PN 
 
 sAs 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
 77 
 
.VLABAMA 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
 
 ' 
 
 v 
 
 EUGENE ALLEN SMITH, PH. D., DIRECTOR. 
 
 IRON MAKING 
 
 ALABAMA, 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BATTLE PHILLIPS, PH, D,, 
 
 Consulting Chemist Teiiiu-sx-f (,'oal. Iron A: Railroad Co.. 
 Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 MONTGOMERY, ALA., 1896: 
 JAS. P. ARMSTRONG, PRINTER. 
 
EXCHANGE 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 P. 1, line 4, from bottom Peckin should be Pechin. 
 P. 1, line 9, from bottom Erskin should beErskine. 
 P. 15, line 13, from bottom Ore should be Ores. 
 P. 41, lines 5 et seq. from top Silica x alumina should be silica plus 
 alumina. 
 
 P. 57, line 8 from bottom 61 should be 61.2. 
 
 P. 57, line 9 from bottom 68.8 should be 58.8. 
 
 P. 64, line 3 from top Uchling should be Uehltng. 
 
 P. 120, line 19 from bottom Annisto should be Anniston. 
 
To His Excellency, 
 
 WILLIAM C. GATES, 
 
 Governor of Alabama : 
 
 DEAR SIR : I have the honor to transmit herewith a 
 Report upon Iron Making in Alabama, by Dr. Wm. B. 
 Phillips. 
 
 A glance at the Table of Contents will show how com- 
 pletely the ground, from the raw materials to the finished 
 product, has been covered by the author, and the reader 
 of the book will soon perceive that the various topics 
 have been more fully and carefully treated than ever 
 before. 
 
 This report will be an invaluable, and at the same 
 time authoritative , handbook of all the conditions which 
 surround the iron-making business in Alabama, and as 
 such, is certain of a hearty welcome, not only from our 
 own citizens, but from all others interested. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 EUGENE A. SMITH, 
 
 State Geologist. 
 
 University of Alabama, July 1st, 1896. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Pages. 
 
 l.i-tter of Trnnsmirtni 1-2 
 
 Introduction 3-11 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Ores General Discussion Kinds used Bessemer ore 
 not found in quantity Phosphorus in ores Value of in 
 Statf Hut little bought on analysis Evils of purchasing 
 by ton Improvement of ores Pig iron made almost exclu- 
 sively from local ores Production and value Rank of the 
 State as an ore producer Transportation of pig iron to 
 market the main question .......... .......... 13-28 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The hematite ores Classification Occurrence The soft 
 red ores Analysis Physical nature Former practice 
 almost restricted to use of soft red Exhaustion Concen- 
 tration The limey, or hard red ores Description Anal- 
 ysis Crushed Calcination The limonite, or brown ores 
 irrence Mining Washing Analysis Calcining 
 Valuation Screening Mill Cinder Analysis Blue Billy 
 
 ore ............................... 29-56 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The fluxes Limestone Dolomite Analysis Valuation 
 Sold on analysis Dolomite as flux compared with limestone 57-67 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The fuels Coke Classification Analysis Cell space Spe- 
 cific gravity Crushing strain Statistics of production 
 Character of coal used Composition of ash ............... 68-77 
 
 CHAPTER v. 
 
 Furnace burdens Coke burdens of hard and soft red Con- 
 sumption of raw materials Cost of raw materials Deduc- 
 tions Burdens of hard and soft red, and brown ore De- 
 ductions Charcoal furnaces Burdens Cost of raw mate- 
 rial ..... ........................... : 78-105 
 
 < H AFTER VI. 
 
 List of Furnaces, Rolling Mills, &c. in Alabama Production 
 of coke and charcoal iron Hot blast stoves Progress of 
 furnace building ...................................... 106-125 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Pig iron market Grading of coke pig iron Freight tariff 
 Prices Freight tariff for coal and coke Production of 
 coal, coke and pig iron ........ ......................... 126-159 
 
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 
 
 /)/. Einj> n<> A . 
 
 Director Ala. Geol. Survey , 
 
 rniversity, Ala. 
 
 SIR I beg to transmit herewith a report on Iron Mak- 
 ing in Alabama, prepared for the Geological Survey. 
 
 No systematic attempt has yet been made to bring this 
 industry to the attention of the general public. Numer- 
 ous articles have appeared in the technical papers in 
 this and other countries during the last ten years, deal- 
 ing with special phases of the subject, and many of them 
 possess great merit. In particular may be mentioned 
 the following : 
 
 The Iron Ores and Coals of Alabama, Georgia and 
 Tennessee. Jno. B. Porter, Trans. Amer. Inst. Min, 
 Engrs., vol. xv, 1886-87, pp. 170-2 : 8. % 
 
 Comparison of Some Southern Cokes and Iron Ores. 
 A. S. McCreath and E. V. D'Invilliers. Trans. Amer. 
 Inst. Min. Engrs., Vol. xv, 1886-87, pp. 734-756. 
 
 General Description of the Ores used in the Chatta- 
 nooga District. H. S. Fleming. Trans. Amer. Inst. 
 Min. Engrs., Vol. xv, 1886-1887, pp. 757-761. 
 
 The Pratt Mines of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and R'y 
 Co. Erskin Ramsay. Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. Engrs., 
 Vol. xix, 1890-91, pp. 296-313. 
 
 Notes on the Magnetization and Concentration of Iron 
 Ore. Wm. B. Phillips, Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. Engrs., 
 Vol. xxv, 1895-1896. 
 
 A series of articles by E. C. Peckin, in the Iron Tracte 
 Review in 1888, and by the same author in the Eng. & 
 Mining Journal, Vol. Iviii, 1894. Also the Proc. Ala. 
 Indust. & Sci. Soc. 1891-1896. 
 
2 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 But the very fact of their appearing in technical pub- 
 lications has caused the general reader to neglect them, 
 not on account of indifference, but because they were 
 not readily accessible. The files of the great industrial 
 journ-als, and the Proceedings of the Amer. lust, of Min- 
 ing Engineers are not available to many who wish to 
 know what has been already done in Alabama, and what 
 the future may confidently be expected to unfold. 
 
 After careful consideration, it was decided to prepare 
 a little book of 150-200 pages which should present the 
 matter as it is to-day and chiefly from the standpoint of 
 raw materials. Very little has been said as to furnace 
 practice, because it was not in mind to prepare a Text- 
 book of Iron Making. The book is intended for general 
 distribution by the Geological Survey, and while the 
 main purpose is to supply the average reader with easily 
 digestible information, it is hoped that those who are 
 actively engaged in the business may find in- it some sug- 
 gestions not altogether unworthy of their attention. 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 WM. B. PHILLIPS. 
 
 Birmingham, Ala., May, 1896, 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA, 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM B. PHILLIPS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 During the last twenty-five years so great an improve- 
 ment in the manufacture of pig iron and its utilization 
 in more or less finished products has taken place in Ala- 
 bama that it is now thought expedient to describe, as 
 briefly as possible, the conditions that have compassed 
 the industry and that are still in force. 
 
 In 1872, Alabama produced 11,171 tons of pig iron ; 
 in 1892, 915,296 tons. In 1880, the state produced 60,781 
 tons of coke, and in 1892 1,501,571 tons. In the census 
 year of 1870 the amount of capital invested in the iron 
 business, including mining, was $605,700, and excluding 
 mining $566,100. In that year the total production of 
 pig iron was 6,250 tons, valued at $210,258, and there 
 were used J 1,350 tons of ore valued at $30,175. In the 
 census year of 1890 the capital invested in the mining of 
 iron ore alone was $5,244,906, the amount of ore mined 
 and used being 1,570,319 tons, valued at $1,511,611. 
 
 The Southern States generally sell their entire iron 
 product for purposes other than steel making. The iron 
 goes to foundries, mills and pipe works. It was not 
 until recently that any considerable amount found its 
 way into steel works. It is not probable that more than 
 one-twentieth of the iron made in the South goes to the 
 steel maker. Alabama offers no exception to this rule. 
 It was not until the last few months that any fairly 
 large shipments of iron made here were sent to steel 
 
4 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 plants. The significance of this statement will appear 
 when it is remembered that the total amount of iron, 
 produced in the United States in 1895, not intended for 
 steel making, was about 3,000,000 tons. At the present 
 time Alabama is producing 35 % of the iron used in the 
 foundries, mills and pipe works of the country. The 
 growth of the industry has been conditioned chiefly by 
 three great factors : 
 
 First, the cheapness with which the ores can be mined 
 and delivered. 
 
 Second, the proximity of the ore to the flux and fuel. 
 
 Third, the tendency of pig iron consumption towards 
 the interior. 
 
 The cheapness of an ore is not always to be measured 
 by its cost at the furnace. There are also to be consid- 
 ered its quality in respect of its content of metallic iron 
 and the presence of ingredients which determine the use 
 to which the pig iron made from it can be put. The 
 lower the percentage of iron in an ore the cheaper must 
 it be mined and transported in order that a market for 
 the pig iron may be secured and held. A very rich ore 
 may allow of mining and transportation costs that would 
 prevent the use of an ore less rich. The same principle 
 applies to the quality of the ore as regards its freedom 
 from injurious substances . If it is free from phosphorus 
 and sulphur, for instance, it may be highly acceptable 
 to the steel plants. If at the same time it be rich in 
 iron we may have the conditions that allow of maximum 
 cost at the furnace. In Alabama we have ores of a mod- 
 erate content of iron, and they must therefore be mined, 
 at a low cost. They also contain too much phosphorus 
 to allow of the pig iron being used for making Bessemer 
 steel. 
 
 The principle on which the makers of pig iron in Ala- 
 bama have had to proceed is the utilization of local ores, 
 and the production of suitable coke from native coal. It 
 
IRON MAKING IX ALABAMA ; INTRODUCTION. O 
 
 all seems plain sailing to us now that the yearly output 
 of coke exceeds one and a half million tons, and the yield 
 of pig iron is above 800,000 tons ; but twenty years ago 
 it was by no means certain that good coke could be made 
 from Alabama coal on a large scale, and the use of Red 
 Mountain ores was a vexed question. As late as 1883, 
 so-called representative analyses of Alabama hematite 
 were published showing 56 % and 61 % of iron on the 
 one hand, while on the other it was said that pig iron 
 made from Alabama ore and coke was so brittle that it 
 ought to be kept under glass as a curiosity. Both these 
 statements were equally removed from the truth. When 
 finally it became known that with but few exceptions 
 the Red Mountain ores could not be expected to contain 
 more than 47 % of iron as mined and that the fifty-six 
 and sixty-one per cent, hematite ores could be exhausted 
 in a single day, the situation rapidly improved. So far 
 as the ores were concerned, the problem narrowed down 
 to the single question whether they could be successfully 
 used in conjunction with cokes of domestic production. 
 From that day to the present the question has changed 
 but little, the main difference being that the price of ore 
 has steadily diminished, reaching its lowest point in 
 1895, and that the coke is better and cheaper. During 
 a part of this year the price of soft red ore, analyzing 
 about 46 per cent, of iron, was fifty cents per ton, stock 
 house delivery. It was during this year also that the 
 cost of making pig iron in Alabama was at the lowest, 
 less than $6 per ton. No more striking illustration of 
 the great change that has come over the manufacture of 
 pig iron in Alabama during the last few years can be 
 adduced than to say that the total cost of production is 
 now less than the cost of the raw materials five years 
 ago. This has been rendered possible not only by reduc- 
 tions in the cost of the raw materials, but also and par- 
 ticularly by improvements in furnace practice and a 
 
6 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 closer alliance between the chemist and the superintend- 
 ent. There is a large iron company in the state which 
 three years ago had no chemist, and the laboratory which 
 had formerly been tenanted had been allowed to ta^e 
 care of itself for two years. This company has now four 
 chemists in its employ and one of the best equipped 
 laboratories in the country. Three years ago it was con- 
 tent to have some of its materials analyzed perhaps once 
 a month ; now the number of analyses per month is 
 close upon four hundred. Chemical inspection of the 
 stock goes hand in hand, with inspection of the product, 
 and there is now not a single thing used or made whose 
 composition is not known. A great amount of material 
 is bought and sold on analysis, and the inevitable ten- 
 dency is towards the extension of this system to all ma- 
 terials. The most progressive companies in the state 
 are now recognizing the value of close chemical inspec- 
 tion of the ores, fluxes and fuels. In this respect the 
 change that has corne over the industry during the last 
 five years is particularly noticeable and must be regarded 
 as one of the most hopeful signs of the time. 
 
 Another agreeable improvement in the business is the 
 willingness of the iron masters to exchange information 
 and opinions, to visit competitive establishments and 
 cultivate the more social side of trade. There need not 
 be rankling jealousies between those .engaged in similar 
 enterprises in the same district. To refuse to impart 
 information is to refuse to acquire it, and the day has 
 long since passed when in the mind of any one man is 
 to be sought correct knowledge on all phases df the 
 same matter. Without such cordial interest in what 
 may be for the general good, this sketch of the materials 
 used in making iron in this state, however imperfect it 
 may be and doubtless is, could not have been undertaken 
 in any hope of success. My own acquaintance with the 
 district dates from 1887, and since that time I have ac- 
 
IRON MAKINC IN ALABAMA; INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 cumulated nearly 10,000 analyses of every kind of ma- 
 terial used in making iron in the state, coming partly 
 from my own laboratory and partly from the records of 
 companies actively engaged in the production of iron. 
 The deductions that will be met with in the body of this 
 Report are founded upon analyses that were made in the 
 interest of those prosecuting the iron business, not upon 
 analyses of stray fragments or hand specimens. They 
 represent hundred of thousands of tons of ore, limestone, 
 dolomite, coal and coke, the samples being drawn from 
 the stockhouses during a period extending over many 
 years. In numerous instances samples of the ore were 
 taken direct from the mines, foot by foot down the seam, 
 and from mine and railroad cars. The constant effort 
 has been not to include in the pages of this report any 
 cpnclusions that were not based upon the actual practice 
 in the State and District, and the reader is assured that 
 no pains have been spared to accomplish this end. 
 
 To those who have most generously given the inform- 
 ation desired of them, I would express my hearty thanks. 
 It is a source of great pleasure to me that the replies to 
 requests of this nature should have been met so fully 
 and so courteously, and I trust that the interest in what 
 the state has to offer to the makers of iron may be deep- 
 ened and broadened from this attempt to set in order 
 the results already attained. 
 
 According to Swank (History of Iron in all Ages, 2nd 
 Ed., p. 293, et seq.) , who quotes from Leslie, the oldest 
 furnace in Alabama was built about 1818. It was a char- 
 coal furnace, and was situated a few miles west of Rus- 
 sell ville, Franklin county, doubtless to use the brown 
 ore of the Russellville belt, which is of excellent quality 
 and is now used by the coke furnaces at Sheffield. It 
 seems to have been abandoned about 1827, and from 
 that date until 1888, a period of 60 years this deposit of 
 ore remained undeveloped and unused. Not long since 
 
8 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 there came to hand evidence of the existence of this old 
 furnace in the shape of a piece of very impure iron which 
 was brought to the writer from that part of Franklin 
 county by a person who supposed it was iron ore. 
 
 From 1827 until 1843, there is no record of any fur- 
 nace building in the State, the next one being at Polks- 
 ville, Calhoun county; then one at Shelby, Shelby county , 
 in 1848 ; and one at Round Mountain in 1853. 
 
 Charcoal |ron has been made at Shelby almost contin- 
 uously since 1848, and the reputation of the iron has 
 not been excelled from that day to the present time. 
 
 The furnace was built by Horace Ware, who after- 
 wards added a foundry and a mill for cotton ties and bar 
 iron. This furnace was burned in 1858, but rebuilt at 
 once. A larger mill was built in 1859, and iron rolled 
 April llth, 1860. This mill was very active during the 
 war of the Confederacy, and was burned by the Union 
 troops under General Wilson in 1865. It has not been 
 rebuilt, but a part of the machinery was used in con- 
 structing the rolling mill at Helena in 1872. It may not 
 be amiss at this point, while briefly considering this his- 
 toric furnace and mill to quote a very interesting letter 
 written by Mr. E. T. Witherby, assistant secretary of 
 the Shelby Iron Company to Mr. Swank in 1888. "The 
 first blast furnace erected here went into blast in 1848. 
 Horace Ware was its proprietor. In 1854, Mr. Robert 
 Thomas made iron in a forge near here. This iron was 
 sent to England and returned in razors and knives. In 
 1859 Mr. Ware began the erection of a rolling mill. It 
 was completed and started in the spring of 1860. In 
 1862 Mr. Ware sold his property to the Shelby County 
 Iron Manufacturing Company, which erected a new fur- 
 nace, the one which we have recently torn down, and on 
 whose site we are erecting a new stack. The rolling 
 mill was enlarged in 1862, and was operated continuously 
 until March 31st, 1865, when it was destroyed by Gen. 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 eral Wilson of the Union army. It was in this mill, in 
 1864, that the plates were rolled for the armor of the 
 iron clad ram Tennessee. Judge James W. Lapsley, one 
 of the stockholders and directors of the present Shelby 
 Iron Company, was made a prisoner by the Union forces 
 in 1863, while in Kentucky looking for puddlers for this 
 mill. 
 
 When I came here, nearly twenty years ago, we had 
 plates, merchant bars, and strap rails on hand made en- 
 tirely of Shelby iron and rolled in this mill. Some of 
 the plates, known to us now as the "gun boat iron" are 
 still in our store house, but they have been slowly dis- 
 appearing under the demand of our blacksmiths for "an 
 extra good piece of iron'' for u this job," or that "par- 
 ticular place." Some of these plates are 8 inches by cl- 
 inches, and others 11 inches by 5 inches, and of various 
 lengths; originally, they were, perhaps, 10 feet long. 
 Shelby pig iron was also shipped to the Confederate ar- 
 senal and foundry at Selma, Alabama, in 1864, where 
 the Tennessee was constructed and fitted out. This iron 
 doubtless went into guns and other castings for this ves- 
 sel. Catesby ap Jones was superintendent of the arsenal, 
 and with his senior in rank, Franklin Buchanan, both 
 pupils of that sea-god, Matthew Calbraith Perry, wrought 
 out the Tennessee. They were as full of progressive ideas 
 regarding steam and armor as their master, and nothing 
 but the scanty means at their disposal prevented a much 
 more formidable iron-clad than the Tennessee from being 
 set afloat." 
 
 Car- wheel makers are the exclusive users of our iron. 
 
 It is interesting to note in connection with the Con- 
 federate States foundry at Selma, that it used coke made 
 from the Gholson seam mined at Thompson's Lower 
 Mine, on Pine Island branch, in Sec. 10, T. 24, R. 10 E., 
 Bibb county, and elsewhere in the vicinity, as we are 
 informed by Eugene A. Smith (Ala. Geol. Survey, Re- 
 
10 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 port of Progress for 1875, pp. 32 and 33.) This was 
 about 1863, and is probably the first use of Alabama 
 coke for foundry purposes. 
 
 "In 1863-64 Capt. Schultz of the Confederate army 
 made a large quantity of coke from seams in the Coosa 
 coal field, getting it to market by floating it down the 
 river in flats to the railroad bridge across the Coosa 
 river, whence it was carried by rail to Montgomery and 
 Selma. This coke was said to be the finest ever made 
 in the State, and to equal the very best English cokes." 
 (Smith ut supra, p. 38.) 
 
 In 1825, there was a bloomary nearMontevallo, Shelby 
 county ; several in Bibb county in 1830-1840; one in 
 Talladega county in 1842 ; two in Calhoun county in 
 1842. In 1856 there were enumerated 17 forges and 
 bloomaries, about one-half being in operation and pro- 
 ducing 202 tons of blooms and bar iron. The total pro- 
 duct of charcoal pig iron in 1856 was 1,495 gross tons. 
 
 In 1876 the Eureka Coke Furnace was built at Oxmoor, 
 Jefferson county, by Col. J. W. Sloss, one of the most 
 active iron-masters in the State, and the founder of the 
 coke iron industry. This was the first furnace to go in 
 on coke, and was followed in 1880 by the Alice furnace, 
 built at Birmingham in 1879-80, by H. F. DeBardeleben, 
 another noted name in the history of the iron trade in 
 Alabama. Then followed the first of the Sloss furnaces 
 at Birmingham, built by Col. J. W. Sloss in 1881-82, 
 and put in blast April 12th, 1882. 
 
 Space would fail us to enumerate the names <if those 
 concerned in the early history of the coke -iron trade in 
 Alabama, but J. W. Sloss (who died in 1890), H. F. 
 DeBardeleben, T. T. Hillman and Geo. L. Morris, who 
 are still enjoying the fruits of their foresight and energy, 
 will always be first called to mind by the historian of 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA J INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 the days, not long past as we measure years, but removed 
 from us by a continuous series of splendid achievements. 
 Nt' monumentum quwris, circa invoice. 
 
 WM. B. PHILLIPS. 
 BIRMINGHAM, ALA., May, 1896. 
 
IROK MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE ORES ! 13 
 
 (1KXERAL DISCU8SIOE. 
 
 IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA- 
 CHAPTER i. 
 THE ORES: GENERAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 The ores used in the production of pig iron in Ala- 
 bama fall naturally into two classes, and for convenience 
 of reference the local names will be used with full ex- 
 planations under each. They are either limonkes, the 
 so-called "brown ores," or hematites, the so-called soft, 
 and hard ores. There are deposits of blackband ores 
 and of magnetites, none of which, however, come into 
 use. Efforts have been made to use the more or less 
 bituminous blackband ores, both raw and calcined, but 
 they were not successful. Several years ago an attempt 
 was made at one of the coke furnaces to employ the raw 
 black-band ore found in association with one of the coal 
 seams in the northern part of Jefferson county, but the 
 furnace worked badly, probably owing to the very bitu- 
 minous nature of the ore, and the experiment was dis- 
 continued. This same ore was afterwards calcined in 
 piles in the open air and a portion of the resulting ma- 
 terial was of fair quality. But owing, it is thought, to 
 the lack of care in the management of the business there 
 was a good deal of trouble from the caking of the ore. 
 In places it resembled impure iron and was almost malle- 
 able. Nothing has been done in this direction for some 
 time, as the available supply of ores that do not need 
 such treatment is still very large. Practically all of the 
 iron made in the State has been produced from limonite, 
 hematite, or a mixture of the two. 
 
14 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 For special purposes, as for instance, car wheel iron 
 or some particular kind of iron destined for the pipe 
 works, brown ores alone are used, although at times 
 some admixture of hematite is permitted even then. 
 For ordinary foundry and mill irons, and of late for basic 
 iron, the common practice is to use a mixture of brown 
 and hematite ores, the proportion of brown ore being for 
 the most part about 20 per cent, of the ore burden, al- 
 though there are some important exceptions to this rule. 
 It seems best to take up the ores under separate head- 
 ings-that a fuller understanding of the subject may be 
 reached, but before doing so some observations on the 
 ores in general may not be out of place. 
 
 In Alabama a vast deal of prospecting has been carried 
 on for more than twenty years to ascertain if it were pos- 
 sible to find richer ores or ores of cheaper accessibility. 
 During the flush times several chemical laboratories were 
 in active operation in more than one town and thousands 
 of analyses were made of almost every known deposit. 
 In many cases the samples were taken by interested per- 
 sons and in many others by persons wholly unacquainted 
 with the first principles of sampling ore seams. In the 
 writer's own experience it has happened scores of times 
 that a single piece of ore, not larger than the fist, would 
 be brought in as representing the seam. In one case of 
 the kind it happened that the ore showed a comparatively 
 small amount of phosphorus, with some 46 per cent, of 
 iron. Whereupon the report was circulated that a large 
 deposit of Bessemer ore had been discovered and for a 
 while speculators were busy. If there is any large de- 
 posit of Bessemer ore in the State it has not yet been 
 found. There are places where some of the brown ores 
 show phosphorus below the Bessemer limit, but fifty feet 
 away they are liable to carry from 0.20 per cent, to 0.50 
 percent, of this element. The same observation applies 
 to a certain seam of fine grained soft red hematite. Many 
 
IROX MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE ORES : 15 
 
 GENERAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 seams have been carefully sampled and many analyses 
 made in the search for ore that would not show phos- 
 phorus above the Bessemer limit, i. e., not over 0.04 per 
 cent, for 50 per cent, of iron. But the conclusion has 
 finally been reached that for the present we shall have 
 to confine ourselves to ores that contain from 0.10 to 
 0.40 per cent, of phosphorus per 50 per cent, of iron, 
 and in many of the brown ores we may expect a consid- 
 erable increase over these figures. It will not be denied 
 that for a small furnace and with great care in the selec- 
 tion of the ore, the chemist being constantly employed 
 in analyzing for phosphorus, it might be possible to 
 make Bessemer iron in this State from some of the brown 
 ores, but no one could be advised to undertake the pro- 
 ject with present lights. The attempt has been made 
 and several thousand tons of iron with less than 0.10 
 per cent, of phosphorus were produced, but the enter- 
 prise languished and has not been revived. 
 
