS. The origin of the nodules and the formation of the beds in which they occur have been widely discussed, and various theories, differing very materially, have been propounded. The two most important authorities upon the subject, Professor F. S. Holmes and Dr. N. A. Pratt, took diametrically opposite views, the latter stating that the nodules were of true bone origin, Avhile the former, in his pamphlet, published in 1870, wrote as follows : — " And though there are numerous fossil teeth and fossil bones intermingled with the phosphatic rocks, the rocks themselves never were bones, but were originally calcareous rocks, which were taken from the mother-bed and redeposited in basins, where by a chemical change they were converted from a carbonate of lime rock into a phosphate of lime rock, containing very little carbonate." His full account is as follows * : — " Though these basins in Charleston were formed in the Post Pleiocene age, the rocks deposited in them do not belong to that age, but, in fact, to the Eocene, an older formation. It has been ascertained beyond doubt that frequently rocks or fragments of rocks, of older formations and therefore of greater age, are found in newer deposits of a comparatively recent date. Quartz pebbles and fragments of water-worn crystalline rocks are often seen imbedded in modern clays and sands. The phosphate rocks"of these basins, in like manner, have been derived from an older formation of the Eocene marl, or the great Carolinian bed of Vide p. 27 of " Holmes' Phosphate Rocks of South Carolina." South Carolina Phosphates. 137 marl, which is the formation of the whole country of South Carolina ; is 700 feet in thickness, and extends from North Carolina into Georgia. The shallow water of the coast, with its submarine formation of undulating sand-banks, was then, as now, resting upon this surface of the great marl formation of Eocene ; both were below the level of the ocean, exposed to the degrading influence of its waves, and bored into by mollusca and other marine animals. From the coarsely honey- combed surface of this mother-bed fragments were being continually broken off by the waves, rolled over the sand-beds, which wore oflF their angular edges, and finally deposited them 1 extensive masses in the great hollows or basins below the ocean level. The next great change was the upheaval of the whole sea-coast country by some geological agency, and the elevation of the coast above the level of the sea. Wlien the sand-hills and the submarine lagoons were raised, the basins contained sea or salt water, and must have been so many small salt lakes along the sea coast, h5»^ving their bottoms covered or paved with a thin layer of the nodular fragments of marl rock. As the evaporation of the salt water progressed, what was left became day by day a stronger brine, until, at last, a deposit of salt ultimately formed as a crust upon the pavement of marl rocks. And, here it must not be forgotten that these nodules of Eocene rocks are composed (like the mother rock from which they had been broken off) entirely of the dead shells of marine animals, which, age after age, were deposited at the bottom of the ocean or Eocene sea, and finally became an immense bed or body of marl, enclosing throughout its great Ih i t:'- "' ■ 1 'I ■ !■■ J kjj . i 138 South Carolina Phosphates. depth, not only the polythalanious shells, corals, and corallines, but the teeth and bones of sharks and other fish, and of animals like whales, and alligators, such alone as live in the sea, but no remains of any land animal have yet been found in it. All animal remains obtained are mingled with and not imbedded in the nodules found in the phosphate basins, and this mingling occurred in the Post Pleioccne age, after the ele\'ation of the basins above the ocean level, *' It was in this Post Pleioccne age that the American elephant (or mammoth), the mastodon, rhinoceros, megatherium and other gigantic quadrupeds roamed the Carolina forests and repaired periodically to these salt lakes or lagoons, and during a series of indefinite ages deposited their foecal remains and ulti- mately their bones, teeth, in fact their dead bodies, in these great open 'crawls' or pens, thus preparing a storehouse of rich material for man's use by converting the rocks, prepared of old at the bottom of the ocean, into the basis of a most woi.aerful fertilising substance." The above theory was accepted by Dr. Charles U. Shepard, Jun., who, in a lecture delivered upon South Carolina phos- phates in December, 1879, thus describes the process by which the carbonate of lime rocks were converted into phosphate of lime rocks* : — *' The decomposition of a mass of animal remains super- imposed upon the marl nodules, would cause the production of carbonic acid and the solution of the phosphates originally • This lecture was published in the first Annual Report of the Com- missioner of Agriculture of South Carolina, 1880, and the account referred to is to be found on p. 91. South Carolina Phosphates. 