 The treacherous nature of brown ore with respect to 
 its content of phosphorus, no less than with respect to 
 the continuity of the deposit, is enough to forbid reason- 
 able hope of success. 
 
 The hematite ore, on the other hand, carry phosphorus 
 much above the Bessemer limit. They carry generally 
 from 0.30% to 0.40% of phosphorus, although there is in 
 the district contiguous to Birmingham a small seam of 
 red hematite that carries 5.41% of phosphorus and an- 
 other 2.31% , the metallic iron being about 38% . 
 
 In the early days of iron making in the Birmingham 
 district it was the rule, according to one of the contract- 
 ors, "to mine anything that, was red," and what was 
 mined went into the furnace. The difference between 
 good, bad and indifferent may have been known, but 
 \s-as not a factor with the contractor or with the furnace 
 manager. All this has been changed and it is now re- 
 
16 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 quired that the ore shall be something more than merely 
 red. 
 
 The principles underlying the valuation of iron ores 
 are but little used in the state, the old system of pur- 
 chasing by the ton still being maintained. The average 
 value of the ores in 1894 was given by Mr. John Birkin- 
 bine (Mineral Resources of the United States, U.S. 
 Geol. Survey, 1894) at 83 cents per ton, a decline of 13 
 cents since 1889, Accepting this as correct, Alabama 
 would rank third in the list of states showing a low 
 value per ton of ore, Minnesota being first with 73 cents 
 and Texas next with 75 cents. The value of an ore is 
 the price at the mine, for, unless the minor also pays 
 the freight, he has already added to the cost of mining 
 all the legitimate costs that should apply to a ton, includ- 
 ing royalty. If his contract requires that he pay the 
 freight, he can not reasonably add the freight to the 
 value of the ore, for this varies with the distance it has 
 to be transported. 
 
 With the exception of some brown ores, which are 
 purchased on the unit basis, but which constitute a small 
 part of the ore used, and some special contracts relating 
 to hematite, the ores in Alabama are bought by the ton 
 without regard to their composition. The price is so 
 much per ton, whether they carry forty, or forty-three, 
 or forty-seven, or fifty per cent, of iron. 
 
 This system has but little to recommend it, except a 
 mistaken notion of economy in the saving of laboratory 
 expenses and sampling. A close inspection may be kept 
 on the ore as received and daily reports made as to its 
 composition, but unless there is a penalty attached to 
 the shipping of poor ore, there is really no way in which 
 it can be stopped. The price is nniform, no matter 
 what the ore may be. It may be improperly mined, it 
 may contain unusual amounts of water, or clay, or chert, 
 but the price is the same to the furnace. A car load of 
 
IRON MAKIN^G IN ALA II A MA ; THE ORES : 17 
 . I:I;AI. mscussiox. 
 
 ore may ontain 47 f '/ c of iron to-day, to-morrow the ore 
 from the same mine may contain only 43 % , yet the price 
 is the same. A brown ore may reach the furnace with 
 its customary 7 % of water, to-morrow it may have 13 % , 
 yet the ore is sold by the ton and the water is counted as 
 ore. 
 
 There are two main results from this system : First, 
 the contractor is not impelled to furnish ore any better 
 than would be accepted. His sole aim is to avoid dis- 
 putes with the furnace man by sending ore that indeed 
 could be better but still will pass muster. There may 
 arise under this condition of affairs a tendency towards 
 careless mining, and if the line between acceptable ore 
 and bad ore is an arbitrary one, as is frequently the case, 
 there is a temptation to put the shot down a little bit 
 deeper than the line of separation. In the mining of the 
 soft red ores by open cut, the over-burden having been 
 removed, it is practically impossible to distinguish be- 
 tween ore of 46 % iron and ore of 40 % simply by the 
 eye. The chemist alone can decide the question. It is 
 a fortunate circumstance, in the Birmingham district, 
 that for the most part the contractors are fully alive to 
 the advantages of shipping ore that will cause no dis- 
 pute. Under the present system it is difficult to see 
 how they could ship better ore than they do. But the 
 system itself is wrong in principle. The administration 
 of it may be as fair to the contractor as to the furnace, 
 but this does not do away with the main objection to it, 
 which is that the same price is paid for ore that is 
 barely usable as for ore that is really good. It can not 
 be denied that this objection is valid and that until it 
 is removed the true principle underlying the valuation 
 of ores can not be put into practice. 
 
 The second result from the system of purchasing ore 
 
18 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 by the ton and not on analysis is that the furnace man 
 can not know that his ore to-day is of the same com- 
 position as it was yesterday and will be to-morrow. 
 The purchase of ore on analysis does not necessarily con- 
 dition regularity of stock, but it is a long step towards 
 this most desirable end. It is more than probable that 
 under it there would be a tendency towards the higher 
 grades of ore, for these would be more profitable to the 
 contractor than the lower grades. 
 
 The irregularity in the stock is one of the most serious 
 obstacles with which the Alabama iron master has to 
 contend, especially when he is using Red Mountain ores. 
 The most untiring vigilance is demanded in order that 
 the entire make of the furnace shall not be injuriously 
 affected. It is of course the fact that a great deal of ex- 
 cellent iron has been made in the State without calling 
 into constant requisition the services of a chemist. But 
 this is no more than saying that many a case of illness 
 has been cured without the care of a regular physician. 
 We venture the assertion that even under the present 
 insufficient system a lower cost account for the making 
 of iron would be shown by the companies employing 
 chemists than by the others. By far the greater amount 
 of iron now made in Alabama is the product of com- 
 panies with well equipped laboratories, and some of the 
 most important sales of iron ever consummated in the 
 state were, to a great degree, brought about by the fact 
 that the laboratory could be depended upon not only for 
 the inspection of the product, but also and particularly 
 for the inspection of the stock. 
 
 Uniformly good iron can not be made at a uniformly 
 low cost with irregular stock, and variations in the cost 
 of the iron are to a considerable extent due to variations 
 in the composition of the raw materials. Pay close at- 
 tention to what goes into the furnace and the tapping 
 hole will take care of itself. This is the key note of the 
 
C, A 
 
 IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA; THE OR 
 
 GENERAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 entire harmony. But there has not yet been a very full 
 orchestra in this State, partly because ore was plentiful 
 and cheap and partly because it seemed to be more eco- 
 nomical to fill the furnace with almost anything that 
 might be to hand and trust Providence to look after the 
 cast-house. 
 
 There is nothing in the nature of the ores used that 
 forbids their sale on analysis, and as this system is al- 
 ready applied to nearly all the flux used, and to a not 
 inconsiderable quantity of coke and ore, the extension 
 of it would not appear to offer insurmountable difficul- 
 ties. The greater part of the cost of making iron is 
 borne by raw materials. The quality of these materials, 
 therefore, and their regularity of composition are of vital 
 importance. As respects composition, there is a point 
 beyond which it is not possible to make iron profitably, 
 no matter what the price of the materials may be. How 
 low this point may be will depend, ceteris paribus, upon 
 the difference between the cost of the iron and its selling 
 price. When this difference is considerable, as was the 
 case in this State ten or fifteen years ago, iron may be 
 made at a profit from very inferior materials. But when 
 the margin of profit is narrow, as has been the case of 
 late years, the use of inferior materials becomes impossi- 
 ble. "With increasing competition and a narrowing sel- 
 vage of profits, the necessity for using better and better 
 ore becomes more and more pressing. To keep the fur- 
 Daces in blast and avert disaster from the district, it may 
 happen that the price of ore will fall below the figures at 
 which it can be mined profitably, unless the operations 
 be conducted on a very large scale and long time con- 
 tracts can be made, assuring a steady output for a num- 
 ber of years. Under such conditions some concessions 
 may be made by the furnace men in respect to quality, 
 but at the same time they would be warranted in hold- 
 
20 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 ing out for uniformity of composition. One would be 
 inclined to consider the uniformity of composition as 
 more important than the quality, provided always that 
 this would not entail too much handling of stock per ton 
 of iron made. When ore is sold for stock-house delivery 
 at a fraction over a cent per unit of iron, it would seem 
 that no further reduction in price could be expected. 
 
 Under all circumstances, except such as embody the 
 sale of the ore at so much per unit of iron, there will be 
 complaint by the furnace man that the ore is not as good 
 as it might be, and it will be met by the miner with the 
 assertion that it is as good as it can be at the price paid 
 for it. This may, indeed, be true, but at the same time 
 it is not to be hastily concluded that for more money the 
 miner is willing to guarantee better ore. For the most 
 part his endeavor is to get the largest possible returns 
 from the smallest possible outlay, a resolution in the 
 highest degree laudable but apt, at times, to cause more 
 or less friction as to shipments. To him a ton of ore is 
 a ton of ore. It weighs 2240 pounds, and whether it 
 contains fifty per cent, of iron or forty-five he receives 
 the same pay. But to the furnace man, who has to con- 
 sider the amount of iron he can get from that ton and 
 the ease with which he can do it, the question is of an- 
 other kind. 
 
 There is a side of the matter not yet touched ^upon, 
 but which can not be neglected . If the higher grade ore 
 only is mined, the exhaustion of the deposit is certainly 
 set forward. It rarely happens that all of a deposit is. 
 high grade ore, and if only the best is in demand one 
 has to cut his cloth to suit the pattern. The miner may 
 have incurred large expense in opening the mine and in. 
 equipping it with proper machinery under the expecta- 
 tion that his output would be profitable to him. If he 
 is restricted to a certain portion of the ore and this be 
 below the amount required to yield a profit on the invest- 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE ORES I 21 
 
 GENERAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 Bient, he would be subjected to hardships not tolerable 
 under ordinary conditions. He is quite willing to en- 
 courage the belief that it is cheaper to use a large amount 
 of low priced, low grade ore than to pay more for better 
 ore of which not so much is used. In the minds of some 
 whose opinions should be worthy of consideration the 
 value of a fifty per cent, ore is proportional to the value 
 of a forty-five per cent, ore, and they argue that as the 
 lower grade material can be bought for fifty cents per 
 ton, or 1.11 cents per unit of iron, the better grade ma- 
 terial is worth proportionally more, or 55.5 cents per 
 ton. They forget that the value of an ore increases very 
 rapidly as one nears the fifty per cent. mark. As a mat- 
 ter of fact, if a forty-five per cent, ore is worth fifty 
 cents, a fifty per cent, ore is worth 83 cents, that is, it 
 will cost as much to make a ton of iron from the one at 
 50 cents as from the other at 83 cents. Above fifty per 
 cent, the difference becomes even more striking. 
 
 Attempts at improving the quality of the ores used in 
 the State have been confined so far almost entirely to the 
 brown ores, although it is possible to better the soft red 
 ores to a very considerable extent also. A description 
 of the methods in use will appear under each kind of 
 ore, so that it is merely necessary here to direct atten- 
 tion to the matter in a general way. 
 
 The ore that most readily lends itself to processes of 
 beneficiation, without any very heavy expense, is the 
 limonite or brown ore. Occurring, as it does, as more 
 or less isolated masses imbedded in clay, it was compar- 
 atively easy to devise machinery that would treat the 
 entire mass of stuff, removing the clay by suspension 
 in water and passing the cleaned ore over screens of ap- 
 propriate sizes. In this manner the clay, unless it was 
 of a very plastic nature, was removed from the ore, the 
 wash water being collected in settling dams and again 
 
22 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 used, after the clay had been deposited. The process 
 was crude at first and the ore was insufficiently cleaned, 
 but of late years it has been much improved and can 
 now be depended on to furnish fairly good ore from even 
 the more tenacious clays. 
 
 At some establishments it has been customary to im- 
 prove the brown ores still further by calcining the washed 
 ore in open piles with wood or charcoal "breeze" as fuel, 
 and, later, in gas fired kilns. In this manner the ordi- 
 nary water is completely removed, and the combined 
 water, which does not go off under a full red head, to an 
 extent depending on the temperature and the duration 
 of the firing. Washed brown ore carrying 44 per cent, 
 of iron can be greatly improved by calcining, the iron in 
 the calcined ore being as high as 51 per cent, over a pe- 
 riod of several months. 
 
 While it is now customary to wash nearly all the 
 brown ore used in the State, but little calcining is done. 
 The reasons for this practice will appear under the dis- 
 cussion of the brown ores, and it will be shown that un- 
 less the deposit is known to be large or the demands 
 upon it not very exacting as to quantity, the erection of 
 calcining kilns could not be expected to yield much re- 
 turn on the investment. 
 
 For improving the soft red' ores several plans have 
 been proposed, but none of them have worked their way 
 into -actual use on a large scale, although at least one 
 of them may now be said to have passed the experimen- 
 tal stage. It was proposed to wash the lower gradev soft 
 red ores in such a manner as to remove the more ferru- 
 ginous material from the more sandy portion and to re- 
 cover the ore in settling dams. Some experiments were 
 very successful as regards the possibility of concentrat- 
 ing the ore, but the large amount of water required at 
 points where it was expensive to get and the impracti- 
 cability of handling large quantities of damp ore that 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE ORES I 23 
 
 GENERAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 would certainly fall into the finest powder as soon as it 
 was charged into the furnace have caused the investiga- 
 tion to be postponed. 
 
 During the last two or three years extensive experi- 
 ments have been made with the hope of concentrating 
 these ores magnetically. Two plans have been propos- 
 ed. First, to render the ore magnetic by raising it to a 
 full red heat in a properly constructed kiln and then 
 passing a reducing gas over it so as to convert the ferric 
 oxide into the magnetic oxide. Subsequent crushing 
 and sizing would bring the ore into a condition in which 
 it could be treated over a magnetic separator, the sand, 
 &c. being removed by centrifugal action. A great deal 
 of work has been done in this direction and the possibil- 
 ities of the process are extremely encouraging. 
 
 The other plan for magnetic concentration of these 
 low grade soft ores is to dry them thoroughly, crush and 
 size and pass over a magnetic belt which will pick up 
 the more ferruginous portions and allow the more sandy 
 portions to fall away into suitable receptacles. Some 
 work has been done along this line and the results are 
 promising. It will be some time before definite informa- 
 tion can be given to the public. 
 
 On the whole, therefore, it may be said that in actual 
 practice the only ores subjected to a process of benefici- 
 ation on a large scale are the brown ores. Practically 
 all of the pig iron made in Alabama is obtained from 
 native ores. In this respect the situation is quite the 
 reverse of that found in Ohio, which with a pig iron 
 production of 1,463,789 tons in 1895 probably did not 
 derive more than 3 % of it from native ore. The only 
 ores brought into Alabama for any purpose are some 
 brown ore from Georgia, a little "spathite" ore from 
 Tennessee, and Lake ore for use as "fix" in the rolling 
 mills. 
 
24 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 The production and value of the ore mined in the 
 State, so far as can now be ascertained, are given in the 
 following table, compiled from the reports of Mr. John 
 Birkinbine to the United States Geological Survey, Di- 
 vision of Mineral Resources, from the census returns and 
 from independent sources. For convenience of compari- 
 son the rank of the State as a producer of iron ore and 
 the amounts and value of ore mined in the entire coun- 
 try are also given, for the same period. 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA J THE ORES : 
 GENERAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 25 
 
 TABLE I. 
 
 PRODUCTION AND VALUE OF IRON ORES IN 
 ' ALABAMA AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 
 ALABAMA. 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 Per 
 
 cent. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 83 
 
 
 Tons. 
 
 
 of 
 
 Tons. 
 
 
 *o 
 
 
 
 Per 
 
 Total. 
 
 Pro- 
 duc- 
 
 
 Per 
 
 Total. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Ton. 
 
 
 tion. 
 
 
 Ton. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,838 
 
 $ 3.68 
 
 $ 6,770 12 
 
 1,579,318 
 
 $ 4.23 
 
 $ 6,981,679 
 
 19 
 
 
 3,720! 5.31 
 
 19,765 0.15 
 
 2,401,485 
 
 5.31 
 
 12,757,848 15 
 
 1870 
 
 11,350 2.66 
 
 30,175 0.21 
 
 5,302,952 
 
 5.63 
 
 29,843,420 16 
 
 
 171,139! 1.18 
 
 201,865 2.3 
 
 7,497,509 
 
 3.09 
 
 23,156,955 7 
 
 
 220,0001 1-30 
 2r>0,000' ; 1-20 
 
 286,000 2.4 
 300,000 2.8 
 
 9,094,369 
 9,000,000 
 
 2.97 
 3.60 
 
 27,000,000 
 32,400,000 
 
 
 1883 
 
 385, 000 1.20 
 
 462,000 4.6 
 
 8,240,594 3.00 
 
 24,750,000 
 
 
 
 420,000 1.00 420,000' 5.1 
 
 8,200,000 
 
 2.75 
 
 22,550,000 
 
 
 
 505,000 
 
 1.00 505,000 
 
 6.6 
 
 7,600.000 2.50: 19,000,000 
 
 
 1886 
 
 650,000 96; 624,000 
 
 6.5 
 
 10,000,000 
 
 2.80 28.000,000 
 
 
 1887 
 
 675,000 
 
 0.96: 648,000 
 
 6.0 
 
 11,300,000 
 
 3.00 33,900,000 
 
 
 1S8K 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 0.96 
 
 960,000 
 
 8.3 
 
 12,060,000 
 
 2.40 
 
 28,944,000 
 
 
 
 1,570,000 
 
 0.96 
 
 1,507,200 
 
 10.9 
 
 14,518,041 
 
 2.30 
 
 33,351,^78 
 
 2 
 
 
 1,897,815 
 
 1.00 1,897,815 
 
 11.8 
 
 16,036,043 
 
 2.20 
 
 35,279,394 
 
 2 
 
 1891 
 
 1,986,830 
 
 1.00 1,986,830 
 
 13.6 
 
 14,591,178 
 
 2.10 
 
 30,641,473 
 
 2 
 
 1892 
 
 2,312,071 
 
 1.06 L'.442,575 
 
 14.2 
 
 16,296,666 
 
 2.04 
 
 33,204,896 
 
 2 
 
 1893 
 
 1,742,410 
 
 1.86) 1,490,259 
 
 15.0 
 
 11,587,629 
 
 1.66 
 
 19,265,973 
 
 2 
 
 1894 
 
 1,493,086 
 
 0.83 
 
 1,240,895 
 
 12.6 
 
 11,879,679 
 
 1.14 
 
 13,577,325 
 
 3 
 
 1895 
 
 2,199,390 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 For a number of years Michigan has held the first 
 place as a producer of iron ore, Minnesota coming up 
 from the 6th place in 1890 to the second place in 1894 
 and 1895. To show the. disparity between the States 
 ranking first, second and third since 1889, we need only 
 glance at the following list : 
 
 Michigan. Alabama. Pennsylvania. Minnesota. 
 
 Tons of 2,240 Ibs. 
 
 1889 5,856,169 1,570,000 1,560]234 
 
 1890 7,141,656 1,897,815 1,361,622 
 
 1891 6,127,001 1,986,830 1,272,928 
 
 1892 7,543,544 2,312,071 1,255,465 
 
 1893 4,668,324 1,742,410 1,499,927 
 
 1894 4,419,074 1.493,086 2,968,463 
 
 Alabama held the second place from 1889 till 1894, 
 when she was surpassed by Minnesota, and Pennsylvania 
 the third place until 1892 when Minnesota came up to 
 the second place. It is not likely that the relative posi- 
 tions will be changed for some years. The immensity 
 of the Mesabe ore deposits and the cheapness with which 
 they are mined will, perhaps, keep Minnesota in the 
 second place for the next decade, if indeed she does not 
 push Michigan for first place within that time. Mich- 
 igan does not produce much pig iron, the output being 
 91,222 tons in 1895. Minnesota made no iron in 1894, 
 nor in 1995. The difficulty of procuring good coke at 
 that distance from the coal fields has hitherto prevented 
 these States from converting their ore into iron, and the 
 tendency seems to be more and more to reduce the cost 
 of these ores to Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania furnaces. 
 But it is a wise man who prophesies concerning the iron 
 trade in this day of rapid industrial changes. It would 
 appear, however, that Alabama will have to face compe- 
 tition from furnaces much nearer than Michigan and 
 Minnesota. It is just here that questions of transporta- 
 tion play the really vital part. So long as the rich Lake 
 ores can be hauled to Ohio and Pennsylvania furnaces 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALA II AM A ; THE ORES I 27 
 
 (iKXERAL DISCUSSION. 
 
 and converted into pig iron which can be sold profitably 
 for half a cent per pound, the situation in Alabama will 
 be one in which the cost of transporting the iron to 
 market after it is made is the main question. With the 
 Northern and Eastern furnaces the great question is the 
 cost of gathering the raw materials into the stockhouse. 
 In Alabama the great question is the cost of marketing 
 the pig iron. With better ore, better coke and better 
 furnace practice it may be possible even in Alabama to 
 reduce the cost of making- iron, but the transportation 
 companies will control the situation then as they do now, 
 unless a closer union can be effected between the two 
 interests. We can not hope to avail ourselves of water 
 transportation on a larger scale, as is done in the case of 
 the Lake ores to Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania ports. 
 In providing cheap ore, cheap coke and good flux within 
 short distances of each other, nature seems to have 
 thought that she had done enough for Alabama, and 
 failed to provide water-ways for conveying the product 
 to market ; an oversight much to be deplored, indeed, 
 but to be accepted with becoming fortitude. - 
 
 According to the Cleveland Iron Trade Review, Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, the Lake shipments of iron ore in 1892, were 
 8,545,313 tons ; in 1893, 5,836,749 tons ; in 1894, 7,621,620 
 tons ; and in 1895, 10,234,910 tons. These figures mean 
 that considerably more than half of the total amount of 
 iron ore mined in the United States is transported by 
 water to the vicinity of the furnaces using it. Were it 
 not for this fact the enormous development that has been 
 reached in the Lake regions, with respect to the mining 
 of iron ore, could not have been attained within so short 
 a time, if at all. 
 
 In order to exhibit the relation that Alabama sustains 
 to the other iron ore producing States, both in respect to 
 the amount mined and the value, the following table, 
 taken from the report of Mr. John Birkinbine in 1895, to 
 the U. S. Geol. Survey, Division of Mineral Resources, 
 is appended. 
 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 QQ 
 
 ,g 
 3 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 Pn 
 
 8 
 
 I s 
 
 HH CO 
 
 o! 
 
 CO 
 <> 00 
 
 "2 
 S 
 
 .2 
 
 rt 
 
 H 
 > 
 
 1 
 o 
 
 J 
 
 OOt-COCi!N<MCOr-CMlCOCO~ i W 
 
 O W W O *H T^O tH T^ CN rH r-i rH O O r-l O 
 
 ' 'COO 
 T It^tM 
 
 COCO 
 
 OOOOOCOCOCOlOOCDlO^iOOSOOt^CO 
 
 |O CO CO 
 
 ^t CC-Ht t- 
 
 o 
 EH 
 
 
 
 rH^^OlC^' iCOCO 
 
 ^- 
 
 O5- It^-OSC^J^fC^C^t^flOOCC^lOOSOC^l 
 r*t O -< -CD tO db GO i-l GO 55 S5 OO 00 OB 
 
 OO<M CO CO T 1 T-H 
 
 fMCOCDOiiOO 
 
 '^tl 
 CO 
 
 "*" I G 
 
 ^6 
 
 D C 
 
 1! 
 is 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 03 
 
 jo 8 
 
 ^!o 
 
 SU 
 
 [ c 
 
 Ste 
 
 
 3 1 
 6 
 
 H 
 
IRON MAKING IX ALABAMA ; THE HEMATITE ORES. 29 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE HEMATITE ORES. 
 
 In the discussion of the hematite ores we shall have 
 to exclude the brown hematites as they properly belong 
 to the limonites, although often mis-called by the former 
 name. The limonites are locally termed "brown ores" 
 and the output is about 25 per cent, of the total ore pro- 
 duction of the State. They will be discussed tinder their 
 proper heading. 
 
 The hematite ores are, for convenience, classed under 
 two heads : 
 
 First, the soft red ores, carrying but little lime and 
 
 Second, the "hard red" ores carrying from 12 to 20 
 per cent, of lime and in many cases self-fluxing, that is, 
 they carry enough lime to flux the silica contained in 
 them. 
 
 In order that a clear understanding of the matter may 
 be had at the outset the following brief description of 
 the geological and topographical features of the deposit 
 of hematite ores so largely used in the State is given 
 here. 
 
 They belong to the Clinton formation of the Silurian, 
 which extends with some breaks, from the middle por- 
 tion of Alabama to the northern part of Maine. They are 
 overlaid by chert, sandstones and clays, the overburden 
 at places reaching a depth of forty and fifty feet. The 
 seams now worked vary in thickness from 3 to 25 feet, 
 run in a north-east direction and dip towards the south- 
 east at angles varying from 15 to 22 degrees, the dip in- 
 creasing as one goes towards the south-west. For the 
 most part they occupy the crests of the hills, the outcrop 
 
30 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 forming a striking and persistent feature of the land- 
 scape for several miles in the vicinity of Birmingham. 
 The Soft Ores. 
 