139 contained in the animal matter in water percolating through the layer. As this solution penetrated into the carbonate of lime masses below, the phosphoric acid would be detained there, and the carbonic acid, whether of the original solution or of the marl, would be carried off. Under such circumstances we should expect to find the greatest phosphatisation at the point of contact ; and such is the case, it having been remarked that the top of the stratum — especially when it formed a floor and has been but slightly disturbed — is the richest in phosphoric acid, and where the marl occurs in liodular masses the rind is rir.ier than the core. "Again this theory explains the gradual transition from hard phosphate rock through soft rock to the feebly phosphatised marl, which is itself much richer in phosphates than the parent Eocene marl occurring at greater depths below. This phospha- tisation was accompanied by a hardening of the previous softer marl masses which became denser in proportion to the complete- ness of the change ; it cemented together contiguous masses giving rise to the more or less continuous phosphatic floor alluded to before, and penetrating below produced curious projections in the rock bed, by the chemical conversion of accumulations of marl which had filled up irregularities in the top of the underlying stratum." Note. — The marl proper contains but a very small percentage of phosphate, and experiments carried out by Professor Shepard, Sen., show that these marls that are associated with, or covered by phosphate rocks contain a higher percentage of phosphate than those not covered. It seems, therefore, that any excess of phosphoric acid passed through the beds of phosphate rocks into the intervening sands and clays, and was absorbed by the upper layers of marl, the small percentage of phosphate contained in the lower layers of marl being derived from the marine animals imbedded in the Eocene formation. i|i| ;i ■ 1 : i ! i ! li 1 mw ml, fvwi IP! '^S I 140 South Carolina Phosphates. Dr. Pratt accounts for the origin of tliewe phosphate rocks in a manner entirely different to the theory described above, and is of the opinion that they were formed from the dead carcasses, bones, &c., of the millions of living forms which frequented the lagoons. 'I'he remains and excrementitious deposits of these marine and terrestrial animals were in time buried in the calcareous mud a; d sands which eventually filled up the lagoons during the process of the formation of the keys, which in turn became islands and ultimately mainland. The action of rain and other waters gradually washed out the soluble ingredients of these deposits, and the residue then consisted of the insoluble phosphate of lime in the form of bones, coprolites, conglomerates or semi-consolidated softer masses. Dr. Pratt's chemical investigations show that the phosphate nodules have practically the same analytical com- position as bones deprived of all organic matter and water, and he finds further confirmation of his views as to their bone origin from the microscope, which instrument he claims re\'eals phosphate rock which is distinguishable only from bone by its colour, the existence of a few grains of sand, and some undescribed forms probably derived from excrement. This original formation was probably somewhere in the middle of the State, the present position of the bed having been brought about by the action of the fresh water rivers. The first step was the process of the separation of these nodules or rocks from the marls with which they were originally associated, by the action of the rivers which gradually cut through the various strata, subsequently super-imposed, down to the deposit South Carolina Phosphates. 141 of phosphate rocks. The accompanying marls and sands were washed out and carried off, whereas the rocks sank to the bottom and were rolled along by the current till they ultimately rested in some eddy or still water, in a bed of fine sand or mud which had been previously deposited. The washing away of the banks and the gradual changing of the beds of the rivers would extend this layer of phosphate in its course, the previously deposited rocks becoming covered with various deposits brought down by the river, till what was once river bed became marsh land. This gradual changing of river bed and washing out of phosphate can be seen going on from day to day, and the thickness of the bed of phosphate is a rough guide to the number of changes undergone. Professor C. U. Shepard published a short article in T/ie American Journal of Science for May, 1869, on the phosphatic formation, and ascribes its origin to the "deposition of bird guano, as it is now going on upon the Musquito Coast of the Caribbean Sea." Early in 1870 Professor W. C. Kerr, State Geologist of North Carolina, discovered along the shores of that State immense numbers of a living shell — Lingida pyramidata — which on examination proved to be a shell containing phosphate of lime, similar in all respects to the composition of bone'''; si i5 Ul • Note. — In 1854 Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, of the Canadian Geological Survey, discovered that the shell of a bivalve of the genus Lingida (existing both fossil and alive) contained phosphate of lime, and about the year 1871, Professor C. P. Williams wrote an article in the Journal of the Franklin Institute on the composition of the shell of ths Lingula rfp 142 South Carolina Phosphates. m and with much plausibility, in a paper read before the American Association for the Advance of ScicJice, he ascribed the origin of the South Carolina phosphate to this agency. While considering the geological side of the subject, it may not be out of place to mention that in 1844 several stone arrow-heads and one stone hatchet were discovered by some labourers who were engaged in the removal of the upper beds covering the marl. Not long after this Professor Holmes, while engaged in his usual visits to the Ashley marl bed, found a human bone projecting from the bluff immediately in contact with the surface of the stony stratum (the phosphate rocks). This bone was condemned without het II Etrivan ,, ,, , , 1» n Georgia Chemical Works ' » Jacksonboro „ Glebe 1' Columbia ,, Greenville Fertiliser ,, !♦ Greenville Imperial ,, ,, »> Charleston ^rw South Carolina Phosphates. 175 FERTILISER MAWVIKACTURING COMPANIES AT WORK IN SOUTH CAROLINA — Continued. Meade Phosphate Co., Works at Charleston, South Carolina Port Royal Fertiliser ,, ,, Port Royal „ Pacific Company ,, ,, Charleston ,, Piedmont ,, ., ,, ,, Royal Fertiliser ,, ^ > >» Stono Phosphate ,, ., ,. >i Wando „ „ ,, .. „ Wappoo Mills ,, ,. ,, ,, Willcox and Gibbs Fertiliser ,, ,, „ with an aggregate capital of about $4,500,000, and an estimated , yearly output of about 400,000 tons of manufactured fertiliser. These companies use the land rock almost entirely, the bulk, of the river-rock being shipped to Europe, where it is much preferred to the land rock, which is higher in oxide of iron and alumina, and gives a light-coloured superphosphate. The river rock, v/hen manufactured, makes a superphosphate of a slatey-grey hue, which is the standard medium testing •' super " of the European market. The following are the names of the fertiliser companies in Savannah : — Baldwin Fertiliser Company. Commercial Guano Company. Comer, Hull & Co. Savannah Guano Company. Willcox. Gibbs & Co. The following tables show the actual increase in the manufacturing industry, and give the shipments of fertilisers from Charleston, Savannah and Port Royal up to the close of 1 891 : n \i 1 7b South Carolina Phosphates. shipm?:nts ok kkrtiusers. i J Year. From Charleston. From Savannah. From Port Royal. Total. 1871 20,487 • 27,447 ■ — 47.934 1872 •• 37.183 32,922 — 70.105 1873 . . 56,298 56,296 — . 112,594 1874 46,263 . 30,895 . — 77.158 1875 ■ • 49.500 • 33.187 ■ 4,000 86,687 1876 .. 47,381 33.000 12,000 92,381 1877 . . 45,766 . • 45,591 26,000 "7.357 1878 52,000 61,500 15,000 128,500 1879 55,000 60,000 12,000 127,000 1880 80,000 75,000 26,000 181,000 1881 100,000 110,000 • 39.245 • 249.245 1882 . 95,000 100,000 28,279 . 223,279 1883 . 130,000 125,000 25,000 280,000 1884 . • 143.790 70,000 23,094 •• 236,884 1885 . . 158,136 . 76.874 ■ • 33,538 .. 268,548 1886 . 141,287 . 82,705 55.527 • • 279,519 1887 131,000 • 71.844 • 52,367 • • 255.2H 1888 183,000 80,461 59,659 . . 323,120 1889 181,990 . 85,550 . . 55,000 322,540 1890 . 261,650 75,000 50,000 386,650 1891 • 287975 . . 112,000 51,000 450,975 The fertiliser industry has on the whole given steady and profitable returns upon the money invested, and the last two years have been exceptionally good ones. PROFITS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY. The discovery of phosphates in South Carolina was a boon of which the advantages cannot be too highly appreciated, for the operations began at a time when the whole South was suffering from the terrible straits into which the war had plunged them. The commencement 01 liiis new and important ' South Carolina Phosphates. 