 As a rule, to which, however, there are some import- 
 ant exceptions, the outcrop is ''soft red," a term of com- 
 parative significance as the ore is quite firm and has to 
 be won by regular blasting operations. It is soft as 
 compared with the limey or "hard red" ore. The soft 
 ore may extend from the outcrop for a distance of 300 
 feet on the dip, depending on the thickness and imper- 
 viousness of the cover although the hard ore comes to 
 the surface at more than one place. 
 
 In winning the soft red, the overburden is removed 
 and the ore mined, at day, by benches. Under cover 
 the ore becomes limey and hard and is mined from in- 
 clines on the dip by drifts and slopes. 
 
 The soft ore is the hard ore with the lime removed by 
 atmospheric influences and is richer in iron the poorer 
 it is in lime. When the overburden is stripped off there 
 is found a seam of ore quite soft and seemingly disin- 
 tegrated, of a deep red or purple color, the so-called 
 ''gouge." It may be only a few inches thick but often 
 runs to 24 and even 36 inches, and comprises generally 
 the best part of the ore. Underneath this begins the 
 more solid ore diminishing in content of iron according 
 to the vertical depth. The best quality of "gouge" will 
 carry 52 per cent, of iron while ten feet below its line of 
 demarkation the iron falls to about 46 per cent. Between 
 the "gouge" and the ore proper there is often a thin seam 
 of yellowish clay, which, however, is by no means con- 
 stant in strike. In the more solid ore, beneath the 
 "gouge" there are seams of the same clay, sometimes as 
 much as two inches thick but for the most part not above 
 half an inch thick. In the early days of iron making in 
 the Birmingham district it was the custom to mine from 
 1.2 to 20 feet of the soft ore and to send the whole mate- 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE HEMATITE ORES. 31 
 
 rial to the furnace. Of late years, however, the raining 
 has been restricted to ten feet, including the "gouge," 
 as it was found that below this depth the ore rapidly be- 
 came siliceous and unfit for use. Taking the content of 
 metallic iron in the " gouge" at fifty per cent, as mined, 
 the loss in iron according to vertical depth, is about one- 
 half of one per cent, per foot. This would bring the 
 iron in the first ten feet of the seam to forty-five per 
 cent, and in the next tan feet to forty per cent. A large 
 number of analyses extending over several years show 
 that when the mining is limited to the ten foot mark the 
 iron content is a little over 47 per cent, in the ore as 
 mined, i. e. with seven per cent, of water, and including 
 the "gouge." The rapid increase of the silica in the 
 ore below the ten foot mark is shown by the fact that to 
 get even 47 per cent, of iron in the upper ten feet from 
 one-fifth to one-third of it must be composed of the 
 "gouge," with its 50 per cent, of iron. 
 
 In Vol. XV, 10th U. S. Census, Mr. A. A. Blair gives 
 some very detailed analyses of the soft red ore used in 
 the Birmingham district. An average of those quoted 
 is herewith given : 
 
 Dry basis % 
 
 Silica 13.66 
 
 Sulphur 0.11 
 
 Phosphorus 0.43 
 
 Alumina 6.13 
 
 Lime 1.26 
 
 Magnesia 0.37 
 
 Manganese protoxide 0.30 
 
 Iron protoxide 0.32 
 
 Iron peroxide 75.05 
 
 Carbonic acid 0.08 
 
 Carbon in carbonaceous matter 0.03 
 
 Water of composition 1.62 
 
 99.36 
 
 Metallic iron, 52.87 per cent. 
 Specific gravity 4. 
 
32 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 This average shows a greater amount of alumina, and 
 metallic iron, and much less silioa than is usually the 
 case with this class of ore. 
 
 An average analysis of stock house samples shows : 
 
 Dry. 
 
 Iron 47.24 50.80 
 
 Silica 17.20 18.50 
 
 Alumina 3.35 3.60 
 
 Lime 1.12 1.20 
 
 Water 7.00 
 
 For practical purposes it is not necessary to go so fully 
 into detail and it is customary to determine merely the 
 insoluble matter and the iron. With a few ores of this 
 class, which carry unusual amounts of alumina this in- 
 gredient is also determined. But for every day practice 
 and with slags of 33 to 36 per cent, silica the alumina is 
 considered as silica and reported with it as "insoluble." 
 It is a fortunate circumstance that the soft red ores, 
 when finely ground, yield their iron to acid solution 
 without fusion, the insoluble residue being of a creamy 
 white appearance and carry ing* seldom more than 0.20 
 per cent, of iron. For blast furnace purposes and where 
 the ore is not sold on the unit system the easy solubility 
 of the ore is a point of great importance, especially when 
 many analyses must be made within a short time. About 
 one-half of the alumina present goes into solution with 
 the iron but may be neglected under the conditions that 
 obtain in the district with respect to the variation in the 
 composition of the cinder. In calculating furnace bur- 
 dens the error arising from neglecting the alumina and 
 reckoning it as silica is comparatively slight, as the ratio 
 between the silica and the alumina is as 1 to 0.87. 
 
 The insoluble matter in most of the soft red ore as 
 used in the state is 23 per cent. , and the iron 46 per 
 cent., with water at 7 per cent. The ordinary ratio be- 
 
IRON MAKIXd IN ALABAMA J THE HEMATITE ORES. 33 
 
 tween the metallic iron and the insoluble matter varies 
 from 1 to 1.50 to 1 :2. To illustrate : 
 Water 1%. 
 Insoluble 
 Iron. Matter. 
 
 40 35.0(M 
 
 41 33.00 
 
 42 31.00 
 
 43 29.00 , 
 
 44 27.00 j the Insoluble Matter 
 
 45 25.00 I falls 2 per cent. 
 
 46 23.00J 
 
 47 22.00^| 
 
 48 20.50 
 
 49 19.00 I For each 1 per cent. 
 
 50 17.50 I increase in the Iron 
 
 For each 1 per cent, 
 increase in the Iron 
 
 51 16.00 
 
 52 14.50 
 
 53 13.00 
 
 54.. .11.50 
 
 the Insoluble Matter 
 falls 1.50 per cent. 
 
 It is not necessary to carry the list further, as the sup- 
 ply of fifty-four per cent, soft red ore is limited. It is 
 not claimed that this ratio is absolutely correct, but a 
 large number of analyses substantiate its reliability for 
 ordinary purposes. The ratio from 40 iron through 46 
 iron is as 1:2. Beginning with iron 47 and insoluble 
 22, the ratio appears to be nearer 1 :1.50 than 1 :2, for 
 with iron 48 the insoluble matter is about 20.50. It 
 may, therefore, be said with a fair degree of accuracy 
 that a soft red ore carrying 40 per cent, of iron may be 
 expected to contain 35 per cent., one with 45 per cent, 
 of iron 25 per cent., and one with 50 per cent, of iron 
 17.50 per cent, of insoluble matter. There are, of course, 
 exceptions to this rule and it does some times occur that 
 an ore with 46 per cent, of iron will be found to carry 
 22 per cent, and one with 48 per cent, of iron 
 will have 21 or 22 per cent, of insoluble matter. 
 3 
 
34 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 But on the whole the fact remains that an ore with 45 
 per cent, of iron will carry 25 per cent, of insoluble, and 
 one with 50 per cent, of iron from 17 to 18 -per cent., 
 and the list may be used as an approximation to the 
 truth. 
 
 In texture the soft red ore is a mass of minute silic- 
 eous pebbles held in a ferruginous cement. The pebbles 
 are seldom larger than a No. 4 shot, and are frequently 
 much smaller. They are all more or less rounded and 
 stained reddish-brown. The cementing material is softer 
 than the pebbles, and on sizing even a very lean ore the 
 material passing a screen of fifty meshes per linear inch 
 is much richer in iron than the material remaining on a 
 10 or a 20 mesh screen. A soft red ore of 40 per cent, 
 iron, on being ground to pass a ten mesh screen, will 
 yield through a fifty mesh 53 per cent, of iron. 
 
 So far as concerns their physical structure, this is one 
 of the points of differentiation between the soft red and 
 the so-called brown ores, for these, on being sized, show 
 a steady loss of iron the finer the screen. The fact of 
 increasing richness in iron the finer the screen renders 
 the concentration of the low grade soft red ores much 
 simpler than would otherwise be the case, as the "fines" 
 can be briquetted without further treatment, and the 
 troublesome question of handling them becomes com- 
 paratively easy. The rounded form of the more siliceous 
 pebbles also occasions ]ess wear on the shutes, screens 
 and conveyors, a point of no little moment in concen- 
 trating works. 
 
 The better grades of the soft red ore do not occur at 
 every point on Red Mountain, nor is it possible to mine 
 even ten feet profitably everywhere along the ridge. It is 
 frequently the case that the inferior ore sets in, as the 
 saying is, "at the grass roots," and even the richer 
 "gouge" is sometimes absent. Mining operations can 
 not be undertaken without careful prospecting and many 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE HEMATITE ORES. 35 
 
 analyses, for the difference between a fairly good ore and 
 one that is not passable is often so slight as to deceive 
 eren the most experienced man who grades merely by 
 the eye. After having become accustomed to a partic- 
 ular kind of ore, one may judge of its quality by the ap- 
 pearance with a reasonable degree of accuracy. While 
 lor the most part the soft ores are of the same general 
 texture and color, it riot' infrequently happens that 
 serious mistakes may be made 1 unless the services of a 
 chemist are called into requisition . When freshly mined 
 the ore is of a deep red color, inclining to purplish red 
 in the richer portions, but on drying there is assumed 
 something of a brownish tint. For ordinary stockhouse 
 delivery the ore contains on the average 7 per cent, of 
 hygroscopic water, which, owing to the coarse-grained 
 nature, soon dries out under cover. 
 
 In the early days of iron making in the Birmingham 
 district, before the real value of the limey or hard ores 
 ivas generally accepted, the furnace burden was com- 
 posed almost entirely of the soft ores. Of late years, 
 however, the tendency is decidedly towards a greater and 
 greater proportion of the limey ore, the proportion rising 
 at times to above 90 per cent, of the ore burden. It is 
 still to some extent a mooted question as to the relative 
 jeducibility of the two ores, but a careful investigation 
 of the subject would, we think, show that in this respect 
 the limey ore has the advantage. When the soft ore 
 descends into the zone of reduction in the furnace, it 
 does so without losing its firmness of texture. Even 
 after it has become red hot, or white hot, it maintains 
 its shape, except as this may be changed by friction 
 during the descent. The reducing gases act upon it in 
 the lump, and if the lumps be of considerable size the 
 reduction to metallic iron may be delayed and the ore 
 may appear before the tuyeres. 
 
 The case is quite otherwise with the limey ore. The 
 
36 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 lime is present as carbonate, (except such as may be 
 combined with the prosphorus as phosphate of lime, an 
 amount rarely exceeding 0.50%,.) and when this reaches 
 a point in the furnace at which its carbonic acid begins 
 to come off, the ore begins to fall to pieces. The friction 
 of the other materials aids this tendency quite as much 
 as, and perhaps, more than in the case of the soft ore. 
 The reducing gases can and do have a greater ore sur- 
 face to work on and the result is that for a given weight 
 of coke and a given composition of the gas there is 
 greater reducing action. The soft ore is more fusible 
 than the lime ore, but this does not necessarily mean 
 that it is more easily penetrated by the reducing gases 
 within the furnace. On the contrary a fused crust on 
 the outside of a piece of soft ore interposes considerable 
 opposition to the passage of the gases, and as this crust 
 becomes thicker and thicker the gases penetrate with 
 more and more difficulty. In the case of the lime ore as soon 
 as it begins to part with its carbonic acid it begins to dis- 
 integrate, and this very fact of disintegration enables it 
 to receive to better advantage the reducing power of the 
 gases. 
 
 In comparing the two ores another circumstance must 
 not be lost sight of , and that is the intimate comming- 
 ling of the ore and the lime that is to flux it. This is a 
 distinguishing characteristic of the lime ores. It would 
 be impracticable to effect by artificial means such an in- 
 timate mixture of ore and lime as Nature has already 
 provided in these ores. This circumstance is of the 
 greatest importance in any discussion of the relative 
 value of the soft and the lime ores, for while these latter 
 require a higher heat for fusion they are not therefore to 
 be considered less easily reducible. 
 
 The reducibility of an ore depends far more upon its 
 permeability or porosity than upon its fusing point. For 
 the most part the loss of energy in a furnace is chargea- 
 
IRON MAKINc; IX ALAUAMAJ THE HEMATITE ORES. 37 
 
 ble to lack of reducing power rather than to lack of fus- 
 ing power. 
 
 The tendency now is more and more towards the use 
 of the limey ores ; for the enormous demand that has been 
 made on the better quality of the soft ore within the im- 
 mediate vicinity of Birmingham is beginning to make 
 itself felt, 
 
 Three courses of action may be open : First, the in- 
 creasing proportion of limey ore in the burden may in- 
 duce the furnacemen to look towards the use of eighty 
 or ninety per cent, of it, the difference being made up 
 with soft and brown ore. Second, other sources of soft 
 ore may be utilized. Third, the lower grades of the soft 
 ore. now remaining in the ground, may be concentrated 
 and made to take the place of the ore that has been re- 
 moved. It is not thought that the proportion of brown 
 ore used will be materially increased. 
 
 Under the existing conditions it would appear advisa- 
 Me to" begin at once to increase the proportion of limey 
 ore used, so as to establish on the basis of wider experi- 
 ence the economic relation that this burden would sus- 
 tain to former practice, or to push the work of concen- 
 trating the lower grades of soft ore to some definite re- 
 sult. 
 
 The experiments on concentrating soft ore, to which 
 some allusion has already been made, showed the possi- 
 bility of taking an ore of 40 % iron and 35 % silica and 
 bringing the ore to 57 % and the silica to 15 % , on the 
 average. In this process two tons of raw ore were re- 
 quired to make one ton of concentrates. Up to this 
 time 200 tons of concentrates have been made and the 
 experiments are still in progress. Results so far reach- 
 ed indicate that under proper conditions the cost of one 
 ton of concentrates of the above given composition would 
 approximate $1.00, putting the raw ore at 30 cents per 
 ton at the works. 
 
38 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 The process was described by the writer in a paper 
 read before the American Institute of Mining Engineers 
 at Atlanta, Ga. October, 1895. Since thai 
 time much additional information has been gathered 
 concerning it. In brief the process is to magnetize this 
 ore by heating it to redness in a suitably constructed 
 kiln and passing producer gas over it. In this manner 
 the ferrice oxide is converted into magnetic oxide and 
 by crushing the ore, screening and treating over a mag- 
 netic separator the more siliceous material is eliminated. 
 The richer portion of the ore thus improved carries 
 nearly 60% of iron with 11% of silica. The ore treated 
 in this manner can be sent to the furnace direct or made 
 into briquettes or eggettes with tar or other binding 
 material. If sent direct to the furnace it would be of 
 such fineness as to pass a screen of ten meshes per 
 linear inch, about 25% by weight' passing a forty mesh 
 screen. In respect to its fineness, therefore, it would 
 be coarser than a great deal of the Mesabe ore now con- 
 sumed in Ohio and Pennsylvania furnaces, while in con- 
 tent of iron it would, on the average, carry about five 
 per cent, less than this Mesabe ore. The soft ore as 
 now used carries about 47% of iron, and the Mesabe ore 
 from 62% to 64%. Several hundred thousand tons of 
 low grade soft ore are now uncovered in the Birming- 
 ham district, forming that portion of the big seam from 
 which the upper ten feet have been removed and carry- 
 ing about 39% of iron. It is easily and cheaply rained 
 and lends itself very well to concentration. This is* the 
 ore which should take the place of the soft ore now be- 
 ing mined and it is much to be hoped that the work al- 
 ready taken in hand in respect to it will be carried to 
 completion. The importance of the matter is assuredly 
 great enough to warrant the expense required. There 
 is no doubt at all of the possibility of concentrating this 
 ore and no doubt of the value of the product to the fur- 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE HEMATITE ORES. 39 
 
 nace. The successful prosecution of this business 
 would bring into use very large amounts of ore that can 
 not be used unless concentrated and would prolong the 
 life of the soft ore for many years. 
 
 The possibility of concentrating this ore magnetically , 
 without previous magnetization, is now under consider- 
 ation, and the results reached are of the most encourag- 
 ing character. 
 
 The Limey , or so-called Hard Ore. 
 
 The ore sets in sometimes at the outcrop but much 
 more frequently it is found only under cover and is the 
 continuation of the soft ore in the direction of the dip. 
 For distances varying from nothing to 300 feet on the 
 dip the ore is soft, then the hard ore begins and con- 
 tinues to depths not yet ascertained but certainly very 
 considerable. In other words, as has been already stat- 
 ed, the hard ore which originally appeared at the sur- 
 face has been deprived of its carbonic acid by atmos- 
 pheric influences and converted into soft ore along the 
 dip to varying depths the lime having been removed by 
 bleaching. Relatively the same differences that are to be 
 observed in the soft ore from various places are also found 
 in the hard ores. There are points along the mountain 
 where the minable seam of soft ore is better than at others, 
 and there are places where the hard ore is better than 
 at others. 
 
 On a vertical section of the soft ore the content in 
 iron decreases downward, the rate being about one-half 
 of one per cent, per foot. The rule holds good for the 
 hard ore on a vertical section. The mining on the big 
 seam of soft ore is now confined for the most part to the 
 upper ten feet, the mining on the hard ore is also 
 the same, and below the ten foot mark the hard ore also 
 becomes too siliceous for economic use. The hard ore 
 derives its value from two circumstances, first there is a 
 
40 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 great deal more of it than of the soft ore, because it ex- 
 tends to very considerable depths, and second because of 
 the intimate admixture of carbonate of lime with the 
 ferruginous material. The best hard ore carries more 
 lime than is required to flux its silica while in the ordi- 
 nary grades the ratio of one of silica to one of lime is 
 generally conserved . When this is the case the ore is 
 termed "self fluxing" and in burdening a furnace ex- 
 clusively with hard ore of this type it is not necessary to 
 add limestone. When the burden is composed of hard 
 and soft ore, or of hard and brown, or of hard, soft and 
 brown the amount of limestone to be added is calculated 
 from the silica of the ore other than hard, the silica of 
 the fuel and of the stone itself. The increase in the use 
 oT hard ore would tend to diminish the consumption of 
 limestone by an amount represented by the limestone in 
 the ore and if a strictly self-fluxing ore were used the 
 consumption of limestone would be greatly diminished. 
 There is a kind of hard ore, termed semi-hard, which 
 contains from one-third to one r half of the lime in a typi- 
 cal hard ore, but of this sort very little is used and it is 
 not mined regularly. 
 
 Within the last two years the use of crushed hard ore 
 has become quite common in the Birmingham district. 
 The soft ore does not lend itself readily to crushing un- 
 less thoroughly dry. With the amount of water it usual- 
 ly contains it becomes somewhat like clay in the crush- 
 er, i. e. more or less gummy, and the machine soon be- 
 come choked. ^ 
 
 A general average of the hard ore used shows : 
 
 PER CENT. 
 
 Water 0.50 
 
 Metallic Iron 37.00 
 
 Silica 13.44 
 
 Lime 16.20 
 
 Alumina. , .3.18 
 
IRON MAKIXC; IX ALABAMA J THE HEMATITE ORES. 41 
 
 Phosphorus 0.37 
 
 Sulphur 0.07 
 
 < 'urbonic acid. . . . 12.24 
 
 Adding the alumina and the silica together we have 
 for silica x alumina 16.62$ , the lime is 16.20%, and the 
 ore may be termed self-fluxing. It can not be said that 
 all of the hard ore used is self- fluxing, as some of it con- 
 tains 5$ more of lime than of silica x alumina. Taking 
 a general average, however, of analyses of all kinds of 
 hard ore extending over several years this ore carries 
 enough lime to flux the silica x alumina. It may be 
 urged that aluminous soft ore needs silica as a flux for 
 the alumina, and this is indeed true. But we have to 
 flux the silicate of alumina with lime, and it is merely a 
 question as to whether all the bases of the burden shall 
 be calculated as lime, and all the acids as silica or 
 whether we shall regard the silica x alumina as requir- 
 ing so much lime. In either case the type of slag to be 
 made has to be considered, and for any one type the two 
 calculations lead to the same result so far as concerns 
 the consumption of limestone per ton of iron. 
 
 The question has been raised as to whether the hard 
 ore, on the dip, may not gradually lose its content of 
 iron and become a more and more ferruginous limestone 
 until finally the iron will not exceed 20 or 25 % . The 
 matter is one of scientific rather than practical moment, 
 and some information has been collected. Taking the 
 iron in the soft ore at 47 % at the outcrop, and in the 
 hard ore at 37 % 100 feet on the dip the rate of decrease 
 for the iron would be one per cent, per hundred feet. 
 This rate seems tq be maintained at some localities,, but 
 at others it varies so that no rule can be given. This 
 comparison is between the soft and the hard ore. When 
 the hard ore begins it maintains a fairly uniform conapo- 
 sition on planes extending in the direction of the dip. 
 
42 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 As to the minimum amount of iron that a hard ore 
 can carry and still be considered an ore, opinions may 
 differ. But if the iron in the hard ore should fall to 
 25%, the lime increasing in the same proportion, it is 
 not likely that it could be used. The silica and alumina 
 appear to remain somewhat stationary, so that the ques- 
 tion would be whether or no material carrying 25 % of 
 iron, from 16 to 20% of silica, and from 24 to 28% of 
 lime can be profitably used. It will be many years, 
 however, before this question will arise, and it is not 
 necessary to discuss it now. It is bound up with geo- 
 logical and topographical considerations which are still 
 in abeyance. Some work has been done in the direction 
 of improving the hard ore by calcining it in a gas-fired 
 kiln. It is possible in this way to remove the carbonic 
 acid entirely. Taking the average analysis of hard ore 
 as given, viz : 
 
 Iron 37.00 
 
 Silica . .13.44 
 
 Alumina 3 .18 
 
 Lime 16.20 
 
 and considering all of the lime as carbonate except 0.50 % 
 as phosphate, the carbonic acid would be 12.24. Re- 
 moving this the above analysis would show : 
 
 Iron 42.15 
 
 Silica 15.31 
 
 Alumina 3 .62 
 
 Lime J8.46 
 
 The ore would, of course, still be self-fluxing, and the 
 question would be whether the removal of the carbonic 
 acid outside of the furnace, with the consequent trans- 
 formation of the carbonate of lime into caustic lime, 
 would benefit the ore more than it would cost. 
 
 Without entering upon any lengthy discussion, as the 
 matter has not yet passed the experimental stage, we 
 
IRON MAKING IN ALABAMA ; THE HEMATIFE ORES. 43 
 
 may regard the question briefly, from a physical and a 
 chemical standpoint. 
 
 Physically the ore would become more porous as the 
 expulsion of the ^carbonic acid would, ta a great extent, 
 destroy its compactness. It would lose in weight, but 
 this would be more than counter-balanced by the gain 
 in the per centage of iron. Its increased porosity would 
 allow easier penetration for the reducing gases of the 
 furnace. Against this may be placed its increased fria- 
 bility, and the consequent production of a greater quan- 
 tity of fine material in the furnace. Chemically, we 
 should have to consider the effect upon the combustible 
 gases of the introduction of caustic lime instead of car- 
 bonate of lime. 
 
 The carbonic acid has to be removed and the question 
 narrows down to a single consideration, viz. Is there 
 any advantage in removing it outside of the furnace? 
 The heat within the furnace removes it quite as effec- 
 tively as the heat of a kiln, but then we would have to 
 weigh the effect of large volumes of hot carbonic acid 
 on the coke, with solution of carbon, &c. Cokes differ 
 markedly in this respect, and each one has to be exam- 
 ined in and for itself. If the calcined ore is charged 
 direct it would carry a considerable amount of heat into 
 the upper part of the furnace and it would be more diffi- 
 cult to maintain a cool top. This, however, need hardly 
 be considered, as the additional temperature, due to 
 charging hot material, would be derived, not from reac- 
 tions within the furnace, but from extraneous sources. 
 A cool top under ordinary conditions means that the heat 
 within the furnace is used in melting the stock, and is not 
 escaping in the gases. Bat if a hot top is due to extrane- 
 ous heat, such, for instance, as hot material charged, 
 there would be no injurious effect upon the zone of fusion. 
 It might be advantageous to have a hot top if the heat 
 was not derived from the reactions within the furnace, 
 
44 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 as the gases to be consumed under the boilers and in the 
 stoves would arrive at. the burners at a higher tempera- 
 ture. Aside from such considerations, however, it seems 
 advisable to use the calcined ore direct. Where it is 
 stocked, or allowed to remain even for twenty-four hours 
 in the air, it rapidly takes up water and becomes pasty. 
 When the slacking of the caustic lime is completed the 
 material appears dry but in reality contains not only 
 water of hydration but carbonic acid also. When the 
 water of hydration is expelled the lime becomes pulver- 
 ulent and dusty, blows, about in every breeze and is 
 troublesome to both bottom and top fillers. It can be 
 dampened with water from a hose-pipe, of course, but in 
 that case the mass becomes pasty, and the stockhonse 
 uncomfortable. If the ore is not used direct, (the kiln 
 being in immediate proximity to the furnace) , the ad- 
 vantages to be obtained from calcining begin to disappear 
 at once, and continue to become less and less the longer 
 the interval between calcination and charging. 
 