177 industry planted fresh hopes, ambition and energy in the hearts of the Southerners, and though aV. first the actual pecuniary results were not as satisfactory as could have been desired, yet the industry was employing hundreds, if not thousands, of men who would otherwise have been idle. Many of the earlier companies were wound up, but taking the industry as a whole its results to date have been eminently profitable. The Charleston South Carolina Mining and Manufacturing Company has been the most successful of the land companies, and for many years past has paid large dividends. The stock of the company, $100 per share, has generally stood above $200 and been quoted even at $300. The Coosaw Mining Company has earned and paid the largest dividends ever known in the history of phosphate mining ; one year 300 per cent, was actually divided, and the $100 stock touched $1,500. Taking $4 as an average cost for the rock and $6 as the average sale, it will be seen that the returns have been good, and last year they were especially high, as rock averaged over $7.00 per ton. River rock last year realised even as high as $9.00 per ton, f.o.b., so that the late history of the undertaking as a whole has proved most satisfactory to those interested. FUTURE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY. The important dimensions which this industry has assumed must be ascribed to the rapid increase in the demand for fertilisers throughout the Southern States, principally in con- nection with the cotton-growing plantations. ! I 'i! 17S South Carolina Phosphates. The following figures are an estimate of the annual consumption of fertilisers in some of the States, viz. : — Georgia, 230,000 tons; North Carolina, 150,000 tons; South Carolina, 200,000 tons; Alabama, [25,000 tons; Virginia, 150,000 tons; Mississippi, 50,000 tons; Louisiana, 25,000 tons; Tennessee, 25,000 tons. In the last few years a considerable number of new fertiliser works have been built and the older ones enlarged, and there seems no doubt as to the probable steady growth of the fertiliser trade for many years to come. The establishment of manufactories in the neighbourhood of Charleston is the greatest safeguard for the continuance of the mining industry, and though it is probable that the pebble phosphate of Florida will in the future be a strong competitor at northern sea points, yet the situation of Charleston, as regards southern points to be reached by rail, will continue to give her command of those markets. It may be, however, that in a short time from now land rock will cease io be shipped by water from Charleston, or, at all events, shipped in comparatively small quantities, the whole production being either used locally or sent by rail into Georgia, Alabama and other neighbouring States. River rock will continue to be shipped to Europe, though the wants of Europe will probably be divided between Florida and South Carolina in about equal quantities. CANADIAN PHOSPHATES. • t^ CHAPTER IV. r| GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. Canadian phosphate, Apatite, is found in the oldest known rock formation of the earth's crust, entitled the Laurentian system, which is the earlier sub-division of the Archoean period. The rocks of this period are supposed by some geologists to be a part of the primeval crust of the earth, solidified from fusion. Others are of opinion that these rocks were formed in the boiling ocean, which first condensed upon the hot surface of the globe, being deposited as chemical precipitates or mechanical sediments on the floor of the primeval ocean, subsequent to which they became more or less crystallised and disturbed. The most abundant rock of this formation (in the region now to be considered) is granitoid gneiss, which is here found interstratified with bands of pyroxene and other horn- blendic rocks and crystallised limestone ; these bands or belts being invariably mineralised and carrying quartzite, apatite, pyrite, mica, steatite, feldspar, graphite, scapolite, calcite, &c., in variable proportion, sometimuH aB distinct veins or beds, at other times as segregated and pockety masses. il' N' rii 180 Canadian Phosphates. No unquestionable trace of organic existence has been met with among these rocks, though certain geologists claim that a structure known as the Enzoon Canadcnsc is really that of a reef-building foraminifer. This structure is certainly a notice- able one, but so greatly resembles other recognised mineral arrangements, that its claim to be regarded as an organism cannot be considered in any way to have been established. Further, it is held by most of the scientists that there has always been phosphoric acid in the earth's crust, long before it was possible for any life to have existed upon the globe. Professor A. R. C. Selwyn, head of the Canadian Geological Survey, says : — '' I hold that there is absolutely no evidence whatever of the organic origin of the apatite, or that the deposits have resulted from ordinary mechanical sedimentation processes. They are clearly connected for the most part with the basic eruptions of Archcean date." On the other hand, Professor J. W. Dawson thinks that Canadian apatite is of animal origin, basing his belief on the presence of the Eozoon structure and of the fluoride of lime in the apatite. His statement is as follows : — * "The probability of the animal origin of the Laurentian apatite is, perhaps, further strengthened by the prevalence of animals with phosphatic crusts and skeletons in the primordial age, giving a presumption that in the still earlier Laurentian, a similar preference for * Quarterly Journal, Geol. Soc, London : vol. xxxii., 1S76, p. ago. \t: Canadian Phosp lutes. iSi phosphatic matter may have existed, and may perhaps have extended to still lower forms of life, just as-in more modern times-the appropriation of phosphate of lime by the higher animals for their bones seems to have been accompanied by a diminution of its use in animals of lower grade." The general opinion seems to be that the deposits of apatite are really irregular segregations from the phosphate- bearing country rock. Dr. Sterry Hunt describes them as ♦'concretionary vein stones which have resulted from a hot water solution.'" He finds confirmation of this theory in the rounded form of many of the apatite crystals, which he considers due to partial solution after deposition, and not to fusion as suggested by others. He further supports his argument by the occurrence of drusy cavities in the veins, and of masses of calcite buried in the interior of apatite crystals. These Laurentian rocks form huge belts which can be traced for many miles, and which swell out into thick zones in some places, diminishing and actually disappearing in others. The general trend of these belts is in N.E. and S.W. direction, and the apatite is found bedded or interstratified with the various rocks, the proportions of which are always varying. The apatite, which is crystalline in form, varies in colour from a light emerald green to shades of blue, pink, red, yellow, dark green, and an almost absolute black, the usual colour being a bluey-green of different shades. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ui Hi 2.0 I MM L25 1 U 1 ,.6 < 6" >■ Photographic Sciences Corporation 4S V ?;v •N? inty which Canadian Phosphates. 20: causes pits to be abandoned and the machinerj- moved elsewhere in the hope of something better being found. Occasionally, a fault or dyke of trap rock will interrupt a good lead, but the more usual obstacle is a "horse," or large mass of ccnnitrj- rock which has to be sunk through. This irregularity and the absolute want of knf»wledge or means of acquiring any certain knowledge as to the probable future of any lead, bunch or bonanza of phosphate ha\e helped to continue what must be admitted to be, after all, a most primitive method of conducting mining operations, for with a very few exceptions thw average pit has always been worked in a way contrary to all recognised mining rules. TRANSPORT. The question of the transport of the ore at and from the mines has not been given, as a rule, the attention which its importance demands. Short tramway tracks were in use at some of the mines between the pits and the cobbing houses, but the first tramway to the bank of the river was built by the Little Rapids Mine. The distance is half a mile only, and the cars which all run to the river by gravitation are hauled back bj- horses. High Rock Mine was the next to improve its facilities for transport, and a rather circuitous tramway was laid from the top of the hill to the landing on the river, with a total length of about two miles. The cars are worked in the same manner il 206 Canadian Phosphates. m- here as at the mine just mentioned. From the top of the hill, where several pits were being worked, another tramway was built down to the west side of the hill to Pit XI., and the cars operated by a wire rope run by a hoisting engine. In iXHH at the Crown Hill Mine a straight tramway was laid down the face of the hill to the river's edge, a distance of i,ooo feet, and the cars worked by a stationary hoisting engine. All the pits on this mine were connected with this point and with the main cobbing-house by tramway tracks. These are the only transport facilities in the du Lievre district, the other mines having to cart all their ore from the pits or cobbing-houses down the very rough roads to the river's bank. As all the mines are situated on or near the tops of hills, this work is very slow and difficult, and, as a rule, the transport has been mostly effected during the winter months, when sleighs are used instead of carts. The ore has also to be moved on the various mines by cart to the cobbing-house, which is both laborious and expensive, and adds very considerably to the total cost. A general calcu- lation of the cost of moving the ore on the mines from the pits to the cobbing-house, and thence to the riverside wharves, shows an average of not less than #1.50 per ton. Transport on the du Lievre River to Buckingham was originally done by contract ; as much as $1 per ton was paid in the early days, but this price was reduced by competition to 50 cents per ton. Some of the larger companies built their ' Canadian I'hosphates. 207 own barges or scows, and had only to pay for towage; other toinpaiiifs bought towing steamers as well, and diil all their own transport. To-day's expenses from the pits at the mihes to the shipping point at Montreal are as follows : — Cost of transport at mines, and thunce to riverside wharves .. .. .. .. Si. 50 leading from wharves into scowb . . . . .10 Towage to Huckingham Village . . . . . . . . .2<.