THE LIMONITK. <>R - D P.RoWX ORES. 45 
 
 THE LIMOXITE, OR SO-CALLED BROWN ORES. 
 
 As a rule these ores constitute the best material for 
 mm making in the State. Practically all of the charcoal 
 iron is produced from this class of ore, and although 
 there has been of late years a marked decrease in the 
 output of charcoal iron, following the general tendency 
 throughout the country at large, the total amount made 
 from 1872 to the close of 1895, was 1,191,145 tons. 
 
 The yearly amount of brown ore mined is about 25 
 per cent, of the total production of all kinds of ore. 
 
 The deposits do not occur in regular seams except as 
 the gossan of underlying pyritiferous veins which fur- 
 nish very little of the ore used, but as pockets in the clay. 
 These pockets are of greater or less extent, some times 
 going down to 75 or 100 feet, or even deeper. 
 
 They do not appear to follow any known rule of occur- 
 rence, and each deposit has to be judged by itself alone. 
 It is a common saying that no one knows much about a 
 brown ore bank beyond the length of his pick. To-day 
 one may be in good ore, tomorrow there maybe none in 
 sight, and to know which way to turn one must know 
 the particular deposit he is mining. 
 
 The ore is of two kinds, lump, and gravel. There is 
 no rule as to the proportion in which each may be pres- 
 ent, even in the same 'bank. ' The lump ore is generally 
 better than the ordinary gravel ore unless this latter is 
 carefully washed from adhering clay. And yet it often 
 happens that the presence of chert, or sandy inclusions, 
 in the lump ore, as also the clay-filling of the interstices 
 and small holes, makes the lump ore objectionable. The 
 lumps vary in size from that of the fist to large masses 
 of several tons wtight. 
 
46 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 The large lumps are broken by hand, if of unusual 
 size by means of small charges of dynamite, and loaded 
 on the car without further treatment. By far the greater 
 amount of brown ore is comprised within the sizes of a 
 pigeon's egg and a goose egg. 
 
 Excluding the large lumps the method of mining is 
 briefly as follows : The bank is cut away in benches, the 
 entire mass being taken down either by hand, or 
 steam-shovel. The stuff is loaded on trams and con- 
 veyed to ordinary log-washers, single or double as the 
 case may be, where it is subjected to thorough disinte- 
 gration and stirring in large excess of running water. 
 The clay &c. is removed by suspension in water, and is 
 run into settling dams for the recovery of the water. 
 The heavier particles of sand are screened out over inch 
 screens revolving in a mild current of water, and the 
 washed ore delivered over the screens into the railroad 
 cars, and sent to the furnaces. Where the clay holding 
 the gravel is friable, and does not 'ball' under the action 
 of the washer, and where abundance of water can be se- 
 cured, this method of preparing brown ore is fairly suc- 
 cessful. There is great variation in the character of the 
 clay, some of it being easily disintegrated and therefore 
 yielding its ore readily, and some of it being extremely 
 tenacious and putty-like. In this case there may be seri- 
 ous loss of tke finer ore particles, the balls of clay pick- 
 ing them up, enwrapping them, and finally carrying 
 them to the waste dump. 
 
 It is customary at some establishments to remove the 
 clay balls by hand, boys being employed for the purpose. 
 Jigging is resorted to but rarely, the results not war- 
 ranting the additional expense. 
 
 A method of washing that has given good satisfaction 
 is to discharge the trams from the 'bank' into a head- 
 box in which play two powerful streams of water. The 
 lower end of the box, which is of triangular shape and in- 
 
THE LIMONITE, OR SO-CALLED BROWN ORES. 47 
 
 clined about 30 degrees, opens into a" long wooden 
 trough lined with castings of iron fitted snugly at the 
 bottom. This trough in turn discharges into the washer 
 at the foot of the hill. 
 
 The advantages claimed are contact of the material 
 with water under pressure, and the better separation of 
 ore and clay from the tumbling motion down the trough. 
 Even the tenacious clays may, in this manner, be made 
 to yield their ore. But if the clay be extremely tena- 
 cious, as is sometimes the case, even this mode of treat- 
 ment fails to disintegrate it. In fact it rather tends to 
 increase the 'balling' by carrying the material down an 
 incline. The friable. and easily disintegrated clays, on 
 the other hand, are speedily removed in this process, and 
 the washer is called upon merely to complete what has 
 been already pretty well done. No washing system can 
 succeed without plenty of water, and unsparing use of it. 
 If the best results are to be reached there must be no 
 half-handed and mistaken economy in the consumption 
 of water, and as a large part of the water used, is recov- 
 ered in settling clams the loss of water is chargeable 
 mostly to evaporation and seepage. The first can not 
 be prevented, but seepage can be controlled by properly 
 constructed dams.. 
 
 The amount of material moved per ton of ore obtained 
 varies within wide limits. It may be 1:1, 4:1, or 10 : 1. 
 Even the same bank shows very considerable differences 
 in this respect, so that no rule can be given. It is a 
 matter that can not be determined before hand, and is 
 liable to change from day to day. Variations in the 
 composition of the ore from the same bank, while ob- 
 servable, (to not, as a rule, offer serious obstacles to suc- 
 cessful mining. A given bank is apt to afford ore of the 
 :e general composition, and variations in the compo- 
 sition of stock-house samples are to be explained by in- 
 
48 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 sufficient treatment in the washer, due to lack of water 
 or changes in the nature of the clay. 
 
 Brown ore mining is attractive because of the higher 
 price paid for good brown ore, but should be entered 
 upon only after the most thorough examination of all 
 local conditions. 
 
 The average composition of the brown ore of the 
 State, stock-house delivery, is as follows : 
 
 DRY BASIS. 
 
 Metallic Iron ..51.00 
 
 Silica 9.00 
 
 Alumina , 3 .75 
 
 Lime 0.75 
 
 Phosphorus 0.40 
 
 Sulphur 0.10 
 
 Tke amount of water it contains varies according to 
 circumstances. Thus, if the washer be placed at a short 
 distance from the furnace the water, not having had 
 time to drain out, is more than if the haul were longer. 
 So also if the ore be not properly washed the clay retains 
 water. Under a haul of 25 to 50 miles the ore, samples 
 from the cars in the stock-house, contains on the aver- 
 age 1% of hygroscopic water. Following is an average 
 analysis of a good quality of brown ore : 
 
 Hygroscopic water 7.00 
 
 Combined water 6.00 
 
 Metallic Iron 48.54 
 
 Silica . .11.22 
 
 Alumina >. 3.61 
 
 Lime .84 
 
 Phosphorus 0.38 
 
 Sulphur 0.09 
 
 Selected brown ore may carry as much as 56% of iron, 
 on a dry basis, and at one establishment the ordinary 
 ore as charged carries 53 % , after washing and calcining. 
 
THE LIMONITE, OR SO-CALLHD BROWN ORES. 49 
 
 The sale of brown ore on analysis has become the cus- 
 tom in the Birmingham district for outside ores. 
 The basis of sale is 50$ of Iron, and 10$ of insoluble 
 matter, or silica, as the case may be. The price per ton 
 is started, let us say, at $1.00, for ore carrying 50% of 
 Iron, and 10$ of Insoluble matter. Then for each one 
 per cent, above 50 % 5 cents per ton is added to the price. 
 If the Insoluble matter at the same time decreases 1 % , 
 being 9 % instead of 10 % , 2-J- cents per ton additional is 
 added. An ore carrying 51 % of iron and 9 % of insolu- 
 ble matter would be worth $1.075 per ton, and so on. 
 If, on the contrary, the percentage of metallic iron 
 should fall to. 49$ , 5 cents per ton would be taken off, 
 and if at the same time the insoluble matter should rise 
 to 11$, 2i cents per ton more would be subtracted. Thus 
 an ore carrying 49$ of iron and 11$ of insoluble mat- 
 ter would be worth $0.925 per ton. The starting price 
 is not always the same. It may be $1.00, $1.05, $1.10 
 &c. accord ing to circumstances, but frhe valuation of 5 
 cents per unit of iron, and 2-J- cents per unite of insolu- 
 ble matter is generally adopted. In this scheme no ac- 
 count is taken of hygroscopic or combined water, or of 
 sulphur, phosphorus or alumina. 
 
 The basis of valuation is the amount of metallic iron 
 and insoluble matter. The ore may contain 5$, or 10$ 
 of ordinary water, yet no account is taken of it. It 
 would be much better if a deduction could be made for 
 all water above a certain percentage, although the con- 
 dition of the weather, as in the case of heavy rains while 
 the ore was in transit, might prevent satisfactory agree- 
 ments. 
 
 The water a brown ore may contain is a small matter 
 compared with the clay it may, and too often does, con- 
 tain. The ordinary water is easily enough evaporated 
 
50 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 in the upper part of the furnace, but the clay requires 
 fuel and stone for its removal. 
 
 Well washed ore , free from clay , seldom holds more 
 than 4% of water, and the increase in the amount of wa- 
 ter follows closely upon the increase in the amount of 
 clay. 
 
 There is a circumstance in connection with brown ore 
 that merits attention, not only because of its contradis- 
 tinction to the soft red ore but also and particularly 
 because of its Bearing upon its improvement, whether 
 by simple screening or by some magnetic process. It 
 has been stated that even the lower grades of soft ore on 
 being dried and crushed yield more metallic iron in the 
 material passing a 50 mesh screen than in the coarser 
 stuff. In such ores there is a marked increase in the 
 iron the finer the screen up to and including a 50 mesh. 
 This is not true of the brown ore. The finer the screen, 
 up to and including a 50 mesh, the poorer in iron is the 
 material passing through. 
 
 Not only have laboratory experiments shown this but- 
 actual work on a large scale has substantiated the gen- 
 eral truth of the proposition that on crushing brown ore, 
 whether by machines, or by the attrition of ore on ore 
 in a kiln the fine stuff carries less iron than the coarse 
 stuff. Attention is drawn to this matter because of the 
 custom at some kilns to draw the ore over screens into 
 the furnace-buggies. There is considerable loss of ma- 
 terial in this practice, and it is not to be recommended 
 unless the ore carries an unusual amount of clay, which, 
 of course, is removed over the screens. It may ftappen 
 that as much as 10 per cent, by weight is lost, even over 
 a i inch screen . Some experiments were undertaken to 
 establish the actual loss, and how much iron was present 
 in the various sizes of ore from a kiln. 
 
 Several hundred pounds were taken, the samples be- 
 ing drawn over several days and put together, so as to 
 
THE LIMOXITE, OR SO-CALLED BROWN ORES. 51 
 
 represent the ore fairly. The results of the investigation 
 were as follow.- : 
 
 Iron. Silica. 
 
 Raw ore 44.63 13.82 
 
 Calcined ore 50.20 15.10 
 
 Calcined ore 
 
 On i inch screen (68 per ct.) . . . 52.95 10.25 
 
 Through i inch screen (32 per ct.) . . 49.30 15.90 
 
 On I inch screen (77 per ct.) . . . 52.75 11.05 
 
 Through 1 inch screen (23 per ct.) . . 42.85 21.80 
 
 It can not, of course, be said that all brown ores act 
 in this way, but the ore under examination fairly repre- 
 sented the second grade brown, and it is likely that other 
 of the same class would give results comparable to 
 these. 
 
 Screening over a i inch screen gave 68 per cent, on 
 the screen, with, say, 53 per cent, of iron/ and 32 per 
 cent, through the screen with 49.50 per cent, of iron, 
 ening over a -J inch screen gave 77 per cent, on the 
 jn wkii .VJ.75 per cent, of iron, and 23 per cent, 
 through the screen with 42.85 per cent, of iron. Screen- 
 ing can not be recommended,, except for clayey ore, and 
 the clay should be removed in the washer. There is 
 practically but little difference between the 'overs' on a 
 :ch and i inch screen in respect of iron, while there 
 is a difference of 9 per cent, in weight in favor of the 
 coarser screen. The loss of ore through either screen is 
 too large for profitable work, except under unusual cir- 
 cumstances requiring the use of the best ore obtainable. 
 Reference has been made to the fact that for the most 
 part the brown ores are washed but not calcined. In 
 the production of charcoal iron it is the usual custom to 
 wash and calcine, but as the consumption of brown ore 
 in the charcoal furnaces from 1890, to and including 
 ~> probably did not exceed 7 per cent, of the total 
 brown ore production during that period it can not be 
 
52 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 said that calcining is commonly practiced. When it is 
 carried on two methods are used, the old fashioned open 
 air pile fired by charcoal ''breeze" and wood, and the 
 new fashioned gas-fired kiln employing producer-gas as 
 fuel. The former method needs no description. When 
 properly managed it gives fair results, but can not be 
 depended an to furnish uniformly calcined ore. Even, 
 with careful attention a part of the ore will not be cal- 
 cined at all, part will be calcined properly, and part will 
 be louped. The most curious mis-statements are some- 
 times made in reference to calcining brown ore, to say 
 nothing of the idea, prevalent among some who ought 
 to know better, that brown ore is termed limonite be- 
 cause it contains considerable quantities of lime. 
 
 In the hearing of the writer, the general manager of 
 an iron company stated to a party of capitalists who 
 were examing the property, that on calcining the ore in 
 open piles the chert would pop out, and leave the ore 
 pure. Brown ore, he went on to say, was most peculiar 
 in that respect. It might contain a good deal of chert, 
 but when it was lieated the chert would spring away 
 from the ore, and it was dangerous to stand near the pile. 
 They all moved back, and the orator proceeded ! The 
 method of improving cherty brown ore by popping the 
 chert out may be patentable, but is not in use in this 
 State, or elsewhere. Attention is being drawn more and 
 more to calcining in gas-fired kilns, and of the various 
 kinds the Davis-Colby is preferred. In this kiln the 
 current of heated gas and flame is drawn across the ore 
 as it descends between the outer walls of the combustion 
 chamber and a central space connected with the stack. 
 The kiln is built of any convenient size, from 100 to 150 
 tons capacity, and is fired with producer gas. 
 
 Allowing 7 per cent, of hygroscopic water, removable 
 at 212 deg. F., and 7 per cent of combined water, remov- 
 able only at red heat, a kiln holding 125-140 tons of raw 
 
THE LIMOXITE, OR SO-CALLED BROWN ORES. 55 
 
 ore will deliver from 107 to 120 tons of thoroughly and 
 uniformly calcined ore per 24 hours, with a consumption 
 of 2J to 3 tons of coal. To calcine one ton of raw ore 
 (2240 Ibs.) requires about 52 Ibs. of coal 
 
 The advantages of the gas-fired kiln are economy of 
 labor, and uniformity of product. These advantages 
 maintain under all conditions, except where the price of 
 coal is prohibitory, and even there the wood-fired or 
 charcoal-fired producer may be used. 
 
 The use of all brown ore in coke furnaces may be ren- 
 dered necessary by contracts specifying chat the iron 
 shall be made from brown ore, or by proximity to de- 
 posits known to be very considerable. A determination 
 on the part of furnace owners to make a special higfe. 
 grade charcoal iron would also entail the exclusive use 
 of brown ore. 
 
 A kiln to treat 140 tons of raw ore per day, with pro- 
 ducer and all necessary fittings, will cost about $7,000, 
 and will yield ordinarily about 120 tons of calcined ore. 
 This amount would contain from 60 to 65 tons of iron, 
 and would be equivalent to 20 per cent, of the ore bur- 
 den for 2 150 ton furnaces. 
 
 The freight on a ton of raw ore from the washer to the 
 furnace may be taken at 25 cts. in the Birmingham dis- 
 trict, and if the ore averages 47 per cent, of iron we 
 would have 1952.8 Ibs. of iron costing for freight 25 cts. 
 
 The freight on a ton of calcined ore would also be 25 
 cents, but it would contain 54 per cent, of iron, or in the 
 ton 1209.6 Ibs. of iron. So far, therefore, as concerns 
 the transportation charges we would get 1209.6 Ibs. of 
 iron in the calcined ore at the same price paid for 1052.8 
 Ibs. in the raw ore. Each ton of calcined ore delivered 
 at the furnace would contain 156.8 Ibs. of iron more than 
 a ton of raw ore. If it requires 4 men in the stockhouse, 
 as bottom-fillers, to handle 140 tons of raw ore per day, 
 containing 65.8 tons of iron, 3 men could handle the 
 
54 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 121.7 tons of calcined ore required for the same amount 
 of metal. So far as concerns the handling of the ore in 
 the stockhouse there would be a saving of one man at 
 each furnace by substituting calcined ore for raw ore. 
 
 The economy becomes even more striking if we con- 
 sider the^kiln as situated at the furnace, so that the bot- 
 tom-fillers could draw the ore from the shutes. At one 
 well managed plant this has been the practice for several 
 years. The trams come in from the washer and dis- 
 charge into the kiln. The bottom-fillers draw from the 
 shutes into the buggies, and the hot one goes at once to 
 the furnace. At this establishment it has been shown 
 that there is great advantage in the use of calcined ore, 
 irrespective of the easy way of handling it in use, and 
 it fortunately happens that it is able to compare, for a 
 term of years, the practice on raw ore, pile-calcined, 
 and kiln-calcined ore. 
 
 It is not going too far to say that it would be profitable 
 to erect kilns at the furnaces, even when the ore has to 
 be hauled at a freight cost of 25 cts. per ton, or even 
 more. 
 
 Excessive freight charges on ore would, of course, 
 militate against this proposition, but until they rise be- 
 yond 40 cts. per ton calcining would be advantageous. 
 
 The erection of kilns at the mines, except under unus- 
 ual conditions, can not be recommended, for the reason 
 that the life of a brown ore deposit is uncertain. 
 
 But at the furnace, and especially where coke is, made 
 on the spot and it is possible to calcine with waste gases 
 from the ovens, this objection is removed. The furnace 
 operator would be able to buy ore from the smaller mines 
 which can not incur the expense of building kilns, the 
 entire process would be under one management, and the 
 utilization of gases now going to waste would, of itself, 
 show a profit. 
 
 It is a truth of general application that it pays to cal- 
 
THE LIMONITE, OR SO-CALLED BROWN ORES. 55 
 
 cine brown ore, for it has been shown to be beneficial 
 wherever it has been carefully and faithfully carried out. 
 
 MILL CINDER. 
 
 Another material used in the Birmingham district, as 
 a source of iron, is mill cinder. 
 
 It is a product from puddling furnaces, and is worth 
 
 : 90 cents to $1.00 a ton, delivered. 
 The composition varies somewhat, as the following 
 analyses show : 
 
 Equal parts, by weight, of heating furnace and puddle 
 cinder ; metallic iron, 56.59 per cent. 
 
 Kqiml parts, by weight, of cinder made with coal, 
 cinder made with gas, and puddle cinder; metallic iron 
 51.33 per cent. 
 
 Equal parts, by weight, of flue and tap cinder; me- 
 tallic iron, 50.08 per cent. 
 
 The average composition of ordinary mill cinder is 
 about as follows : 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 Metallic iron 5D.OO 
 
 Silica .- 20.00 
 
 Alumina 1.50 
 
 Lime 0.50 
 
 Sulphur 1.50 
 
 Phosphorus 0.60 
 
 It is not used regularly, but in broken doses, as a 
 " scouring material." 
 
 BLUE BILLY', PURPLE ORE. 
 
 Residue from pyrite burners in sulphuric acid works, 
 
56 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 This material is occasionally used, being purchased 
 from the sulphuric acid factories in Atlanta, Pensacola, 
 <fee. It carries generally more than 60 per cent, of iron, 
 but the content of smlphur is quite variable and may be 
 as much as 2.50 per cent. Properly roasted, i. e., with 
 sulphur below 0.50 per cent., it would commend itself as 
 a source of iron. 
 
THE FLUXES. 57 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FLUXES. 
 
 The material used for flux in the state is either lime- 
 stone, dolomite, or a mixture of the two in varying pro- 
 portions. It is now very largely sold on analysis, sam- 
 ples being drawn from each car received. The basis of 
 sale is the percentage of silica, some of the contracts 
 starting at 2.50 per cent, and others at 3.50 per cent. 
 When the stone is sold on analysis it is customary to 
 employ a sliding scale, as has already been explained 
 under the brown ore. Suppose the base is 3.50 per cent, 
 of silica. The scale is so arranged that for each quar- 
 ter of one per cent, above 3.50 per cent., two-tenths of 
 a cent per ton is taken off, and for quarter of one per 
 cent, below 3.50 per cent, of silica two-tenths of a cent 
 is added. Thus if the delivery price is 60 cents per 
 ton for a 3.50 per cent, stone, and the silica should run 
 to 3.75 per cent., the price would be 59.8 cents per ton, 
 and if the silica should fall to 3.25 per cent., the price 
 would be 60.2 cents per ton. .If the silica should rise t6 
 ."> per cent, the price per ton would be 68.8 cents, and if 
 it should fall to 2.00 per cent, the price would be 61 
 cents. 
 
 The average analysis of the limestone used in the 
 state may be stated as follows : 
 
 Silica 4.00% 
 
 Oxide of iron and alumina. 1.00 
 
 Carbonate of lime 94.60 Lime 53.00% 
 
 It not infrequently happens that the stone is much 
 higher in silica than this average. Instances are on 
 
58 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 record: in which the silica was 8.00 per cent. In such 
 cases the production of iron is attended with consider- 
 ably higher cost than when the better stone is used. 
 
 Limestone was 'the only flux used up to within the 
 last few years. Since that time the use of dolomite has 
 largely increased, the great advance being within the 
 last year. In the manufacture of basic iron Intended* 
 for the open hearth steel furnace it was soon found that 
 the use of dolomite was a decided advantage, especially 
 in the elimination of sulphur, Whethev this result was 
 due to the fact that the dolomite carried only 1.25-1.50 
 per cent, of silica as against 4.00 for the limestone, or 
 whether the presence of magnesia was of real benefit, so 
 far as concerns the elimination of the sulphur, is still in 
 dispute. The fact, however, remains that in the pro- 
 duction of basic iron, sold on analysis under severe re- 
 strictions as to quality, only dolomite is used. Aside 
 from its low silica content, the dolomite- possesses the 
 further advantage of great uniformity of composition. 
 This is a point very much in its- favor. My own expe- 
 rince with limestone in this state covers something like 
 22,000 cars, and with dolomite about 2,500 cars. The 
 former is subject to considerable variation in respect to 
 silica,- while the latter, in so far at least as concerns the 
 lump stone, is of remarkable uniformity. The highest 
 amount of silica observed in the lump dolomite is a trifle 
 over 1.50 per cent., the ordinary range being from 0.75 
 to 1.25 per cent. 
 
 Extensive deposits of both limestone and dolomite 
 exist within eight miles of Birmingham. The haul for 
 limestone is, however, about thirty. miles, only the dolo- 
 mite being worked within the immediate vicinity. So 
 far as my observation goes, the average composition of 
 the dolomite used may be taken as follows : 
 
 Silica 1.50% 
 
 Oxide of iron and alumina 1.00 
 
THE FLUXES. 59 
 
 rbonate of lime 54.00$ Lime 30.31$ 
 
 Carbonate of magnesia. .43.00$ Magnesia 20.71$ 
 
 The proportion between the magnesia and the lime 
 does not vary much from 1 :1.50. 
 
 Both the limestone and the dolomite carry small 
 amounts of sulphur, the maximum so far observed be- 
 ing 0.11 per cent. 
 
 As in the limestone quarries there are layers of silic- 
 eous material interfering with the quality of the mate- 
 rial, so in the dolomite quarries there are ledges of 
 almost pure silica, white as porcelain. They seem to be 
 flinty concretions occurring in more or less regular 
 bands, from one half an inch to three inches in thickness. 
 It is customary to separate these flinty nodules from the 
 stone by hand before it is shipped. They do not seriously 
 interfere with the quality of the dolomite if care is used 
 in the separation. Otherwise they are extremely objec- 
 tionable. 
 
 The impure limestone is of a much darker color than 
 the good stone, but the impure dolomite is generally 
 much lighter in color than the remaining portion. There 
 is a kind of dolomite that occurs in some of the quarries 
 tha : - deceptive to the eye. It looks hot unlike 
 
 coarse brown sugar, has the same damp appearance and 
 glistens in the sunlight. To the hand it feels sandy, but 
 on analysis it is found generally to be the best stone in 
 the quarry. Some samples have given only 0.25 per 
 cent, of silica. Not all of this loose, sandy looking dol- 
 omite is good, however, for it sometimes happens that 
 it carries more than 3.00 per cent, of silica, and one 
 sample was found to contain nearly 4.00 per cent. It 
 does not form a large proportion of the material in the 
 quarry, and is mined and shipped with the other stone. 
 
 Both the limestone and the dolomite are quarried on 
 the face, no underground work being required. Crushed 
 s.tone or lump is shipped as occasion may demand. 
 