> Unloading scows and loading on to railroatl cars . . .15 fiailroad freight to Montreal .. ., .. 1.25 Cartage from cars to ship's side . . . . .25 Harbour Dues .. .. .11 Shipping agents' commission . . . . . . . . .25 Total cost of transport from pit's mouth to f o.b. Montreal 813.81 In the Templeton and (iatineau districts the minimum haulage from mines to railroad is ten miles, and in some instances the distance is considerably greater. The axerage cost of this transport is 8-.00 per ton ; railroad freight and Montreal expenses add about .*i.75 to this figure. In the Ontario mining districts, those mines which are near the Rideau Canal transport their ore to the banks of the canal, whence it is conveyed by water to Montreal. Other mines load their ore on to the line of railroad between Sharbot Lake and Kingston, in which case the phosphate is put into barges at the latter point. The average cost of transport from all the mines in this district to Montreal varies between ij^.fo and i>\.oo per ton. 208 Canadian Phosphates. IJST OF COMPANIES OPERATING IN 1891. Name. Anglo-Canadian Phosphate Co., Ltd Anglo-Continental Guano Works and Squaw Hill Canadian Phosphate Co., Ltd. Central Lake Mining Co. Dominion Phosphate & Mining Co Dominion Phosphate Co., Ltd. E. Templeton District Phosphate Mining Syndicate Ltd. Fo.xton Mining Co., Ltd. General Ltd. t'hosphate Corporation, Kingston Phosphate Mining Co. Maclaurin Phosphate Mining Syndicate, Ltd. Ottawa Mining Co. . . Phosphate of Lime Co., Ltd. Mining at. ( Perth, Ontario, - and du Lievre I District ' Squaw Hill and ) 1 Aetna Mines* j Star & Crown Hills* Central Lake Mines* J^orth Star Mine* London Mine* . . ( Blackburn Mine,) I Templeton ) Foxton Mine ( High Falls* and ) ^ Ross Mountain" ( and Templeton Frontenac I I Templeton Emerald Mine* High Rock Mine* Capital. $500,000 550,000 125,000 200,000 30,000 60,000 750,000 24,000 100,000 250,000 r COST OF PRODUCTION. It is probable that more reports have been mnd^ upon Canadian phosphate properties (and more mines offered by promoters and owners) than upon any other phosphate deposits in the world. These reports have been written by a great variety of persons, including geologists, mining engineers, phosphate experts, and owners of phosphate lands. All such reports state unhesitatingly the vast quantities of apatite which each property contains, and all agree as to the cheap cost of production, the high percentage of the phosphate, and the • du Lievre River District. Canadian Phosphates. 209 large profits to be made from mining the deposits. The point that all, or very nearly all, these reports are inaccuraLe about is just that one most essential and vital particular of the proportion of first-class ore to the total quantity of phosphate produced. We will first look into the question of cost of production of the ore, and in so doing must consider matters fr/> initio. Supposing a property to have been roughly prospected and found to be rich in surface shows and outcrops, it is apparent that the cost of excavating the ore from such superficial pockets will not be great. In addition to this, the phosphate to be extracted can be mined without breaking it up badly, since a small quantity only of explosives is required to loosen the surface rocks. In this way it is possible to raise about 1,000 tons per annum from any fairly promising property, without any expensive machinery or plant ; but as soon as the open quarry becomes a pit, the expenses increase, as hoisting appliances, steam drills and pumps become necessary. In addition to this it is to be remarked, according to our own experience and observation, that no surface shows which contain phosphate mixed with calcite, pyroxene, &c., are selected for working, though possibly the phosphate itself may often be rusty and dirty. In the years 1883, 1884 and 1^85 the mines in the du Lievre district were as a whole doing remarkably well and earning large profits, whereas of late years profits have materially diminished, and in several cases losses have taken their place. ■m 2IO Canadian Phosphates. ■ l I m '-> This is to be accounted for in the following ways : — (i.) When superficial pockets were being worked the mining was cheaper and the proportion of first-class quality very materially higher. (ii.) As depth was reached more expensive machinerj' was required, more explosives used, and consequently the proportion of high-test quality decreased. (iii.) Owing to the discovery of the Somme phosphate deposits, the prices realised for second and third qualities has fallen to such an extent that they do not now realise even the cost of production. The cost of production has nearly always been stated in the vai ious reports to be $5 per ton of apatite cobbed and ready for transport, and no doubt this figure was correct some years ago, but we have now to consider