60 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 The amount of stone used per ton of iron varies, of 
 course with the quality of the stone, with the nature of 
 the ore amd fuel, and, to some extent, with the grade of 
 the iron required. The range is from 0.30 ton to 0.80. 
 This subject will be discussed in the chapter on Furnace 
 Burdens, which will be devoted to the general practice 
 throughout the state, different types of burdens being se- 
 lected with reference to the consumption of raw mate- 
 rials per ton of iron and the cost of the same. 
 
 No attempt has been made on any considerable scale 
 to use calcined stone, whether limestone or dolomite, 
 except in so far as the calcination of hard ore may be 
 considered as an attempt to calcine the carbonate of lime 
 contained in it. 
 
 It is necessary here merely to state the question in 
 general terms. As has been already remarked, in the 
 discussion of the hard ore, we have in this State an inti- 
 mate mixture of oxide of iron, silica and carbonate of 
 lime. The best of it contains on the average 37 per 
 cent, of iron, 13.44 per cent, of silica, and 15.45 per cent, 
 of lime as carbonate. The admixture of these materials 
 is far more perfect than could be attained by any 
 practical mechanical means, although some of the 
 ore is not self fluxing. This being the 
 case we "can ask ourselves if it is more economical to em- 
 ploy this ore, in which the flux is already so well mixed 
 with the silica, than to use an ore of far less content of 
 lime and therefore requiring the addition of flux. At 
 the first glance it would appear that it is better to avail 
 ones self of whatever advantages nature herself has con- 
 ferred upon us in the way of an ore carrying its own 
 lime. But the matter can not be settled out of hand and 
 without careful investigation of all the data bearing 
 upon it. From the standpoint of the furnace man, if 
 he could depend on securing self flluxing ore regularly, 
 the matter resolves itself into the simple consideration 
 
THE FLUXES 61 
 
 as to whether he can make as much iron and as cheap 
 iron in the one way as in the other. He may, indeed, 
 go a step farther and ask if he makes iron more cheaply 
 in the one way than in the other. Having settled this, 
 he has no further concern with the matter. If he can 
 make iron more cheaply by using a greater and greater 
 proportion of hard ore than by using an ore which re- 
 quires the addition of extraneous flux, it is his duty to 
 do it. This, however, is a one-sided view. There are 
 other investments in the State that must be regarded as 
 well as investments in furnaces. How is it with the 
 contractor for ore and flux? Would his business be hin- 
 dered by the substitution of hard ore for stone? If his 
 profit on the ore was the same as his profit on the stone, 
 no great hardship would follow the increase in the use 
 of the one and the decrease in the use of the other. But 
 if it should happen that his profit in mining stone was^ 
 greater than his profit in mining hard ore, and there 
 should be such an increase in the consumption of hard 
 ore as to destroy the value of his stone quarry, he would 
 not be apt to appreciate the advantages of the change. 
 In this respect this iron district differs from any other in 
 the country, and the relations of stone to ore burden 
 vary perhaps more widely than elsewhere. The ability 
 .of the furnaces to diminish at will the consumption of 
 limestone, places them in a very independent 
 position. If the price of stone is too high, they can run 
 on increased proportions of hard ore. If they succeed 
 in obtaining the stone at reasonable cost, they take off 
 hard ore and put on soft or brown. For instance, a cer- 
 tain coke furnace during a certain month last year made 
 about 5,000 tons of iron with an ore burden composed 
 of 50.9 per cent, hard, and 49.1 per cent, soft ore. The 
 total burden was as follows : 
 
62 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Hard ore ................. 27.7 per cent. 
 
 Soft ore ........... ..... . . 26.7 
 
 Limestone . ............... 15.5 
 
 Coke . . 30.1 
 
 
 ( i. 
 
 100.00 
 The consumption per ton of iron was : 
 
 Ore 2.36 tons (2240 Ibs.) 
 
 Stone 0.67 " 
 
 Coke , .1.32 
 
 4.54 
 And the cost per ton of iron was : 
 
 Ore $1.3-2 
 
 Stone 0.34 
 
 Coke , 1.83 
 
 $3.49 
 
 The consumption of coke per pound of iron made was 
 1.32 Ibs., and practically all of the iron was of foundry 
 grades . 
 
 Shortly before, the same furnace w T as running on 33.4 
 per cent, hard, 65.3 per cent, soft, and 1.3 per cent. 
 brown ore. The total burden was : 
 
 Hard 17.0 per cent. 
 
 Soft 33.1 * " 
 
 Brown 0.6 " 
 
 Limestone 16.9 " 
 
 Coke .32.4 
 
 100 " i 
 
 The consumption per ton of iron, of which something 
 over 4,600 tons were made, was, in tons of 2,240 Ibs. : 
 
 Ore 2.20 
 
 Limestone * 0.73 
 
 Coke 1.41 
 
 4.34 
 
THE FLUXES. G3 
 
 The cost per ton of iron was : 
 
 Ore $1.26 
 
 Stone 0.43 
 
 Coke 1.83 
 
 $3.52 
 
 The consumption of coke per pound of iron was 1.41 
 Ibs., and in this case also practically all of the iron made 
 was of foundry grades. In these two cases there was a 
 saving of nine cents per ton of iron by increasing the 
 proportion of hard ore and lessening the amount of 
 limestone added. The ore cost six cents a ton of iron 
 more than when the larger proportion of soft ore was 
 used, so that the net gain was three cents per ton of iron, 
 ;9 for the hard ore burden, and $3.52 for the other. 
 
 But with the lesser amount of hard ore the furnace 
 made 358 tons of iron more than with the greater 
 amount. This has to be set to the credit of the soft ore 
 burden. 
 
 Perhaps no positive conclusions can be drawn from 
 one or two instances, and as the whole matter will be 
 fully discussed under Furnace Burdens, it may be best 
 to defer any further remarks. 
 
 Enough, however, has been said in this chapter on the 
 fluxes to direct attention to the importance of the con- 
 siderations advanced. The future of the iron industry 
 in the State depends not on any one circumstance or con- 
 dition, howsoever vital it may seem, but upon the result- 
 ant of a number of forces, some of whose effects may be 
 at the present but dimly foreseen. It is possible that 
 the relation between bard ore and limestone, or dolomite, 
 is one of these. 
 
64 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 DOLOMITE AS A FLUX FOR BLAST FURNACE USE, 
 
 BY 
 
 ED. A. UCHLLNG, 
 (Proc.Ala. Indus. & Sci. Soc., Vol. IV, 1894, p. 24.) 
 
 Dolomite is the name given in honor of the French 
 geologist, Deodat-Guy-Silvain-Tancrede Gratet de Dolo- 
 mieu, to a carbonate of lime and magnesia in which 
 these two constituents occur in equal or nearly equal 
 equivalents. 
 
 The atomic weight of magnesium is 24, while that of 
 calcium is 40; but as each of these atoms is combined, 
 respectively, with an afftom of oxygen to a molecule of 
 the oxide, and each respective molecule of the oxide is 
 combined with a molecule of carbonic acid to form the 
 carbonate, and as the molecular weight of the carbonic 
 acid is 44 in each case, it follows that an equivalent of 
 carbonate of magnesia will weigh 84, while one of car- 
 bonate of lime will weigh 100. In fluxing power, i. e., 
 in the power to combine with silica and form a fusible 
 slag, these equivalents are equal, because the power of a 
 base to combine with an acid does not depend upon its 
 atomic weight, but upon its chemical affinity, from which 
 it further follows that 84 parts, by weight, of magnesia 
 have the same value as a flux as 160 parts of lime. 
 
 Pure dolomite is, in round numbers, composed of 46 
 per cent, of carbonate of magnesia and 54 per cent, of 
 carbonate of lime. Now, because the fluxing power, as 
 shown above, is equal, equivalent for equivalent, and 
 because there are as many equivalents of magnesia in 
 the 46 per cent, as there are equivalents of carbonate of 
 lime in the 54 per cent., it follows that 100 pounds of 
 pure dolomite are equal to 108 pounds of pure limestone 
 in fluxing power. 
 
 The dolomite which is available in the Birmingham 
 
THE FLITXES. l>.~> 
 
 district is of exceptional purity, both as to the foreign 
 matter it contain- ;ind as to the proportion of lime and 
 magnesia carbonate of which it is composed, viz : 55 per 
 cent, of the former and 43 per cent, of the latter, with 
 only 2 per cent, of foreign matter. The theoretically 
 pure dolomite should be composed of 45.65 per cent, of 
 carbonate of magnesia and 54.35 per cent, of carbonate 
 of lime. 
 
 The limestone of the district is vastly more irregular. 
 While there are some ledges of exceptional purity, there 
 are others that are entirely worthless for fluxing pur- 
 poses. The worst feature of these irregularities is that 
 the impure ledges make their appearance in all the quar- 
 ries thus far opened . For this reason it has not been 
 possible to get limestone that will average above 96 per 
 cent, of carbonate of lime, and 94 to 92 and even down 
 to 90 per cent, is not infrequently the average of whole 
 shipments. 
 
 We will take for granted that with the exercise of suffi- 
 cient care in the quarries, a limestone of an average of 
 not to exceed 4 per cent, of impurities can be furnished. 
 
 In de terming the value of a stone as a flux, it is not 
 only necessary to deduct the impurities it contains, but 
 in addition to that, as much of the base as is necessary 
 to flux these impurities. What remains only can be 
 considered as available flux, and has value in the blast 
 furnace. To get at the available flux, we must deduct 
 2 per cent, from the carbonate of lime for each unit per 
 cent, impurity in the stone. Taking the limestone at 
 96 per cent, of carbonate of lime and deducting from 
 this 8 per cent, to take care of its own impurities, we 
 have left for available flux 88 per cent, of carbonate of 
 lime. 
 
 As the average dolomite contains only 2 per cent, of 
 impurities and 43 per cent, of carbonate of magnesia 
 
66 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 with 55 per cent, of carbonate of lime, we will have, after 
 deducting 4 per cent, from the carbonate of lime, 51 per 
 cent, of this material, and 43 per cent, of carbonate of 
 magnesia. Reducing the carbonate of magnesia to its 
 equivalent in fluxing power of carbonate of lime, we 
 have, because the fluxing powers of the two carbonates 
 are to each other as 84 to 100, 
 43 x 100 
 
 84 
 
 x 51=102. 19. 
 
 The relative values of the two available fluxing mate- 
 rials of the district are, therefore, to each other as 88 is 
 to 102.19. That means that 88 tons of dolomite will do 
 as much work in the blastfurnace as 102.19 tons of lime- 
 stone. Put into dollars and cents, this means that if 
 dolomite can be bought for 60 cents a ton, limestone is 
 worth only 52 cents a ton ; or if limestone costs 60 cents, 
 dolomite is worth 69.5 cents a ton. 
 
 There is only one valid objection that can be brought 
 up against the use of dolomite as a flux in the blast fur- 
 naces, and that is that magnesium has less affinity for 
 sulphur than calcium has, and dolomite is therefore less 
 efficient as a desulphurizer than limestone, to the extent 
 that caustic lime is displaced by magnesia. 
 This objection, however, becomes quite insignificant 
 where the ores are free from sulphur, as is the case in 
 the Birmingham district. When a considerable propor- 
 tion of hard ore is used in the mixture, its lime, in con- 
 nection with what is contained in the dolomite itself, is 
 ample to take care of the sulphur contained in tlie coke. 
 
 One-quarter to one-half dolomite has been regularly 
 used in the Sloss furnaces for nearly two years, and, at 
 intervals, as high as three-fourths have been put on with 
 the best results. The ore mixture being half hard and 
 half Irondale (soft) at the city furnaces, and from one- 
 fourth to one-third brown with generally equal propor- 
 
THE FUELS. 67 
 
 lions of Irondale (soft) , and hard at the North Birming- 
 ham furnaces. 
 
 The coke used contained considerably above the aver- 
 age amount of sulphur found in the average coke of the 
 district. 
 
 The iron was of as good quality as could have been 
 produced with all limestone as a flux, and the furnaces 
 have worked more regularly than they did prior to the 
 use of dolomite. The assertion that the use of dolomite 
 has a tendency to make light colored iron is not sus- 
 tained by fact. Some of the most celebrated foundry 
 irons are made with all dolomite as a flux. The writer 
 had used it for years, while in charge of the blast fur- 
 naces of the Bethlehem Iron Company, prior to coming 
 down here, and experienced no difficulty in keeping the 
 sulphur within the required limits, even with ores con- 
 taining as high as 1.5 per cent, of that element. 
 
 The Illinois Steel Co. are also using dolomite exclusively 
 in their Joliet Works. They are doing very good work, 
 and have no trouble with the sulphur whatever. 
 
 The deficiency of dolomite to carry off sulphur is prob- 
 ably very much exagerated. There are impure dolo- 
 mites as well as impure limestones ; but when of good 
 quality and used intelligently and without prejudice, it 
 always gives good satisfaction. In addition to its supe- 
 rior fluxing power there is decidedly less tendency to 
 'hanging 1 with dolomite than with carbonate of lime. 
 
 To Mr. C. A. Meissner belongs the credit of having 
 first systematically tried dolomite with the Birmingham 
 
 THE FUELS. 
 
 The fuel used in the blast furnaces of the state is coke 
 and charcoal, 110 coal being used. There are no known 
 
68 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 seams of coal that could be used without coking, as is 
 done in Ohio in this country, and in Scotland, particu- 
 larly, abroad. 
 
 Coke . 
 
 There is, perhaps, no subject connected with the iron 
 business that gives rise to more discussion than that of 
 coke. There are so many different kinds made, and so 
 great diversity among them in respect of chemical and 
 physical properties, that it is almost a hopeless task to 
 attempt to set the matter forward in a manner satisfactory 
 to all concerned. Even in this State, which produces 
 about 10 per cent, of the coke made in the United States, 
 there is a very considerable difference in quality between 
 the various grades of this fuel. 
 
 This chapter is not a treatise on coke, nor is it neces- 
 sary to enter upon the subject beyond what is required 
 to explain the situation in the State. 
 
 Three kinds of coke are made here, from lump coal, 
 run of mines, and washed slack, and each of these three 
 may be 48 hr. or 72 hr. coke. Regarded in this way, 
 and excluding mixtures, of which there may be en'dless 
 variety, we have six different kinds to- wit : 
 48 hour 72 hour 
 
 Lump, Lump, 
 
 Run of mines, Run of mines, 
 
 Washed slack, Washed slack. 
 
 The ordinary practice is to use 48 hr. coke, anji per- 
 haps 90 per cent, of the coke is of this kind. The chief 
 difference between the 48 hr. coke and the 72 hr. coke is 
 in the strength, or the ability to resist abrasion and 
 crushing, the latter having somewhat the advantage in 
 this respect. 
 
 The following table gives the results of some experi- 
 ments undertaken to establish the crushing strain of a 
 
THE FUELS. 69 
 
 number of different cokes made in Alabama, together 
 with the analysis of the samples. 
 
 It will be seen that the 72 hr. is "a good^deal stronger 
 than the 48 hr. coke made from the same coal. The table 
 is taken from the writer's article in the Proc. Ala. In- 
 dustrial and Scientific Society, 1892, Vol: I, p. 17 : 
 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 hing Strain Pounds 
 Per Square Inch. 
 
 A 
 
 * Si) 
 
 - 
 
 <M T< COi-H < 
 
 -- 
 
 30) D- - <U a3 
 
 pqp^ pq 
 
 uoq.ro Q 
 
 CO 
 
 | 
 
 <j 
 | 
 
 qsy 
 
 O r-t T-H Q CM O O 
 
 CD "O *O O 1 
 
 O^ rH O5 OO 
 
 OOOiOiOiOOtOiOOOOiO 
 O5 C^ ^^ C'J T I ^t 1 00 "^ T-H GO T H C^l <O 
 
 rfi "CO CO h ^^ CD C5 JO <M CO W CO CO 
 OiCSOOOOOOOOOOOOCCOOOOOSOO 
 
 Q 
 
 ^ 
 
THE FUELS. 71 
 
 Some work has been done in the direction of determin- 
 ing the apparent and the true specific gravity, the per- 
 centage of cells by volume, and the volume of cells in 
 100 parts, by weight, of the coke. The investigations 
 are still in progress, but it may be as well to give here 
 the results already reached. They are averages of a 
 considerable number of determinations, and the coke 
 was in every case 48 hr. bee-hive ; coal not crushed : 
 Coke App. sp. True % of Vol. of Ash. 
 gr. sp. gr. cells by cells in 
 Vol." 100 pts. 
 
 Washed slack, 0.861 1.784 51.69 60.24 10.82 
 Run of mines, 
 
 same coal, 0.860 1.829 52.88 61.35 15.00 
 
 There does not appear to be any regularity in the re- 
 lation between the ash and the percentage of cells by 
 volume, or the volume of cells in 100 parts, by weight, 
 of the coke, basing this opinion on some 30 determina- 
 tions. A larger number may modify this conclusion. 
 
 In regard to another important quality of coke, viz., 
 its ability to resist, at red heat, the dissolving action of 
 carbonic acid, very little information has been gathered. 
 It must be remembered that the scientific study of the 
 materials used for iron making in this state is still in its 
 infancy. The routine furnace work precludes, to a great 
 extent, any excursions into fields which, although at- 
 tractive, do not seem to those who pay the bills suffi- 
 ciently promising for immediate cultivation. What has 
 been done in the last few years is, however, very en- 
 couraging, and we are constrained to hope that the next 
 few years will witness the extension of scientific investi- 
 gations in many directions at present closed. 
 
 The average composition of the coke used in the blast 
 furnaces may be stated as follows : 
 
72 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Coke from Run of Mines Coal. 
 
 PER CENT. 
 
 Moisture . 75 
 
 Volatite and combustible matter . 75 
 
 Fired carbon 84 . 50 
 
 Ash., 14.00 
 
 100.00 
 Sulphur 0.901.60 per cent. 
 
 Coke from Washed Slack. 
 
 Moisture .' . 75 
 
 Volatile and combustible matter . 75 
 
 Fixed carbon 88 . 50 
 
 Ash 10.00 
 
 100.00 
 Sulphur . 801 . 10 per cent. 
 
 Coke from Lump Coal. 
 
 Moisture . 75 
 
 Volatile and combustible matter . 75 
 
 Fixed carbon 87 . 00 
 
 Ash 11.50 
 
 100.00 
 Sulphur 1 . 00 1 . 30 per cent. 
 
 In chemical composition there does not seem to^be any 
 material difference between the 48 hr. and the 72 hr. 
 coke. 
 
 The composition of the ash of the various cokes in use 
 may be given^as follows : 
 
 I Run of Mines . 
 
 PER CENT. 
 
 Silica.. ..47.03 
 
THE FUELS. 73 
 
 Ferric oxide 12 . 46 
 
 Alumina 33.62 
 
 Lime 1.53 
 
 Magnesia 1 . 69 
 
 Sulphur 0.75 
 
 Washed Slack. 
 
 Silica 45.10 
 
 Ferric oxide '. 12 . 32 
 
 Alumina 31.60 
 
 Lime 1.50 
 
 Magnesia Trace. 
 
 Sulphur . 50 
 
 Lump. 
 
 Silica 46.00 
 
 Ferric oxide 12 . 00 
 
 Alumina 32 . 00 
 
 Lime 1 . 00 
 
 Magnesia . 50 
 
 Sulphur 0.60 
 
 It would be interesting to know if the amount of ash 
 and its composition influenced the strength of the coke, 
 or whether the treatment of the coal, prior to charging 
 the ovens, and the duration and temperature of the pro- 
 cess should alone be looked to in explanation of this 
 point. 
 
 It does not seem probable that the amount of ash or 
 its composition, per se, would influence the strength of 
 the coke as much as the distribution of the ash constitu- 
 ents in the coal. 
 
 That is, if the coal was finely pulverized before charg- 
 ing there would be a more equable distribution of the 
 ash-constituents with consequent uniformity of composi- 
 tion in the coke. But uniformity of composition, how- 
 ever desirable, does not necessarily imply increase in 
 strength. Granting that there would be increase in 
 
74 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 strength is this effect beneficial when the coke is already 
 strong enough? If the coke made from any coal, with- 
 out pulverizing, were already strong enough , the only 
 advantage in pulverizing would be in the greater uni- 
 formity of composition. But some coals do not yield 
 strong coke unless they are pulverized. Whether this is 
 due to the irregularity of the distribution of the ash, or 
 the bituminous matter, or the relation between the cok- 
 ing and the non-coking constituents of the coal, is not 
 known. When, however, such coals are pulverized they 
 often make excellent coke. 
 
 The composition of the ash of coke, by affecting its 
 fusibility, may affect also its strength, the size and shape 
 of the cells and the thickness of the cell walls. But of 
 such matters very little is known. 
 
 It requires a great deal of time to make such investi- 
 gations, as well as skill and perseverance. 
 
 The composition of the ash of coal, whatever effect it 
 may have on the quality of the coke made from it, car- 
 tainly has an important bearing on furnace practice . It 
 must influence the fusibility of the burden, and to a 
 greater or lesser degree affect the consumption of lime- 
 stone, whether this be the carbonate of lime in the hard 
 ore, or extra stone. The more acid the ash the more 
 base is required for fluxing. 
 
 The amount of coke used per ton of iron varies, of 
 course, with the nature of the coke, and of the other 
 constituents of the burden ; with the kind of iron made, 
 the shape and size of the furnace, the rate of driving, 
 and other circumstances grouped generally under the 
 term ' 'furnace practice ". The range is from 1.16 to 
 1.72 tons of 2240 pounds. From an examination of 
 150.QOO tons of iron made from 1890 to 1895 under vary- 
 ing conditions the lowest consumption for a period of 
 one month w,as 1.16 tons per ton of iron. In this par- 
 ticular case the furnace was working on all brown ore, 
 
THE FUELS. 75 
 
 the burden being composed of brown ore 52.9, 
 limestone 20.4, and coke 26.7. The tons of iron 
 made per charge was 1.53 tons, number of charges 1802, 
 total iron made 2766 tons, of which 99.1 per cent, was 
 of foundry grades. The consumption of materials per 
 ton of iron made was ore 2.31 tons, stone 0.89 ton, and 
 coke 1.16. For further information regarding this case 
 reference may be made to* No. 1 table VII page 94. 
 
 The particular case in which 1.72 tons of coke were 
 used per ton of iron made was when a furnace was run- 
 ning on the following mixture, stated as percentages, 
 hard ore 53.7, soft ore 34.2, brown ore 12.1. The entire 
 burden was composed as follows in percentages, hard 
 ore 28.5 ; soft ore 18.2, brown ore 6.3, limestone 10.6, 
 coke 36.4. The iron made per charge was 1.88 tons, num- 
 ber of charges 1819, total iron made 3418 tons, of which 
 92 per cent, was of foundry grades. The consumption 
 of material in tons per ton of iron was as follows : 
 
 Ore 2.51 
 
 Stone . 49 
 
 Coke 1.71 
 
 For further information see No. 22, table VII, page 
 94. 
 
 The average consumption of coke per ton of iron may 
 be taken at 1.41 tons of 2240 pounds. This would mean 
 that for producing the 835,851 tons of coke iron in 1895 
 there were used 1,179,375 tons of coke and that 250,000 
 tons of coke made in the State during that year were 
 diverted to some other purpose. 
 
 The average for the best coke made in the State may 
 be taken at 1.30 tons of 2240 pounds for a ton of iron of 
 2240 pounds. A pound of iron has been made in the 
 State with less than a pound of coke, but for a very lim- 
 ited period. 
 
 This matter will be taken up more fully in the chap- 
 ter on Furnace Burdens, as tables have been prepared 
 
76 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 based on more than 83,000 charges and an iron produc- 
 tion of nearly 150,000 tons over a period of several 
 years. 
 
 There has been a notable decrease in the con- 
 sumption of coke per ton of iron since the introduction 
 of coke made from washed slack coal. It is much su- 
 perior to ordinary coke both in structure and composi- 
 tion, and might be still further improved by pulverizing 
 the coal before charging the oven, as in this way a bet- 
 ter distribution of the ash is rendered possible as* well as 
 a stronger coke. 
 
 No constituent of the burden responds as readily to 
 variations in furnace practice as coke. It forms gener- 
 ally more than a third of the burden, and always more 
 than half of the total cost of the materials entering into 
 a ton of iron is chargeable to coke. It is not only the 
 most costly single ingredient it is more costly than the 
 ore and the stone taken together. 
 
 Economy in the use of coke is, therefore, the most 
 important economy that can be set on foot and carried 
 out in connection with the manufacture of pig iron in 
 this state. Better ore and better stone are needed if there 
 is to be no better coke. To improve the ore and the 
 stone is to increase the yield of iron per charge, and to 
 decrease the consumption of the most costly material 
 entering the furnace, i. e. coke. 
 
 The following table gives a bird's eye view of the coke 
 industry in Alabama from 1880 to the close of 1895, and 
 is compiled from the reports of Joseph D . Weetfs to the 
 United States Geological Survey, Div. Mineral Resources, 
 
THE FUELS. 
 