what is to-day's cost, and our estimate is as follows : — Cost of producing one ton of phosphate at pit's mouth, in labour only .. .. .. .. .. .. *5.oi' Cost of explosives employed for same . . . . . . i .00 Cost of wear and tear to plant . . . • . . i .00 Cost of hand-picking, cobbing, &c. .. .. .. i.oo Cost of management and sundry expenses .. .. i.oo Total cost at mines (exclusive of transport) . . ^9.00 In the earlier days of mining in this district the second quality usually averaged about 77 per cent, of phosphate ; some years ago its grade fell to about 72 per cent., and now it is very doubtful if the average of second quality produced from the cobbing houses is over 68 per cent. This can only be accounted Canadian Phosphates, !II for by the deeper mining and the free use of explosives, which breaks the ore up into fine pieces which cannot be separated from the rock with which it is mixed. PRICES REALISED FOR THE VARIOUS GRADES. Year. 80 per cent. 75 per cent. 70 per cent. 60 per cent 1882 . . i6d. v Mth ^ rise .. i5d. I4id. .. — 1883 .. I5d. i» .. i3cl. i2d. — 1884 . . i4d. ,, i2d. lod. 9d. 1885 . . i4d. • » Hid. lod. 8d. 1886 .. I id. lojd. 9id. .. gd. 1887 .. Hid. lod. Bid. . — 1888 .. Hid. . . 9id. 8id. . . — 1889 .. i2id. iid. lojd. . SJd 1890 .. i6id. .. 13d. i2d. 9id 1891 .. i4d. lod. gd. 8d. These prices are ex ship London and Liverpool. A ghmce at the above figures shows at once that the second and third quaHties have not realised of late years prices at all in proportion to the value of the first quality. The average value at the mines during the last two seasons of 70 and bo per cent, qualities was about $6.00 and $3.50 respectively, showing a very serious loss upon cost of production. If then the first quality ore has to provide for the loss upon the other two qualities before the possibility of making any profit can be arrived at, it follows that in order to make such an enterprise a success, the proportion of first-quality ore to the whole must be a high one. Unfortunately just the opposite is the case, and we doubt very much whether the first-quality ore is more than two-sevenths of the total quantity produced. .■T. 1 212 Canadian Phosphates. ■V m SHIPMENTS OF CANADIAN PHOSPHATE. Year. To Europe. To U.S.A. Total. 1878 3.701 .. — 3.7°' 1879 11,927 — 11,927 1S80 7.974 — 7.974 1881 15,601 2,402 18,003 1882 17.181 2,080 19,261 1883 17,840 220 18,060 1884 22,143 32 22,175 1885 23,908 745 24,653 1886 18,972 532 19,504 1887 19.713 733 20,446 1888 14.432 2.814 17,246 i88g 23,540 3,926 27,466 189c 24,154 1,903 26.057 1891 14,009 2,000* 16,009 A few hundred tons annually are also manufactured locally. Shipments of phosphate from Montreal to Europe are not made hi whole cargoes, but form the heavy ballast for stiflFening the steamers. Consequently the usual amount carried by one steamer does not often exceed six hundred tons. Freights to Liverpool and London vary from 5/- to 17/6 per ton, the a\erage being about X/- to 10/- per ton. Should the Canadian phosphate industry assume larger proportions in the future, higher rates of freight must be calculated upon, since the quantity taken as ballast will probably not exceed about 25,000 tons annually. PRICES OF PHOSPHATE LANDS. In the days of mining in Ontario, the price of lands is said to have reached )i530O per acre for mines situated near the Rideau Canal. Early in the last decade a very large area of * Estimated. : ^ Canadian Phosphates. 213 lands on the du Lievre River changed hands at a price exceed- ing $100,000. The purchaser was looked upon as being very foolish, until it transpired that he resold four hundred acres for $80,000 and another 1,000 for $100,000, still retaining a considerable acreage for himself. About the same time another mining property changed hands at $135,000. Speaking generally the acreage has not affected prices, since most phosphate lands are of little or no value apart from the phosphate deposits. About three years agt), when the demand for phosphates had become larger than the supply, and prices of phosphates of all kinds were rising rapidly, the owners of Canadian properties thought that their millennium was at hand, and London was full of promoters and property owners. The air was filled with phosphate schemes from Norway, Canada, Spain and other countries. Enormous prices were asked, and a considerable number of properties actually changed hands in different countries, and some of the more astute of the Canadians eventually realised the highest prices ever given for phosphate properties of any kind. This brings up the question as to what is a fair value of a Canadian phosphate property, and we will venture to put our own ideas on record. In order to arrive at a \aluation the following points have to be considered : — (i.) Possible annual out-turn and profit p*^r annum. 