 77 
 
 TABLE IV. 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 a 
 
 Ovens. 
 
 g 
 
 
 -- Value of Coke. 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 EH 
 
 o 
 9 
 
 8 C 
 
 
 ~ 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 "8 
 
 ~ ~- 
 
 
 
 
 IE 
 =3 
 
 Built. 
 
 Building. 
 
 GO 
 P 
 
 1 
 
 -. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 j ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 H 
 
 (2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 1880 
 
 4 316 
 
 100 
 
 106,283 
 
 60,781 
 
 57 
 
 t 183,063 ! 3.01 
 
 1881 
 
 4 416 
 
 120 
 
 184,881 
 
 109,033 
 
 59 
 
 326,8193.00 
 
 1882 
 
 5 536 
 
 
 261,839 
 
 152,940 
 
 58 
 
 425,9402.79 
 
 1883 
 
 6 767 
 
 122 
 
 359,699, 217,531 
 
 60 
 
 598,4732.75 
 
 1884 
 
 8 976 
 
 242 
 
 413,184 244,009 
 
 60 
 
 609,1852.50 
 
 1885 
 
 11 
 
 1.075 
 
 16 
 
 507,934 
 
 301,1* 
 
 755,6452 50 
 
 1886 
 
 14 
 
 1,301 
 
 1,012 ' 635,120 
 
 375,054 59 
 
 993,302 
 
 2.65 
 
 1887 
 
 15 
 
 1,555 
 
 1,362 550,047 
 
 325,020 5li 
 
 775,0902.39 
 
 L888 
 
 IS 
 
 2,475 
 
 406 848,608 
 
 508,511 
 
 60 
 
 1,189,5792.34 
 
 1889 19 
 
 3,944 
 
 427 
 
 1,746,277 
 
 1,030,510 
 
 59 
 
 2,372,417 
 
 2.30 
 
 1 1890 
 
 20 
 
 4,805 
 
 371 
 
 1,809,964 1,072,942 
 
 59 
 
 2,589,4472 41 
 
 1891 
 
 2] 
 
 5*068 
 
 - 50 
 
 2,144,277 
 
 1,282,496 
 
 60 
 
 2,986,242 
 
 2.33 
 
 1892 
 
 2'i 
 
 5,320 
 
 90 
 
 2,585,966) 1,501,571 
 
 58 
 
 3,464.623 
 
 2.31 
 
 1893|23 
 
 5,548 
 
 60 
 
 2,015,398 1,168,085 
 
 58 
 
 2,648,632 
 
 2 27 
 
 1894 
 
 22 
 
 5,551 
 
 50 
 
 1,574,245 923,817 
 
 58.7 
 
 1,871,348 
 
 L' 25 
 
 1895 
 
 
 5,658 
 
 
 2,459,465! 1,444,339 
 
 58.7 
 
 3,033,521 
 
 2.10 
 
 The average value of the coal used in making coke in 
 1895 was 87i cents per ton. 
 
 A few years ago it was customary to use run of mines 
 coal for coking, but since 1892 the tendency has been 
 towards slack, both unwashed and washed. 
 
 To show the changes that have come about during the 
 last few years the following table, taken from the same 
 authority, is given here : 
 
78 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 TABLE V. 
 
 Character of Coal used in making Coke in Alabama. 
 
 i 
 K* 
 
 Run of Mine. 
 
 Slack. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Unwashed. 
 
 Washed. 
 
 Unwashed. 
 
 Washed. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Per 
 cent. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Pei- 
 cent. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 -t^ 
 c 
 PH g 
 
 Tons. 
 
 ?H +* 
 
 o> c 
 *g 
 
 1890 
 1891 
 1892 
 1893 
 1894 
 1895 
 
 1,480,669 
 1,948,469 
 2,463,366 
 ; 1,246,307 
 411,097 
 1,208.020 
 
 81.8 
 90.6 
 95.3 
 61.8 
 26.1 
 49.1 
 
 
 
 
 206,106 
 192,238 
 11,100 
 292,198 
 477,820 
 32,068 
 
 11.3 
 
 9.0 
 0.4 
 14.6 
 30.3 
 1.3 
 
 123,189 
 8,570 
 111.500 
 425,730 
 677,899 
 1.219.377 
 
 6.9 
 0.4 
 4 3 
 21.1 
 43.1 
 -49 6 
 
 1,809,964 
 2,144,277 
 2,585,966 
 2,015,398 
 1,574,245 
 2,459,465 
 
 51,163 
 
 7,429 
 
 2^5 
 
 0.5 
 
 The substitution of washed slack for unwashed run of 
 mines coal in coke making is very evident. Even so late 
 as 1892 more than 95 per cent, of the coal sent to the 
 ovens was unwashed run of mines, a little over 4 per 
 cent., on the other hand, being washed slack. In 1894, 
 the percentages were 26.1 and 43.1, and in 1895 49.1 
 per cent, and 49.6 per cent. 
 
 The use of washed slack enables the mine owners to 
 avail themselves of what would otherwise be of little 
 value, and to make a better coke of this material than is 
 made of run of mines coal. 
 
 EURNACE BURDENS. 
 
 Few considerations affecting the production of pig 
 iron are of more importance than the proper admixture 
 of thje materials from which the iron is made. Pig iron 
 is made from iron ore, coke, charcoal or other fuel, and 
 limestone, or dolomite for a flux. The ore contains the 
 iron mixed with various substances from which by pro- 
 cess of reduction, the iron is freed- Iron does not exist 
 
THE FUELS. 79 
 
 in ore as such, but is combined, generally, with oxygen, 
 and mixed with siliceous matter. To remove the oxygen 
 some form of carbon is used, such as coke, charcoal, 
 anthracite coal, or a kind of bituminous coal known as 
 splint coal. To remove the siliceous (sandy) matter 
 carbonite of lime (limestone) is used, or a mixture of 
 carbonate of lime and carbonate of magnesia (dolomite) . 
 These materials, the ore, the fuel and the stone, are 
 melted in the blast furnace, and there are obtained from 
 them pig iron and slag, or cinder. 
 
 Coke Furnaces. 
 
 The largest furnaces in Alabama are 80 feet high, and 
 19 feet 6 inches wide in the bosh, or widest part. The 
 greatest amount of pig iron ever made in a furnace in 
 one day in this State was 265 tons, and for its production 
 there were required 588 tons of ore, 62 tons of limestone 
 and 265 tons of coke, all of 2,240 Ibs. 
 
 It is by no means unusual for a furnace to make 200 
 tons of iron a day, and for this there would be required 
 480 tons of ore, 280 tons of coke, and 25 tons of stone, 
 if the proper amount of hard ore were used. The aver- 
 age number of tons of material handled per ton of iron 
 made is about 4.44 in coke furnaces, so that for the 
 835,851 tons of coke pig iron made in 1895 there were 
 handled 3,711,178 tons of material, of which 2,089,627 
 tons were ore, 442,176 tons were stone (limestone and 
 dolomite) , and 1,179,375 tons were coke. These are ap- 
 proximate figures. The amount of ore required to make 
 a ton of iron varies from 2. 10 tons to 2.87 tons, the aver- 
 age being close to 2.50. The average amount of coke 
 used per ton of iron made is 1.41 tons of 2240 Ibs., the 
 range being from 1.16 to 1.60. 
 
 The average amount of stone used per ton of iron 
 made is about 0.53 ton, the range being from 0.10 to 0.88. 
 
 The amount of each material entering the furnace per 
 
80 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 day is not a matter of guess, or of indifference, but is 
 carefully determined from the chemical analysis. It is 
 customary to fill the furnace and keep filling it by 
 " charges," each " charge " being composed for the most 
 part of ore, coke and stone. Thus, for instance, a 
 1 'charge "may be composed of 5,600 Ibs. of coke, 10,080 
 Ibs. of hard ore, 2,740 Ibs. of soft ore, and 620 Ibs. of 
 limestone, and the furnace will take from 80 to 90 
 charges per day, and should yield 200 tons of iron. The 
 proportion between the various elements of the charge, 
 as well as the total weight of the charge, and the num- 
 ber of charges per day, are all subject to change, but 
 unless there is urgent necessity the daily alterations 
 should be very slight. Having once established the 
 proper burden, it is not advisable to change it, nor is it 
 necessary to do so if the materials can be provided in 
 sufficient quantity and with sufficient regularity, and 
 uniformity of composition. But changes of burden are 
 very frequently made, so frequently in fact that the 
 necessity for them constitutes the greatest obstacle in 
 the path of successful furnace management in this state. 
 It is the lion in the way, unchained at that. In compar- 
 ing furnace practice in Alabama with furnace practice 
 in Pennsylvania, for instance, one is impressed at the 
 outset with the frequent and in many cases violent 
 changes in the burden in the first place, and in the sec- 
 ond with the large tonnage handled per ton of iron. 
 This tonnage is referrable to the raw materials going into 
 the furnace, and to the cinder which, of course ^ has to 
 be removed. This condition of affairs will remain as it 
 is now until better ore can be obtained, as the ore com- 
 prises about 56 per cent, by weight of the burden, being 
 more than the stone and the fuel together, and is subject 
 to wider variations in physical and chemical composi- 
 tion than either -the stone or the fuel. 
 
 In discussing furnace burdens, therefore, it must be 
 
THE PUKLS. Nl 
 
 understood that we do so with some reservations. To 
 present the matter briefly and in a general way, as be- 
 comes the character of this publication, and yet truth- 
 fully as far as we shall go, is difficult. 'Generalizations 
 can be accepted only with the. grain of salt, and should 
 be based on a certain set of conditions. Given these we 
 may derive valuable information, but to utilize them to 
 the best advantage one must know more than appears 
 on the surface. 
 
 It may be advisable to take up the subject first from 
 the standpoint of the coke furnace, and then discuss, 
 briefly, the charcoal practice. 
 
 We will divide the coke practice in*o two main heads : 
 
 1st. Burdens composed, so far as concerns the ore, of 
 hard ore and soft ore, the proportion of the hard ore ris- 
 ing from 48. 2 per cent, to 100 per cent. 
 
 2d. Burdens composed, so far as concerns the ore, of 
 hard ore, soft ore, and brown ore, the proportion of 
 brown ore rising from 1.30 to 100 per cent. 
 
 3 si. Burdens composed, so far as concerns the ore, 
 of hard ore and soft ore, the proportion of hard ore ris- 
 ing from 48.2 per cent, to 100 per cent. 
 
 In order that the same basis of comparison may be 
 used, we have taken the delivery prices of the raw ma- 
 terials as follows : 
 
 Per ton of 2,240 Ibs. 
 
 Hard ore 67.5 cts. per ton. 
 
 Soft ore 55.4 " " 
 
 Limestone 63.4 " 
 
 Coke $1.75 
 
 These prices are very close to the averages for ship- 
 ments during 1895. 
 
 The table that has been prepared is based on actual 
 furnace records, and comprises results obtained from the 
 examination of 32,917 charges, the amount of pig iron 
 6 
 
82 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 represented being 50,360 tons. The years selected were 
 1889, 1890, 1893, 1894 and 1895. The tons referred to 
 are of 2,240 Ibs. The table includes the year, the priv- 
 ate number, the number of monthly charges, the per- 
 centage composition of tlfe ore burden and of the total 
 burden ; the iron made, per charge, and for each month, 
 and the percentage of foundry grades (including F. F. 
 or 4 F., but excluding Gray Forge, mottled and white); 
 the consumption of ore, stone and coke in tons per ton 
 of iron made; the cost of the ore, the stone and the 
 coke per ton of iron ; the percentage distribution of this 
 cost ; and the pounds of coke required to make a pound 
 of iron. The calculations have been somewhat laborious 
 but the results are extremely interesting and important. 
 They do not cover as much ground as could be wished, 
 but the pressure of other matters compelled an abridge- 
 ment of the original plan. 
 
 We will give a table of results from the same furnaces , 
 consecutive months and at certain intervals. It con- 
 tains the results of 32,917 charges, and 50,360 tons of 
 iron. 
 
 Each horizontal line of figures represents monthly re- 
 turns. Four furnaces are represented, the ore, stone 
 and coke being the same for any one furnace during the 
 period, and all tons of 2,240 Ibs. 
 
I ' , 
 
 
84 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 fi 
 
 I 
 4 
 
 > 
 
 W 
 
 PH 
 
 ^ 1C 
 
 o -g 
 
 H T) 
 
 s S 
 
 ^ 
 
 PH 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 1 8 
 
 S a 
 
 5 o 
 
 ^ o 
 
 M 
 
 jo punoa 
 jo spunoj 
 
 '[^>X 
 
 Consumptio 
 Tons per ton 
 v iron. 
 
 auoig 
 
 35SS 
 
 (fl CO CO 
 
 COCO TJH 
 (M (M CN 
 
 o 
 
 9^00 
 
 8U01S 
 
 8.TQ 
 
 -unoj jo '^ 
 
 t>- O QO 
 
 -<f O Tt< 
 
 ^8 15 
 
 TTl 'M OS 
 
 CO CO CO 
 
 OC -M O5 
 CO t^ CO 
 
 odd 
 
 
 85(00 
 
 t-l- . 
 
 ! o| 
 
 9 o, S 
 
 !l 
 
 MOS 
 
 z 
 
 Q> 
 
 DH 
 
 pJB H 
 
 c = 
 
 So^ 
 
 Wog 
 
 P^ *^ 
 .po^S 
 
 CM QQ 
 
 ^"H 
 
 
 satoqo 
 
 
 jaqunifij 
 
 
 JB9j^ 
 
 (M CO < 
 
 ^^ ^ 
 
 OGC O 
 t 1 GO~ 
 
 l> i-l <M 
 
 05 O: CO 
 
 iSS 
 
 D05 I .-, 
 
 a 
 
 O5 O5 
 QO GO 
 
 
THE FUELS 
 
 85 
 
 CM t- CM t^- I CM 
 
 to * to to ic 
 
 OS 05 CM O I CO 
 
 COX^ CD IX 
 
 CM OS "Ft I CO 
 
 -* -<f O t I CO 
 
 X X X X OO 
 
 ~* 1C CO 
 COiOl^ 
 
 CO QO SC t 
 
 CO 1C CC CO 
 
 Cl -M CMCM 
 
 oo 
 
 00 tO CO Q 
 
 ti >o T co 
 
 1 QC t CM 
 
 CO b- O CO 
 
 CO t~ CO OS 
 
 dood 
 
 X X 
 CC CO 
 
 ^ -* Tt< 
 
 Tt< 
 lO 
 
 ^ CO-H iO 
 
 CO CO CO CO 
 
 CO -H i CO 
 
 iO CO ^ CD 
 
 ri rj c5 -ri 
 
 ~ ^ s* o 
 
 CO h- CD ^ 
 C"J >M *M CM 
 
 OS < I s - 00 
 
 Ss 
 
 OS OS T. * 
 
 tCCO^ I OS 
 CO C CO C 
 
 ICO 
 o' 
 
 Tf cs TT I CM 
 
 CM CM CM 
 
 o 
 
 O QC 
 CO >O 
 
 O O 
 
 t-H OS CO 
 CO CO CO 
 
 COO t- 
 
 do os 
 
 c 
 
 5 
 
 p I 
 d 
 
 s 
 
 X 
 
 CO CO CO I CO 
 
 OS Oi OS " OS 
 
 OC CO 'T'l I ^ 
 
 ic co ic I ^f 
 
 " fc. 
 
 X X tC I " X 
 
 X t OS X 
 
 tO tC tC I tQ 
 
 030 
 
 1 . I 
 
 CM 1C -71 
 
 OS ^ 1C I X 
 
 sis 
 
 coco 
 
 11 
 
 OO 
 
 0^ oc ^o j ' s ^ 
 
 ^ ~i ^ .j_ 
 
 2S2 S < 
 
THE FUELS. 87 
 
 A critical examination of this table will show : 
 
 1st. The amount of ore used per ton of iron made in- 
 creases with the percentage of hard ore in the burden, 
 rising from 2.39 tons with 61 per cent, to 2.52 tons with 
 66 per cent, and 2.78 tons with 90 per cent. 
 
 2d. .The amount of limestone used per ton of iron 
 made decreases with the increase of hard ore, falling 
 from 0.69 ton with 51 per cent., to 0.45 ton with 66 per 
 cent, and 0.12 ton with 90 percent. With 50 per cent, 
 of hard ore in the ore burden the consumption of stone 
 is 1545 Ibs. per ton of iron made, with 66 per cent, of 
 hard ore it is 1008 Ibs. and with 90 per cent, of hard ore 
 it is 269 Ibs. In one furnace for a period of three 
 months the consumption of stone per ton of iron was 
 0.75 ton. 
 
 3d. The amount of coke used per ton of iron made in- 
 creases with the increase of lump hard ore, rising from 
 1.34 tons with 51 per cent, to 1.57 with 66 per cent, and 
 1.61 with 90 per cent. In the case of one furnace car- 
 rying 50.6 per cent, hard the consumption of coke per 
 ton of iron made for a period of three months was 1.52 
 tons. 
 
 Coke is always the most costly ingredient of the bur- 
 den. In the table under discussion it does not fall be- 
 low 53 per cent, of the total raw material cost per ton 
 of iron. The tendency towards increasing consumption 
 of coke with increasing amounts of hard ore leads, there- 
 fore, to increased costs for raw materials in a ton of 
 iron. 
 
 The consumption of coke per ton of iron, the quality 
 of the coke, ore and stone being the same, depends 
 to a very great extent upon the amount of air and its 
 pressure and temperature, which is blown into the fur- 
 nace per unit of time. Instances are on record in Ala- 
 bama where the consumption of coke per ton of iron 
 with very heavy lime burdens over considerable periods 
 
88 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 did not exceed 1.25 tons, but the furnace was well equip- 
 ped as to boilers, engines and stoves. Under such cir- 
 cumstances it has been said by one of the best furnace 
 men in the Birmingham district that he could use all 
 hard ore (of the best self-fluxing type) and make iron 
 with 1.25 tons of coke without impairing the quality of 
 the iron. 
 
 It must, however, be said that the use of crushed hard 
 ore tends to diminish the consumption of coke, for hard 
 ore in large lumps is not easily penetrated by the redu- 
 cing gases. When a large piece, weighing from 50 to 
 75 Ibs. is exposed to the heat of the furnace in descend- 
 ing the outside of it is first effected. The carbonic acid is 
 removed, the oxide of iron begins to part with its oxy- 
 gen, and processes of disintegration are set up which 
 continue until the ore is broken into small fragments. 
 
 It may be assumed that t'he oxide of iron is not com- 
 pletely reduced until each piece is exposed to the deox- 
 idizing gases. This takes place with comparative rapid- 
 ity if the ore is porous, as with certain kinds of brown 
 ore, or if the fragments of ore are sufficiently small. 
 They must not be too small, else the current of gas is 
 checked, the burden packs and the furnace "hangs." 
 But if the size of the ore particles be small enough to 
 allow of easy gas-penetration while not so small as to 
 cause irregularities in the descent of the burden, we 
 should have comparatively favorable conditions for re- 
 duction. It would appear that the hard ore has .a two- 
 fold advantage over the soft ore , first as regards tne ad- 
 mixture of lime for making a self-fluxing ore, and 
 second in having the lime combined with carbonic acid. 
 The first advantage renders possible the saving of ex- 
 traneous lime. Using 80 per cent, of hard ore and 20 
 per cent, of soft ore in the ore burden there is required 
 582 Ibs. of limestone, as against 1680 Ibs. for 50 per 
 cent hard and 50 per cent, soft, a saving of 31 cents 
 
THE FUELS. 89 
 
 per ton of iron in favor of the heavier hardcore burden. 
 This saving, however, may be more than counterbal- 
 anced by the greater amount of ore and coke required 
 in the heavier hard ore burden. It may not be possible 
 to obtain better ore, i. e. so far as concerns its iron-con- 
 tent, but it can be improved by crushing. Crushing 
 does not increase the amount of iron but it does increase 
 the reducibility of the ore by enabling the gases from 
 the coke to act upon a larger surface of iron-bearing ma- 
 terial. It does more than this. It furthers the evolu- 
 tion of the carbonic acid in the ore, and this renders the 
 ore more porous. 
 
 Crushing and calcination have a common purpose, 
 TIZ : to increase the reducibility of the ore by increasing 
 the amount of iron-bearing surface exposed to the reduc- 
 ing agencies. 
 
 The use of crushed hard ore is rapidly extending in 
 Alabama, and it will not be long before the advantages 
 attending its use wiil force themselves upon those who 
 seem at present to be indifferent to the matter. 
 
 In a paper on ' ' Large Furnaces on Alabama material . ' ' 
 (Trans. Amer. Inst. Engrs. Vol. XVII. p. 141. 1889) 
 Mr. F. W. Gordon said that the results at Ensley proved 
 the possibility of making a pound of iron with a pound 
 of coke. Since that time and with a better coke than 
 was then used it has happened for a day or so that a 
 pound of coke made a pound of iron, but the coke iron 
 that has been made in Alabama with a ton of coke per 
 ton of iron is insignificent in amount, and there is no 
 reasonable expectation that it will be increased in our 
 day. The present consumption for the best coke is 1.34 
 Ibs. per pound of iron, and this is very near the average 
 between 1.41 and 1.25. 
 
 If any hopes were entertained as to the possility of 
 any one of the Ensley furnace making a pound of iron 
 with a pound of coke even for a week at a time they 
 
90 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 must long since have been abandoned in the cold light 
 of facts. 
 
 4th . The tendency of the percentage of foundry grad.es 
 of iron is towards a decrease with the increase of hard 
 ore. While this is not strongly accentuated still it ap- 
 pears to be too evident to be neglected. Individual cases 
 may be cited wherein the percentage production of foun- 
 dry grades during a month was higher when the per 
 centage of hard ore rose to 80 per cent, than when it was 
 at 52 per cent., as by numbers 34 and 20. But on the 
 other hand when the ore burden was composed entirely 
 of hard ore, as in No. 38, the percentrge of foundry 
 grades touched its lowest point, viz. 59.4. 
 
 The influence of increasing amounts of hard ore on 
 the quality of the iron is of the utmost importance in the 
 discussion of this subject. Too much stress can not be 
 put on it, for it determines the price at which the pro- 
 duct must be sold. The higher the percentage yield of 
 foundry irons the more valuable is the output. Any 
 thing, therefore, that tends to interfere with the make 
 of foundry iron should be most carefully investigated, 
 and conclusions drawn from authentic records must be 
 the chief evidence. 
 
 Thirteen cases have been examined, the number o? 
 charges being 32,917, and the amount of iron 50,360 
 tons. Three cases in whioh the percentage of ha.rd ore 
 in the ore burden was 50.9 per cent., 50.9 per cent, and 
 52.3 show the following percentages of foundry grades 
 respectively, 99.2 per cent., 96.2 per cent., 90.2 p|r cent., 
 the average being 95.2 per cent. 
 
 The total number of charges was 8,853, and the total 
 iron made 14,798 tons. 
 
 Four cases in which the percentage of hard ore in the 
 ore burden was 48.2, 50.9, 51.1, and 52.3, show percent- 
 ages of foundry grades, respectively, 83.9, 68.3, 88.6, and 
 87.0, the average being 81.9. The number of charges 
 
THE FIT ELS. 91 
 
 was 11,325, and the iron made 16,845 tons. 
 
 In these cases the average percentage of hard ore in 
 the ore burden was 50.6, as against 51. 3 in the first case, 
 while the average percentage of foundry grades was 81.9 
 as against 95.2. While there was a veVy small differ- 
 ence between these two cases in respect of the amount 
 of hard ore used there was a marked difference in the 
 percentage of foundry grades made, 95.2 per cent, and 
 81.9 per cent. 
 
 Three cases were examined in each of which the per- 
 centage of hard ore in the ore burden was 65.9. In one of 
 them with 1,508 charges and 2,970 tons of iron, the per- 
 centage of foundry grades was 95.7. In another with 
 1,343 charges and 2,615 tons of iron the percentage of 
 foundry grades was 87.8. In the third with 1,512 charges 
 and 2,898 tons of iron the percentage of foundry grades 
 was 93.2. The average of 4,363 charges and 8,483 tons 
 of iron was, in foundry grades, 92.2 per cent. 
 
 Finally, three cases were examined in which the per- 
 centage of hard ore in the ore burden rose from 80.7 to 
 100. . la one of these with 80.7 per cent, hard there were 
 1,805 charges, 3,315 tons of iron, and 93.8 per cent, of 
 foundry grades. In another with 91.5 per cent, hard 
 there were 1 ,995 charges, 3,901 tons of iron, and 83.9 per 
 cent, foundry grades. In the third with 100 per cent, of 
 hard there were 1.576 charges, 3,005 tons of iron, and 
 59.4 per cent, of foundry grades. 
 
 Averaging the results from the two furnaces carrying 
 about 50 per cent, of hard ore in the ore burden we find 
 that with 20,178 charges and 31,643 tons of iron the 
 percentage of foundry grades was 88.5. 
 
 Comparing this with the results from the furnace car- 
 rying 65.9 per cent, of hard ore, with 4,363 charges, 
 S.4S3 tons of iron and 92.2 per cent, foundry grades, 
 there seems to be an advantage of 3.7 per cent, foundry 
 grades for the higher percentage of hard ore. 
 
 Taking these two together and comparing with them 
 the results from the burden averaging 90 per cent, of 
 
92 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 hard ore there is found to be a decided falling off in the 
 percentage of foundry grades. 
 
 Perhaps all that can now be said is that there seems 
 to be a tendency towards inferior grades of iron when 
 the percentage of hard ore in the ore burden passes 66. 
 The smaller the yield of iron from the furnace the higher 
 is the percentage of foundry grades, and this seems to 
 be independent of the amount of hard ore carried. Out 
 of 8 cases in which the monthly yield was between 3,900 
 and 5,000 tons there were 37.5 per cent, in which the 
 yield of foundry grades fell below 87 per cent. In 5 cases 
 in which the monthly yield was between 2,500 and 3,1-00 
 tons there was only 1, or 20 per cent, in which tlu per- 
 centage of foundry grades fell below 87. 
 
 Whether we may conclude from this that rapid dr ; ng 
 on a hard ore burden tends to lower grades of iron is not 
 quite clear. Provided that the furnace has sufficient 
 engine power to furnish the requisite blast and stoves 
 enough to furnish the requisite heat there does not seem 
 to be any good reason why she should not work off on 
 foundry grades satisfactorily, even with a very heavy 
 hard ore burden. But to attempt to make high grade 
 iron with hard ore (limey) burdens and insufficient blast, 
 or heat is apt to cause numerous disappointments. 
 
 Ore burdens composed of hard, soft and brown ore, 
 the proportion of brown rising from 1.3 per cent, to 100 
 per cent. 
 
 The table embodies the results from 40,270 charge*, 
 and 66,653 tons of iron. The delivery prices for thera v 
 materials are as follows, per ton of 2240 Ibs. : 
 
 Hard ore 67.5 cents. 
 
 Soft ore , 55.4 " 
 
 Brown ore ' 1.00 " 
 
 Coke ; 1.75i << . 
 
 They are the same as for the table giving the results 
 from ore burdens of hard and soft ore, except that, in 
 addition we have brown ore. 
 
 They are not assumed prices but such as were actually 
 paid in the Birmingham District during 1895. Three 
 furnaces are represented, the ore, stone and coke being 
 the same for any one furnace during the period. Each 
 horizontal line of figures represents monthly returns : 
 
94 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 R ED O R E AND 
 
 WITH HARD AND SO 
 
 EKB? 
 
 KK FURNACE PRACTICE (BU 
 
 BROWN ORE. 
 
 w 
 S 
 
 2 
 
 Sof 
 
 Delivery Prices: Hard 
 ons of 2,240 Ibs. 
 
 ths. 
 
 Brown 
 
 $1.75. 
 
 Hard, Soft a 
 63.4 cts. ; Co 
 
 creasing Percentage of Brown Ore in Ore Burden o 
 Brown, $1.00 Stone 
 
 Sa 
 
 i -uo.il jo punoj 
 .I8G 85[OQ jo 
 
 
 O OC tO 00 r 1 O5 CD 
 
 I Q* 
 I w 
 
 QC 
 O O O i ( CS CO CO 
 
 i CO CM CQ O 
 
 T-H o o <M' o --< <M' 
 
 C^ O 00 O O O'CO I CO 
 
 H 
 
 t 00 QC O5 CO iM O 
 >-H CD QC 1C <M tO lO 
 
 
 85100 
 
 8^03 
 
 8JQ 
 
 O C i* CO CO -rfi ^3 
 CNJ Cvj <M c^ <M CM cvj 
 
 t QC C5 
 
 *f ^" CO 
 
 QC C5 O5 O Oi 
 
 ^ co co co co 
 
 "M >N (M gq *N T-l CN> I y 
 
 <x> a* i*- co" o c^ to i CN 
 
 jo -maojaj oloTgoTggS 
 
 ^itOCDCDtOCOCO It' 
 
 8JI .SSSS8_8 I S 
 
 O5 OC O5 t^ CO rH CC 
 CO CO tO OC CO t t^- 
 
THE FUELS 
 
 95 
 
 ~5fq*-' I ? 
 
 ocooo^: I 
 
 JTco cc --: i ^ 
 
 o c^coco QC i t~- 
 
 * ^*\ rr* I f~*) 
 
 "588S3 1 " 
 
 00 CS It- OS i CO ; 
 
 c6cof o ; 
 
 t4. 00 U3 
 
 co co i- ~ 
 
 Q ^ -- -- l 
 
 op^T ( ? ; r i : : rf^ I QO 
 
 Oi iC O CO 05 
 
 ^25^JJL 
 
 C d CO T C<l j -^ 
 
 71 ~T C5 6 Ci I P 
 
 4t< co _y_rl_l_^ i 
 
 - _ t^ CO'i-7 I- 
 
 OS Cj 
 GC t"^ 
 
 O 
 
 ^H co 1-1 co t^ ; 
 
 K-s r<^ QC ^4* ^** 
 
 ^Hri^zi,, 
 
 ~coeo"0 cc O 
 
 , 
 
 _ - i- w/- 
 
 a- - 
 
 > ~ 
 
THE IT 97 
 
 A careful examination of the table will sho , 
 1st. The amount of brown ore used per ton of iro^ 
 made varies from 2.28 to 2.49 tons. In 1880 the brown 
 ore was not as good as in 1894 and 1895, and the con- 
 sumption of ore per ton of iron rose to 2.49 tons, al- 
 though the average percentage of brown ore in the ore 
 burden was 16.3. 
 
 With 44.1 per cent, of hard, 52.1 per cent, of soft and 
 3.8 per cent of brown the consumption of materials per 
 ton of iron was in tons : 
 
 Ore 2.28 
 
 Stone . 74 
 
 Coke 1.38 
 
 4.40 
 and the cost of the materials was : 
 
 Ore $1.43 
 
 Stone '. . . . 0.47 
 
 Coke 2 . 39 
 
 $4.29 
 When the proportions were : PER CENT. 
 
 Hard 58.6 
 
 Soft 25.1 
 
 Brown 16.3 
 
 the consumption of materials was, in tons per ton of 
 iron : 
 
 Ore 2 . 49 
 
 Stone . 42 
 
 Coke 1.56 
 
 4.47 
 and the cost per ton of iron was : 
 
 Ore .$1.73 
 
 Stone , . 25 
 
 Coke 2 . 77 
 
 $4.75 
 
98 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 When tho proportions were : 
 
 Hard 16.1 
 
 Soft 23.1 
 
 Brown 60.8 
 
 the consumption, in tons per ton of iron, was : 
 
 Ore 2.41 
 
 Stone ., 0.87 
 
 Coke 1.30 
 
 and the cost per ton of iron was :' 
 
 Ore $2.03 
 
 Stone . 55 
 
 Coke.. . 2.29 
 
 $4.87 
 
 2d. The amount of limestone used per ton of iron 
 varies according to the amount of hard ore used, being 
 0.42 ton with 58 per cent, 0.74 ton with 44 per cent., 
 and 0.87 ton with 16 per cent. It may be instructive to 
 compare these figures with corresponding results from 
 an ore burden of hard and soft. With 48 per cent, hard 
 in such a burden, which is the nearest to 44 per cent, as 
 above, the consumption of stone in tons per ton of iron 
 was 0.79, as against 0.74 with 44 per cent, of hard in a 
 burden carrying brown ore. The nearest figure in the 
 hard-soft burden to the 58 per cent, hard in the hard- 
 soft brown burden rs 65.9 per cent., and this required 
 0.45 ton of stone per ton of iron, as against 0.42 ton in 
 the brown ore burden carrying 58 percent, of hard ore. 
 It is important to note that a hard ore burden with 
 100 per cent, of hard required no stone, while in the 
 brown ore burden with 100 per cent, of bro\^n the 
 amount of stone required per ton of iron was . 0.87 ton, 
 the highest consumption of stone to be observed in these 
 tables. 
 
 3d. The amount of coke used per ton of iron decreases 
 with the increase of brown ore, except in the case of the 
 
THE FUELS. Of > 
 
 furnace in operation in 1890, and using 58.6 per ca- 
 nard ore. In this case the consumption of coke was much 
 in excess of the returns for 1894 and 1895, and the gene- 
 ral increase of coke with increase of hard ore is borne 
 out also by this table. 
 
 4th. The percentage production of foundry iron from 
 brown ore burdens is impaired by increasing the amount 
 of hard ore. With 44 per cent, of hard and 3.8 per cent, 
 of brown ore the average percentage of foundry grades 
 was 97.7. With 58 per cent, hard and 16 percent, brown 
 it was 88.2 per cent. With 16 per cent, hard and 60 
 per cent, brown it was 96.9. 
 
 As might be expected from the more complex nature 
 of the burden the admixture of hard, soft and brown 
 ores gives rise to greater variations in the economies of 
 production than is the case with burdens of hard and 
 soft ore. The variations are traceable to the fluctua- 
 tions in the quality of brown ore, for they exhibit wider 
 ranges of composition than either the hard or the soft 
 ore. Then again in physical qualities they are apt to 
 show rapid oscillations. The condition in which brown 
 ore from the same mine and washer reaches the 
 stockhouse has to be observed personally before one can 
 fully appreciate what these may be, and often are. 
 When the brown ore "Bank" is in fairly good ore, and 
 the clay is easily disintegrated, and water is abundant 
 the ore comes in clean. When the clay is u tough," 
 the ore cherty, and the water scanty, the ore comes in 
 wet, and seriously hampered with clay, or with too much 
 insoluble matter. 
 
 In spite, however, of these obstacles, which at times 
 may cause trouble, the fact remains that the use of brown 
 ore is highly advantageous. There are very few fur- 
 naces that are not glad to get it, and now and then to pay 
 a good deal more than $1.00 per ton for it. 
 
 Instances are on record where as much as $1.50 per 
 
100 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 ton has been paid in the Birmingham District for brown 
 ore of 55 per cent, iron, although the^ average price 
 is much lower. Good brown ore always commands a 
 ready sale at fairly remunerative prices. 
 
 With the exception of a few furnaces that are not fa- 
 vorably located with respect to hard and soft ore, but 
 are within easy reach of brown ore, the proportion of 
 brown ore used in the coke furnaces rarely exceeds 25 
 per cent, and for the most part is not above 20 per cent. 
 The ore burden is arranged in various ways, 50 per cent, 
 hard, 25 per cent soft and 25 per cent, brown ; 40 per 
 cent hard, 45 per cent soft and 15 per cent, brown ; &c. 
 &c. 
 
 Under special conditions, such as a large order from 
 pipe-works, &c. the proportion of brown ore is increased 
 until the ore burden may be composed entirely of it. 
 But by far the greater amount of iron made from bur- 
 dens carrying brown ore is made with about 20 per cent, 
 of brown, hand-picked, and washed, but not calcined. 
 
 The practice could be greatly benefited by using wash- 
 ed and calcined ore but so far as is known not a single 
 coke furnace is in operation on this kind of material, ex- 
 clusively or in admixture with hard, and soft ore. 
 
 What has been said as to furnace burdens is true in 
 a general way. It is not our purpose now to go into the 
 details of furnace practice, nor to discuss the manner in 
 which the raw materials may be used to the best advan- 
 tage. This, after all, must be left to the judgment of 
 the furnace manager, which in turn is based on actual 
 experience under varying conditions. It not infrequent- 
 ly happens that one man will take the same materials 
 and the same furnace and produce better iron at a less 
 cost than another, whose theoretical knowledge may be 
 of the best but whose practical acquaintance with the 
 art of making iron has not qualified him to manage a 
 furnace successfully. 
 
THE FUELS. 101 
 
 There are excellent furnace-men whose knowledge of 
 the difference between silicon and silica is somewhat 
 hazy, and who would find it extremely tiresome to cal- 
 culate the cubical area of a furnace. The# have acquir- 
 ed their information by hard knocks and the exercise of 
 common-sense and a tenacious memory. AVe have in 
 mind now a good furnace-man who will probably die in 
 the belief that carbonic acid is a combustible material, 
 and who could not calculate the formula of a cinder con- 
 taining 50 lime, 35 silica and 15 alumina if he was to 
 suffer decapitation the next day. 
 
 Iron making is not only a science, it is an art, and 
 one too calling for the constant display of very consider- 
 able knowledge and skill, and of untiring patience. 
 
 So long as the furnace is working satisfactorily all is 
 well, but to know what to do and when to do it in case 
 something goes wrong, this is what makes or mars the 
 furnace manager. 
 
 A furnace may work along weeks at a time on the 
 same burden and produce its normal quantity of iron, 
 and that of a good quality, when some subtle change 
 may take place, discernible only by an experienced eye, 
 and what is to be done must be done at once. 
 
 There is one circumstance in connection with iron 
 making in Alabama that renders the daily life of a fur- 
 nace-man anything but " skittles and beer." It is the 
 wide and at times rapid variation in the quality of the 
 raw materials. The coke is of fairly uniform composi- 
 tion, but the ore is often quite irregular. 
 
 There lie before us certain furnace records giving the 
 daily charges of ore, stone and coke over a considerable 
 period. We will take a certain month when the make 
 of iron was 5,719 tons, 77 percent being foundry grades. 
 There were used 2,503 charges, during the month, a 
 daily average of 80.7. 
 
 The furnace was using 80 per cent, of hard ore, and 
 
102 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 20 per cent, of soft. During the 31 days the amount of 
 ore in tons per ton of iron varied from 2.62 to 2.19, or 
 963 Ibs. This was during the entire month. From one 
 day to the next there were differences of 600 Ibs. of ore 
 per ton of iron. In other words, if the furnace could 
 have been charged every day with ore carrying 45.6% 
 of iron, as was the case on one day, the yield of iron in 
 the month could have been 6,620 tons instead of 5,719, 
 a difference in favor of the better ore of 901 tons for the 
 month. The daily production of iron could have been 
 213 tons instead of 184 tons. 
 
 Furthermore. Not only is the daily yield of the fur- 
 nace seriously hampered by such irregularities in the 
 ore, the percentage of foundry iron in the make is also 
 lessened, and there are opportunities for an increased 
 consumption of coke and greater costs of production. 
 
 In burdening a furnace it is in every way better to 
 to have a leaner ore of regular composition than a richer 
 ore of variable and varying composition. 
 
 There would be fewer and more restricted variations 
 in the cost accounts, and less interference with the pro- 
 duction of the better grades of iron in the one case than 
 in the other. 
 
 The question of securing ore of morecontant composi- 
 tion is one that can not be brought too forcibly to the 
 attention of iron makers in Alabama. It dominates all 
 other considerations, and is to-d'ay the most vital prob- 
 lem confronting them. No other single question is at 
 once so important and so little studied, the interest in it 
 seeming to be in inverse proportion to its gravity! 
 
 Charcoal Furnace Burdens. 
 
 The production of charcoal iron is diminishing in this 
 State, partly because of the increasing proportion of 
 coke iron going to car- wheels and such products, and 
 partly because of the increasing cost of charcoal. The 
 
THE FUELS. 103 
 
 reputation of the charcoal iron mode in the State has 
 been most excellent, especially that of Shelby furnaces, 
 and even now in these times of depression the Shelby 
 iron is sought for by those who still desire a high grade 
 charcoal iron. 
 
 The charcoal used is made for the most part in the 
 old way, in mounds and heaps, the attempt to recover by 
 products in specially constructed kilns being confined to 
 the Round Mountain Company in Cherokee county. 
 
 By far the greater amount of charcoal iron is derived 
 from the brown ores, the consumption of ore per ton of 
 iron being from 1.80 to 2.03 tons. 
 
 The following table exhibits the furnace burdens in 
 good practice over a period of 4 months , with brown 
 ore : 
 
104 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Q 
 
 > i 
 
 H 
 Q 
 
 << 
 P^ 
 PH 
 
 K 
 Q 
 
 O 
 Q 
 
 M 
 o 
 
 t i 
 
 HH 
 I I 
 
 > 
 
 PQ 
 
 Per cent, of Cost 
 Per Ton of Iron. 
 
 03 
 
 6 
 
 COCO (M * CO 
 05^ 10 CO 10 
 
 o3 
 
 I 
 m 
 
 I- -^l 5O CO CO 
 (N CO CO CO CO 
 
 i 
 
 t^ CO <7^1 CO T-I 
 C^ C^ S (M C<l 
 
 aAisnpui c 
 
 O$ I 'SOJsJ UO.TI JO 
 PI9l JO '11180 .T8J 
 
 o ^ t^ 02 1- 
 
 OO Q t-- OO CXD 
 t^- Ci O5 00 QC 
 
 uo.ii jo punoj 
 J9d I^OQ jo spuno<j 
 
 Oi CO CD O5 O^ 
 OS Ol O O^J C^ 
 
 dd-idd 
 
 1 
 
 IM 
 
 Q 
 
 e 
 o 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 -u 
 
 OJ 
 
 o 
 Q 
 
 I 
 
 Oi r-i CO t~CD 
 IO !> t^ CC 00 
 
 OO t^ t- t^ l- 
 
 s- 
 
 O 
 
 IO CO lO CO-^ 
 
 IO t- GO CO O5 
 
 CO IO lO lO 
 6; 
 
 o 
 c 
 o 
 -1-3 
 
 GO 
 
 ^Cl^CS^ 
 
 ddod d 
 
 ^E- 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 OO <M lO O CO 
 Ir^ t^ CO lO CD 
 
 <&- 
 
 CO 
 
 H ll 
 
 l 
 
 i.2 
 
 8-2 
 SSSg 
 
 ft .i 
 
 Q 
 
 'S 
 o 
 Q 
 
 CO (N 00 ! i I 
 O^O 8S 
 
 o> 
 
 I 
 
 OQ 
 
 ' -^i t~ O CO 
 
 CO CO CO CO CO 
 
 ddddd 
 
 o5 
 O 
 
 Tf! IO CO O O 
 
 00 OSOOOOi 
 
 rH i 1 <M i 1 rH 
 
 <D 
 
 1 
 
 A a 
 
 *<3 
 43 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 <M CO OS CO !> 
 
 i 1 lO OO C5 OO 
 
 r^ t^i^ oo t^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 45 
 
 "8 c 
 
 0) OJ 
 
 SPB 
 
 * s 
 
 g- 
 
 o 
 
 FH 
 
 # 
 
 P-I 
 
 " 
 ri 
 
 o 
 Q 
 
 O ^ lOi-H 00 
 
 s^^^i 
 
 0) 
 
 c 
 o 
 
 <t5 
 
 GQ 
 
 00 CO 05 CO <M 
 
 oi d d osd 
 
 r-l rH i 1 
 
 o5 
 Q 
 
 CM O CD X O 
 
 CO O 05 GO 05 
 1OCO kO 10 *0 
 
 J9qumx 
 
 CDt^OOOS - 
 
 ^ "* Tft ^ 
 
 avaA 
 
 rH rH r- 1 rH "^ 
 
 c o 
 
 <D _, 
 
 2 
 
 tA O 
 
THE FUELS. 105 
 
 According to these returns the average percentage, 
 furnace yield, of iron in these brown ores was 52.6, the 
 average consumption of ore per ton of iron being 1.90 
 ton ; the average consumption of limestone was 0.33 
 ton, or 739 pounds ; and of charcoal 100.1 bushels. 
 
 The ore was partly washed and calcined, partly merely 
 washed, No. 46 being washed and calcined. 
 
 Investigations that have been carried on for some 
 months, but which are not yet to be published, have 
 shown that there is a marked decrease in the amount of 
 charcoal required per ton of iron and a decided increase 
 in the output of the furnace consequent upon the use of 
 washed and calcined ore. This may not appear from 
 the examination of the returns of a single month, as for 
 instance in No. 46. But after comparing the same ore 
 under these different conditions, the other elements of 
 practice being the same, there is no room for doubt. 
 
 The charcoal furnaces have the' advantage over the 
 coke furnaces of much better ore, but their fuel is far 
 more costly than coke, and the percentage cost of the 
 fuel is considerable more than with coke iron. 
 
 Charcoal iron is worth more than coke iron, the pres- 
 ent selling price being about twice as much for the one 
 as for the other. The entire product is consumed by 
 manufacturers of car wheels, and those who make a spe- 
 cialty of tough, chilled castings. In the old days a 
 great deal of charcoal iron was used in boiler plates, but 
 the increasing use of soft steel for this purpose has grad- 
 ually destroyed this business, and very little of it now 
 goes to boiler works. 
 
106 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, &c. 
 
 Coke Furnaces in Alabama. 
 
 (From the Directory of the Iron and Steel Works in 
 the United States, Amer. Iron and Steel Assoc., Phila., 
 1896. Jas. M. Swank, M'g'r.) 
 
 Bessemer Land and Improvement Company, Bessemer, 
 Jefferson county. One completed stack, one partly 
 erected, and two projected. Fort Payne Furnace, Fort 
 Payne, KeKalb county, one stack, 65x14, built in 
 1889-90, and blown in September 3d, 1890, three Sie- 
 mens-Co wper-Cochrane stoves ; fuel, coke ; ores', red and 
 brown hematite ; product, forge and foundry pig iron ; 
 annual capacity, 27,000 gross tons; (formerly operated 
 by the Fort Payne Furnace Company) . 
 
 Bay State Furnace, Fort Payne, DeKalb county, one 
 stack, 65x14, partly erected in 1890-1 by the Bay State 
 Furnace Company ; work suspended in 1891 ; three fire- 
 brick stoves ; furnace may be completed by the present 
 owner, or it may be torn down and removed to Bessemer. 
 Company also contemplates erecting immediately, at 
 Bessemer, two stacks, each 75x17, and several hundred 
 coke ovens. 
 
 Edwards Furnace, at Woodstock, Bibb county, one 
 stack 70x15, first blown in June 10, 1880 ; remodeled in 
 1887 and 1890 ; three hot blast stoves ; stack to be torn 
 down and removed to Bessemer; formerly operated by 
 the Edwards Iron Company. H. F. DeBardeleben, 
 President ; Walker Percy, Vice-President; H.M. McNutt, 
 Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, A-C. 107 
 
 Clara Furnace, F. W. Roebling, Trustee for Bondhold- 
 ers, Trenton, N. J. Furnace at Birmingham, Jefferson 
 county. One stack 65x15.5 ; commenced building Feb- 
 ruary 9th, 1890; blown in August 23d, 1890; three 
 Massicks and Crooke stoves; fuel, coke; ores, brown 
 and soft and hard red from Alabama and Georgia ; pro- 
 duct, a strong low-phosphorous foundry pig iron ; annual 
 capacity, 22,500 gross tons. For sale. 
 
 Clifton Furnaces, Clifton Iron Company, Ironaton, 
 Talladega county. Two stacks : No. 1, 55x13, chang- 
 ing to 70x16, built in 1884, blown in April 16, 1885; 
 No. 2, 60x14, built in 1889-90, and blown in during 1891 ; 
 built to use charcoal for fuel, but changed to coke in 
 1895 ; six Cowper stoves ; fuel, Alabama coke ; ore, local 
 brown hematite ; product, foundry pig iron ; total annual 
 capacity, 72,000 gross tons. Brand, "Clifton." T. G. 
 Bush, President, Anniston ; Augustus Lowell, Vice- 
 President, Boston, Mass.; Paul Roberts, Secretary and 
 Assistant Treasurer, Ironaton. Selling agents, Matthew 
 Addy and Co., Cincinnati ; C. L. Pierson and Co., Bos- 
 ion and New York. 
 
 Gadsden- Alabama Furnace, Gadsden, Etowah county. 
 One stack, 75x16, built in 1887-88, and first blown in 
 October 14, 1888; three Whitwell stoves; fuel, coke; 
 ores, local red and brown hematite ; product, foundry 
 and basic pig iron ; annual capacity, 35,000 gross tons. 
 Brand, "Etowah/' Owned by Thomas T. Hillmari, 
 George L. Morris and Mrs. Aileen Ligon, of Birming- 
 ham. Idle, and for sale or lease. 
 
 Hattie Ensley Furnace, Colbert Iron Company, lessee, 
 Sheffield, Colbert county. One stack, 75 x 17, built in 
 3887, and blown in December 31st, 1887; three Whitwell 
 stoves ; fuel, coke ; ore, local brown hematite ; product, 
 foundry pig iron, annual capacity 48,000 gross tons. 
 Brand, "Lady Ensley." A. A. Berger, President; Wade 
 Allen, Vice-President ; J. V. Allen, Secretary and Treas- 
 
108 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 urer; A. J. McGarry, Manager. Selling agents, Lee 
 Chamberlain and Co., Columbus, Ohio. Owned by the 
 James P. Witherow Company, Pittsburg. 
 
 Lady Ensley Furnace, Lady Ensley Furnace Company, 
 Sheffield, Colbert county. One stack, 65 x 17, built in 
 1887-90, and first blown in April 25th, 1889 ; three Whit- 
 well stoves; annual capacity 45,000 gross tons. R. W, 
 Cobb, Receiver. Idle since June, 1892. 
 