214 Canadian Phosphates. (ii.) Amount of capital required to be invested for that purpose. (iii.) Chances of getting back original cost and outlay for 1)1 ant. With these points before us, and with the full knowledge of the geological formation of these deposits and of the results of the various mining undertakings hitherto established, we say unhesitatingly that we do not know of any undeveloped phosphate property in Canada of which we could recommend the purchase at n^ore than £"5,000 as a maximum for a one- half interest, and this figure is far beyond the entire value of most of the undeveloped properties which we have explored. Turning now to the question of developed properties, these should only be bought upon a valuation of the money spent upon plant and developments and upon the quantity or reserve of ore actually in sight, for what lies hidden is an uncertain quantity. The most satisfactory method of operating a property would be upon a royalty of so much per ton extracted. These are our views to-day. but it must be understood that a few years ago the position and value of Canadian phosphate properties stood upon a totally diflFerent footing. The discoveries in Florida of large quantities of high-testing phosphate, capable of being easily and cheaply mined, liave altered the relative value of Canadian lands most materially ; 1. Canadian Phosphates. 21 for whereas some years ba.}5 2.95 3.10 J4.JO 25.71 10.10 M.40 3-96 .1.5« 8.75 7.40 7.12 9.36 5.104 5O.12 i2.95 19.09 FRENCH PHOSPHATES. Mtusf. Maret. Honlcini Man;i. Moisture .. I. go 425 I'hosphoric Acid . . 18.74 ly 06 Lime.. 29.23 31.92 Carbonic Acid 4.80 4.81 Oxide of Iron Alumina 5-46 ) 4.0H Insoluble Siliceous Matt' ■: 2K.74 27-5S Undetermined 8.5G 8,30 100.00 Hoiilciniic. Ardi'iines, Uordeaii.x, Bordeaux, Shepard. J. Napier. J. Napier. 1713 34 74 327 2.96 3C.86 '.00 I.2I 1.84 5. Go 22.25 2.50 3-14 2.02 1.76 E ; •Kquivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime . . 40.90 41. Gi IDo. Carbon.ite of Lime .. 10.90 10.93 37-39 80.47 2-75 62. 5G 4.18 Appendix. !2I SOMM?: (FRENCH) PHOSPHATES. Organic Matter and Water of Combination •I'hosphoric Acid [.ime Oxide of Iron . . Alumina Magnesia, Carbonic Acid, &c Insoluble Siliceous Matter Vnrlckcr. rsso Votlckcr. -0/75 Cannon & Newton. 606] Cannon & Niwlon. 35,60 1. 82 •34 Molnturo 2.80 2.40 J553 i?i-(>i 29.10 2ri.2i 51.81 48.I5Ci«rbonlo Acl.lt3.oO 3-51 •95 .24 I.51 1.08 4.07 4.16 9.30 12.68 rndetermincil 1 4. 10 10.45 •35 2.63 8.55 15.84 100.00 100.00 •Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime tDo. Carbonate of Lime 77-56 73-37 C3-53 6.95 57-25 7 'J? BELGIAN PHOSPHATES. Mens District. Voclcker. 4045. Moisture Organic Matter and Water of Combination * Phosphoric .\cid . . Lime Oxide of Iron Alumina Magnesia & Carbonic Acid Insoluble Siliceous Matter I.ltue Dlstrlcl. Cannon U Nuwton. 5560. .48 1.23 J-50 2G.23 39-04 3.80 T'ndetermincil •nd Wttei nf 6,84 Comblnatio . .68 fc»ibonlc.\cld 18.76 50 95 1. 07 1 •77) 24.61 2.68 100.00 19.36 100.00 I.itRo District. Cannon ^ Newton. 50,55- 1.26 3-50 ^475 37-'2 4.05 6.16 .'3.16 ICO. 00 •Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime I Do. Carbonate of Lime 40-95 57-25 7-95 54-04 7-95 222 Appendix. GERMAN PHOSPHATES & NORWEGIAN APATITE. I '! German Phos ■HATES. Norwegian Aj-atite. Cannon & Newton Puru sample from Statel. John Hughes. Lower quality. Sliepard. Moisture . . 1.42 — •37 Organic Matter and Water of Combination 1.90 — .54 'Phosphoric Acid . . 33-45 I7'5C 39.92 Lime 48.18 — 51-96 Magnesia . . .65 — — Oxide of Iron Alumina . . 3-30) r.37) •• — 1. 14 tCarbonic Acid 3.70 — 1.36 Fluoride, Alkali, &c. 2.80 — I'mletcnniueil I '99 Insoluble Siliceous Matt( 2r 3.23 35 '89 2.72 100.00 JOO.OO •Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime 73 02 tDo. Carbonate of Lime 8.40 38-33 87. 14 3-09 R It WEST INDIAN ISLANDS. Navassa. BretschneiJer. Sombrero. G. H. Ogston. Aruba. Teschemacher and Smith. Cura(ao. G. H. Gilbert Moisture 3.54 2.57 — .68 Organic Matter & Water of Combination . . 4.64 2.90 - 1.79 ♦Phosphoric Acid .. .. 35.60 .. 34.22 • 35-4° - - 4045 Lime 38.35 . . 49.22 48.40 51.04 Oxide of Iron . . . . 3.40 1 Alumina . . . . . . 6.50 ) 1.05 . . 2.85 .. ■35 tCarbonic Acid &o.. . . 2. 58 C.20 II. 15 .. Z-<>5 Insoluble Siliceous Matter 2.05 1.30 . 2.20 .. -50 Undetermined . . . . 2.74 2.54 — 2.14 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 •Equivalent to Tribasic Phosphate of Lime 77.71 .. 74.70 , . 77.28 .. 88.31 f Do. Carbonate of Lime — . . 14.09 5"34 •• G.93 > ■ /- Appendix. 223 GUANO. Peruvian, Ichaboe. Nesbit. Bolivian Delierain Moisture 9.30 .. 3.14 — * Organic Matter . . .. 57.30 .. 63.52 23.00 Phosphates . . 23.05 . . 22.20 4S.60 Alkaline Salts 9.60 . . — — Sand 0.75 .. 1. 16 — 100.00 'Containing Nitrogen 15-54 •• — .^38 Equal to Ammonia 1S.S7 about 13.50 4.10 Mexillones Guano. Moisture . . . . lO.QO Water of Combination.. . II. 01 "Phosphoric Acid . 33-70 Lime . 28.00 * Carbonic Acid . . • 370 Undetermined . . S.oi Insoluble Siliceoi s Matter . . basic Phosphate of Lime . . 4.68 100.00 *E