 Mary Pratt Furnace, W. T. Underwood, Birmingham, 
 Jefferson county. One stack, 65 x 14, built in 1882, and~ 
 first put in blast in April, 1883 ; rebuilt in 1889; three 
 Whitwell stoves ; fuel, coke ; ores, local brown and red 
 fossiliferous ; annual capacity, 30, 000 gross tons. Brand, 
 "Mary Pratt." Idle. 
 
 Philadelphia Furnace, Florence Cotton and Iron Com- 
 pany, Florence, Lauderdale county. Main office, 330 
 Walnut St., Phila. One stack, 75 x 17, commenced by 
 the W. B. Wood Furnace Company in 1887, and com- 
 pleted by the present company in 1890-91 ; three Whit- 
 well stoves, each 70 x 20 ; fuel, coke ; ore, brown hema- 
 tite froia Lawrence county, Tenn. ; product, foundry pig 
 iron ; annual capacity 45,000 gross tons. Brand, "Phil- 
 adelphia." Abraham S. Patterson, President, Robert 
 Dornan, Vice-President; James Pollock, Secretary and 
 Treasurer. For sale. 
 
 Pioneer Furnaces, Pioneer Mining and Manufacturing 
 Company, Thomas, Jefferson county. Two stacks, each 
 75 x 16.5 ; No. 1 built in 1886-88, and blown in May 15, 
 1888; No. 2 built in 1889-90, and blown in February 
 22nd, 1890 ; eight Siemens-Cowper-Cochrane stovea; fuel, 
 Alabama coke; ores, red and brown hematite from the 
 company's mines near the furnaces ; product, foundry 
 pig iron ; total annual capacity, 95,000 gross tons. 
 Brand, "Pioneer." Edwin Thomas, President, and 
 Samuel Thomas, Vice-President, Catasaqua, Penna, ; 
 George H. Myers, Secretary and Treasurer, Bethlehem, 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, &C . 109 
 
 Penna. Selling agents, Matthew Addy and Co., 201 
 \Valnut Place, Phila. 
 
 Sheffield Furnaces, Sheffield Coal, Iron and Steel 
 Company, Sheffield, Colbert county. Three stacks, each 
 75 x 18, built in 1887-88 ; No. 1 blown in during Sept., 
 1888, and No. 2 blown in during Oct., 1889 ; No. 3 not 
 yet blown in ; Nos. 1 and 2 rebuilt in 1891 ; nine Whit- 
 Trell-Cowper stoves; fuel, Alabama and Virginia coke ; 
 ores, Alabama and Tennessee brown hematite ; product* 
 foundry pig iron; total annual capacity, 150,000 gross 
 tons. "Brand, "Sheffield." E. W. Cole, President, 
 Nashville, Tenn. ; Jerome Keeley, Vice- President, Phila., 
 George H. Berlin, Secretary, Sheffield; J. A. McKee, 
 Treasurer, Phila.; Samuel Adams, Superintendent, 
 Sheffield. Selling agents, Rogers, Brown and Co., Cin- 
 cinnati. 
 
 Sloss Furnace, Sloss Iron and Steel Company, Bir- 
 mingham, Jefferson county. Four stacks: No. 1, 
 82.25x18, built in 1881-82, put in blast April 12th, 1882, 
 and rebuilt in 1895 ; No. 2, 68x18, built in 1882 ; No. 3, 
 73x16.5, built in 1887-88,and blown in during Oct., 1888; 
 No. 4, 73x16.5, built in 1887-89, and blown in during 
 Feb., 1889; five Whitwell, eight Gordon- Whit well-Co w- 
 per, and three two-pass 18x70 stoves ; fuel, coke ; ores, 
 red fossiliferous, hard and soft, and brown hematite ; 
 ores and coal mined on the company's property within, 
 ten to fifteen miles of furnaces ; product, foundry and 
 mill pig iron ; total annual capacity, 200,000 gross tons. 
 Brand, "Sloss." Thomas Seddon, President; E. W. 
 Rucker , Vice-President ; W. L. Sims, Secretary and Treas- 
 urer; J. H. McCune, Furnace Manager. Selling agents, 
 D. L. Cobb, Louisville and Chicago; J. E. Cartwright, 
 St. Louis; Rogers. Brown and Warner, Phila.; Hugh 
 \V. Adams and Co., 15 Beekmau St., N. Y. 
 
 Spathite Furnace, The Spathite Iron Company, Flor- 
 ence, Lauderdale county. One stack, 75x14, completed 
 
110 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 in December, 1888, and blown in during Oct., 1889; re- 
 built in 1893 ; three improved Pollock stoves ; fuel, coke; 
 ores, spathite and brown hematite from Iron City, Tenn.; 
 product, spathite pig iron ; annual capacity, 30,000 gross 
 tons. Brand, "Spathite." (Formerly called North 
 Alabama Furnace.) J. Overton Ewin, Receiver; J. H. 
 Short, Superintendent. Selling agents, Rogers, Brown 
 & Co., Cincinnati. Sold Nov. 25th, 1895, to Louisville 
 Banking Company, Louisville, Kentucky. 
 
 Talladega Furnace ,<Talladega Furnace Company, Tal- 
 ladega, Talladega county. One stack, 72x18, built in 
 1889, and blown in October 5th, 1889; three Ford and 
 .Moncur stoves, each 62x26; fuel, Alabama and West 
 Virginia coke; ore, local brown hematite ; product, Bes- 
 semer, foundry and forge pig iron ; annual capacity, 
 40,000 gross tons. Brand, "Talladega." W. P. Arm- 
 strong, President;. George Dunglinson, Secretary; R. L. 
 Ivey, Treasurer. Negotiations now pending for the sale 
 of the furnace. 
 
 Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, Birming- 
 ham, Jefferson county. Thirteen stacks in Jefferson 
 county. Five stacks at Bessemer: Nos. 1 and 2, each 
 75x17, built in 1886-87; No. 1 put in blast in 1888, and 
 No. 2 in 1889; seven Whit well stoves ; Nos. 3 and 4, each 
 75x17, built in 1889-90; eight Whitwell stoves; No. 5, 
 or Little Belle, 60x12, built in 1889-90, three Whitwell 
 stoves. 
 
 Oxmoor Furnaces, at Oxmoor, (formerly called Eureka 
 Furnaces) two stacks : No. 1, 75x17, completed in July, 
 1877, and rebuilt and blown in during Dec., 1885*; No. 
 2, 75x17, first blown in in March, 1876, and rebuilt and 
 blown in during Aug, 1886; seven Whit well stoves. Fuel, 
 Alabama coke, made in the company's ovens ; ores, local 
 brown he-matite and red fossiliferous from the company's 
 mines ; product, foundry, mill and basic open-hearth pig 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, feC. Ill 
 
 iron ; total annual capacity, 361,500 gross tons. Brand, 
 "DeBardeleben." 
 
 Alice Furnaces, at Birmingham, two stacks: No. 1, 
 75x15, built in 1879-80,-and put in blast November 23d, 
 1880 ; raised to present height in 1890 ; three Gordon- 
 Whitwell-Cowper stoves ; No. 2, 80x17.5, built in 1883, 
 and put in blast July 24th, 1883; three Whitwell stoves; 
 brand, "Alice." 
 
 Ensley Furnaces, at Ensley. Four stacks, each 80x19.5, 
 built in 1887, 1888, and 1889; No. 1 blown in March 19, 
 1SS9 ; No. 2, December 1st, 1888; No. 3, June 5th, 1888, 
 and No. 4 April 9fch, 1888; four Gordon-Whitwell-Cow- 
 per stoves to each furnace. Brand, ''Ensley.' ' Fuel, 
 coke made in the company's ovens; ores, red and brown 
 hematite from the company's mines at Hillman, Red- 
 ding and Woodstock; product, foundry, mill and basic 
 open-hearth pig iron ; annual capacity of Alice Furnaces 
 113,000 gross tons; of Ensley Furnaces, 270,000 tons. 
 Total annual capacity of the thirteen stacks, 744,000 
 tons. N. Baxter, Jr., President; David Roberts, 1st 
 Y ice-President ; A. M. Shook, 2d Vice-President; George 
 B. McCormack, General Manager; James Brown, Treas- 
 urer; Andrew M. Adger, Secretary and Assistant Treas- 
 urer; H. D. Cooper, Auditor; Erskine Ramsay, Chief 
 Engineer: John Dowling, Superintendent of Bessemer 
 Division; A. E. Barton, Superintendent of Ensley 
 Division. Selling agen-ts, Rogers, Brown & Co., Cin- 
 cinnati, and branch houses; Matthew Addy & Co., Cin- 
 cinnati and St. Louis. 
 
 Trussville Furnace, Trussville, Jefferson county. One 
 stack, Goxis. built in 1887-89, and blown in in April, 
 1889; three Whitwell stoves; fuel, Alabama coke ; ore, 
 local red hematite ; product, fourjdry pig iron; annual 
 capacity, 30,000 gross tons. Brand, "Trussville." 
 < hvned by Messrs. Hogsett, Ewing and Thompson. Ne- 
 gotiations pending for the sale of the furnace ; if sold, 
 
112 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 stack will be enlarged to 75x18, and the capacity 
 increased to 60,000 gross tons. 
 
 Williamson Furnace, Williamson Iron Company, Bir- 
 mingham, Jefferson county. One stack, 65x13.66, built 
 in 1886, and first blown in in October, 1886 ; three Mas- 
 sicks and Crooke stoves ; fuel, coke made at Coalburg; 
 ores, red fossil and brown hematite; product, foundry 
 and mill pig iron ; annual capacity, 18,000 gross tons. 
 Brand, " Williamson." C. P. Williamson, President 
 and General Manager ; H . D . Williamson , Vice-Presi- 
 dent; J. B. Simpson, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 Woodstock Furnaces, The Woodstock Iron Works, 
 Anniston, Calhoun county. Two stacks, each 75x16, 
 built in 1887-89, and one blown in October 10th, 1889 ; 
 six Whitwell stoves; fuel, Alabama coke; ore, local brown 
 hematite ; product, foundry pig iron ; total annual capac- 
 ity; 72,000 gross tons. Brand "Woodstock." John D. 
 Probst, President, and George Glover, Secretary, New 
 York; H.Atkinson, Vice-President ; J. W. McCulloh, 
 General Manager, and W. L. Doane, Treasurer and As- 
 sistant Secretary, Anniston. Altering and repairing one 
 stack, to increase daily capacity from 125 to 165 tons. 
 
 Woodward Iron Company , Woodward, Jefferson county. 
 Two stacks, each 75x17, one built in 1882-83, and put 
 in blast in August, 1883, and the other built in 1886; 
 eight Whitwell stoves ; fuel, coke made from the com- 
 pany's coal; ore, red fossiliferous, mined within three 
 miles of the furnace; specialty, foundry pig iron; total 
 annual capacity, 100,000 gross tons. Brand, "Wood- 
 ward." J. H. Woodward, President ; Frank M. Eaton, 
 Secretary; Silas Hine, Treasurer. 
 
 Number of coke furnaces in Alabama, 39 completed 
 stacks, 1 stack partly, erected, and 2 stacks projected. 
 
 Annual capacity of coke furnaces in Alabama, 1,804,- 
 000 gross tons. 
 
 Number of coke and bituminous furnaces in the 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, &C. 113 
 
 United States, 256 ; annual capacity, 13,118,600 gross 
 tons. 
 
 Alabama has 15.2 per cent, of the total number of 
 coke furnaces, 13.7 per cent, of the total annual capaci- 
 ty, and produces 10.5 per cent of the total amount of 
 coke iron. 
 
 Dividing the period 1876-1895 into 4 sub-periods of 
 5 years each we have the following comparisons : 
 
 1876-1880, coke furnaces built 4, production in 1876 
 1,262 tons, in 1880 35,232 tons, increase 33,070 tons, or 
 28 times. 
 
 1881-1885, coke furnaces built 6, production in 1881 
 48,107 tons, in 1885 133,808 tons, increase 85,701 tons, 
 or 2.78 times. 
 
 1886-1890, coke furnaces built 29, production in 1886 
 180,133 tons, in 1890 718,383 tons, increase 538,250 tons, 
 or 3.99 times. 
 1891-1895, no coke furnaces built. 
 
 The greatest activity was displayed in the period 1886- 
 1890, as of the 39 completed stacks in 1895 29, or 74.5 
 per cent, were built during these years. It was not un- 
 til 1888 that the production of coke iron passed the 200,- 
 000 ton mark, and not until 1889 did it rise above 500,- 
 000 tons, and assume respectable proportions. The 
 year 1895 witnessed the largest production of coke iron 
 ever recorded in the State, 835,851 tons, excelling the 
 output of 1892 by 11 tons. 
 
 Of the 835,851 tons 387,793 tons, 46.4 per cent, were 
 made during the first half of the year, 18 furnaces being 
 ia blast June 30th, and 448,058 tons 53.6 per cent, ia 
 the second' half, 20 furnaces being in blast December 
 31st. 
 
 The 60,265 tons made in the second half of the year 
 in excess of the output during the first half may be 
 taken as representing the increase due to the upward 
 
114 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 tendency of prices which seemed to be genuine about 
 that time. 
 
 The production of coke iron since 1876 is given in the 
 following table : 
 
 TABLE IX. 
 
 Production of Coke Iron in Alabama. Tons of 2,240 
 
 pounds. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TONS 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 1876 
 1877 
 1878 
 1879 
 1880 
 
 1,262 
 14,643 
 15,615 
 15,937 
 35,232 
 
 1881 
 1882 
 1883 
 1884 
 1885 
 
 48,107 
 51,093 
 102,750 
 116,264 
 133,808 
 
 1886 
 1887 
 1888 
 1889 
 1890 
 
 180,133 
 176,374 
 317,289 
 608,034 
 718,383 
 
 | 1891 
 i 1892 
 i 1893 
 ! 1894 
 i 1895 
 
 717,687 
 835,840 
 659,725 
 556,314 
 835,851 
 
 Charcoal Furnaces in Alabama. 
 
 [From the Directory to the Iron and Steel Works in the United 
 States, American Iron and Steel Association, Phila. 1896. Jas. M. 
 Swank, Manager.] 
 
 Attalla Furnace, Buffalo Iron Company, Nashville, 
 Tenn. Furnace at Attalla, Etowah County. One 
 stack, 55x11, built in 1888-89, and blown in June 15th, 
 1889 ; iron stoves : ores, red and brown hematite from 
 Etowah and Cherokee counties ; product, car-whoel pig 
 iron; annual capacity, 18,000 gross tons. Brand. "At- 
 talla". Robt. E wing, President ; J. A. Cooper, Secre- 
 tary and Treasurer. 
 
 Bibb Furnace, Alabama Iron and Steel Company, 
 Brierfield, Bibb county. One stack, 55x12, built in 
 1864 to use charcoal ; re-built in 1881, and remodeled in 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, <&C. 115 
 
 1886 to use coke; returned to the use of charcoal in 1890; 
 re-built in 1892 ; warm blast ; ore, brown hematite, min- 
 ed in the vicinity ; product, car- wheel pig iron ; annual 
 capacity, 14,500 gross tons. Brand, "Bibb". T. J. 
 Peter, President. Selling agents, C. R. Baird & Co. 
 Phil., De Camp & Yule, St. Louis; Forster, Hawes & 
 Co., Chicago. 
 
 Coosa Furnace, Gadsden Iron Company, Gads- 
 den, Etowah county. One stack, 64x12, built in 1882 
 with material from the Vigo Iron Company's No.l fur- 
 nace at Terra Haute, Indiana ; first blown in May 30th, 
 1883; hot blast ; ores, local red and brown hematite; 
 product, foundry and car-wheel pig iron; annual capaci- 
 ty, 8,000 gross tons. Brand, "Stewart". (Formerly 
 called Gadsden Furnace) . A. J. Crawford, President, 
 Terre Haute, Ind. ; T. W. Stewart, Secretary, Treasurer, 
 and General Manager. 
 
 Decatur Charcoal Iron Furnace, The Decatur 
 Land Company, New Decatur, Morgan county. 
 One stack, 60x12, built in 1887-88, and blown in Feb- 
 ruary 23d, 1890 ; two Gordon- WMtwell-Cowper stoves ; 
 used coke as fuel for a short time ; ores, red and brown 
 hematite ; annual capacity, 18,000 gross tons. J. D. 
 Probst, President, and C. Y. Kent, Assistant Secretary, 
 Nsw York ; C, C. Harris, Vice-Prssideni : W. T. Mulli- 
 gan, Secretary, W. A. Bibb, Treasurer, John C. Eyster, 
 General Counsel, New Decatur. For sale, or lease. 
 
 Jenifer Furnace, Jenifer Furnace Company, 
 Jenifer, Talladega county. Central office, Anniston. 
 One stack, 56x11, built in 1892, and blown in December 
 oth 1892, taking the place of the old stone stack built in 
 1863 ; two Hugh Kennedy stoves ; each 45x16 ; ore, local 
 brown hematite ; product, car- wheel pig iron; annual ca- 
 pacity 12,000 gross tons. Brand "Jenifer". (One 
 stack, built in 1863, abandoned and dismantled in 1872) . 
 
116 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 John H. Noble, President, and John E. Ware, Secretary 
 and Treasurer, Anniston. Selling agents, Rogers, 
 Brown & Co., Cincinnati, and St. Louis ; C. R. Baird & 
 Co., Phila. 
 
 Langdon Furnace, (once known ' as Stonewall 
 Furnace.) The National Bank of Augusta, Augusta, 
 Ga. Furnace at Langdon, (P. 0. address, Rock Run 
 Station), Cherokee county. One stack, 42x11, built in 
 1873, and re-built in 1889-90 ; blown in in May 1890 ; one 
 stove ; ore, local brown hematite; product, car- wheel 
 pig iron ; annual capacity, 12,000 gross tons. Brand, 
 11 Langdon ". For sale. 
 
 Piedmont Land and Improvement Company, 
 Piedmont, Calhoun county. Commenced in 
 1890 the erection of one stack, 60x12, with two Gordon- 
 Whitwell-Cowper stoves ; work suspended in 1891 ; ex- 
 pects to complete stack in 1896. W. P. Smalley, Presi- 
 dent; J. H. Ledbetter, Vice-President ; R. L. Hurt, Sec- 
 retary and Treasurer. 
 
 Rock Run Furnace, Rock Run Iron and Mining 
 Company, Rock Run, Cherokee county. One stack, 
 54.5x11.5, built in 1873-4, enlarged in 1881 and 1892, 
 and rebuilt in 1894 ; warm blast ; ore, local brown hem- 
 atite ; product, car-wheel "pig iron ; annual capacity. 
 15,000 gross tons. Brand, ' 'Rock Run/' J. H. Bass, 
 President, J.I. White, Secretary, and F. S. Lightfoot, 
 Treasurer, Fort Wayne, Indiana; J. M. Garvin. Super- 
 intendent, Rock Run. 
 
 Round Mountain Furnace, (Formerly calle4 Round 
 Mountain Iron Works,") The Round Mountain Furnace 
 Company, lessee, Chattanooga, Tenn. Furnace at 
 Round Mountain, Cherokee cDunty. One stack, 45x9.5, 
 built in 1853, rebuilt in 1874, and remodeled in 1888 ; 
 cold blast ; ore red fossilliferous ; specialty, cold blast 
 charcoal pig iron for chilled rolls and car-wheels ; annual 
 
1TKNACES, ROLLING MILLS. AC, 117 
 
 capaicty, 6,500 gross tons. Brand, " Round Mountain." 
 L. S. Colyar, President ; Jo. C. Guild, Vice-President : 
 E. Shackelford, Secretary ; E. B. Pennington, Superin- 
 tendent. Selling agents, Rogers, Brown & Co., Cincin- 
 nati and branch houses; J. E. Cartwright, St. Louis. 
 Owned by the Elliott Pig Iron Company, Gadsden. 
 
 Shelby Furnaces, Shelby Iron Company, Shelby, 
 Shelby county. Two stacks, Nos. 1 and 2, each 60x14, 
 built in 1863 and 1873; No. 1 rebuilt in 1889; warm 
 blast; ore, brown hematite obtained on the furnace prop- 
 erty ; product, car-wheel pig iron ; total annual capacity, 
 40,000 gross tons. Brand, "Shelby." T. G. Bush, 
 President, Anniston ; B. Y. Frost, Secretary, and W. S. 
 Gurnee, Treasurer, 80 Broadway, N..Y.; E. T. Witherby, 
 Assistant Treasurer, Shelby. Selling agents, Matthew 
 Addy & Co., Cincinnati; C. L. Pierson & Co., Boston 
 and New York. 
 
 Tecumseh Furnace, Tecumseh Iron Company, 
 Tecumseh, Cherokee county. One stack, 60x12, built in 
 1873, and blown in February 19th, 1874 ; hot blast ; ore, 
 local brown hematite; annual capacity, 13,500 gross 
 tons. Brand, "Tecumseh." P. N. Moore, President; 
 S. J, Fearing, Treasurer and General Manager. Idle 
 since October, 1890; for lease. 
 
 Woodstock Furnace, Woodstock Iron Works, An- 
 niston, Calhoun county. One stack, 50x12, blown in 
 April 13th, 1893; rebuilt in 1880; hot blast; ore, local 
 brown hematite; product, car- wheel pig iron; annual 
 capacity, 11,000 gross tons. Brand, "Woodstock." 
 (One stack partly destroyed by fire in 1891.) John D. 
 Probst, President, and George Glover, Secretary, N. Y. ; 
 H. Atkinson, Vice-President, J. W. McCullough, Gen- 
 eral Manager, W. L. Doane, Treasurer and Assistant 
 Secretary, Anniston. May dismantle both stacks. 
 
118 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Number of charcoal furnaces in Alabama, 12 com- 
 pleted stacks, and 1 stack partly erected, annual capac- 
 ity, 168,500 gross tons. Number of charcoal furnaces 
 in the United States, 96 ; annual capacity, 1,098,550 gross 
 tons. Dividing the period 1876-1895, as under coke fur- 
 naces, into 4 sub-periods of 5 years each, we have the 
 following comparisons : 
 
 1876-1880 charcoal furnaces built, 1; output in 1876 , 
 20,818 tons; in 1880, 33,693 tons; increase, 12,875, or 
 1.62 times. 
 
 1881-1885 charcoal furnaces built, 2 ; output in 1881, 
 39,483 tons ; in 1885, 69,261 tons ; increase, 29,778 tons, 
 or 1.75 times. 
 
 1886-1890 charcoal furnaces built, 4 ; output in 1886, 
 73,312 tons, in 1890,* 98 ,528 tons; increase, 25,216 tons, 
 or 1.34 times. 
 
 1891-1895 charcoal furnaces built, 2 ; output in 1891, 
 77,985 tons ; in 1895, 18,816 tons ; decrease 59,169 tons, 
 or a little more than three-fourths. 
 
 Of the twelve completed charcoal stacks in 1895, 4, or 
 33 per cent, were built in the period 1886-1890, two in 
 1873, one in 1874, and the others as above. In charcoal, 
 as in coke furnaces, the greatest activity was displayed 
 during the period 1886-1890, although the activity in 
 coke furnaces was much more pronounced. Alabama has 
 72.5 per cent, of the total number of charcoal furnaces, 
 15.3 per cent, of the total annual capacity, and made in 
 1895 8.3 per cent, of the total production of charcoal 
 iron. 
 
 The charcoal iron industry has been declining {or sev- 
 eral years. It reached its maximum in 1889* with 
 98,595 tons. At that time Alabama was producing 17.1 
 per cent, of the total, and was second in point of pro- 
 duction. 
 
 The statistics of production are given in the following 
 table : 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, <fcC . 
 
 119 
 
 TABLE X. 
 
 Product of Charcoal Iron in Alabama. Tons of 2,240 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 YEA.R 
 
 TONS. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TONS. 
 
 1872 
 1873 
 1874 
 1875 
 1876 
 1877 
 
 11.171 
 19.895 
 29.342 
 22.418 
 20.818 
 22.180 
 
 1878 
 1879 
 1880 
 1881 
 1882 
 1883 
 
 21.422 
 28.563 
 33.763 
 39.483 
 49.590 
 51.237 
 
 1884 
 1885 
 1886 
 1887 
 1888 
 1889 
 
 53.078 
 69.261 
 73.312 
 85.020 
 84.041 
 98.595 
 
 1890 
 1891 
 1892 
 1893 
 1894 
 1895 
 
 98.528 
 77.985 
 79.456 
 67.163 
 36.078 
 18.816 
 
 Hot Blast Stoves in Alabama 1896. 
 
 t -E 
 
 i : 
 
 and 
 
 Mono UP. 
 
 (Jordon- 
 
 U'l.H , ,,ll 
 
 Cowper. 
 
 ~t 
 
 *- 
 >- 
 
 Kennedy. 
 
 .Mnssicks 
 
 0> 
 
 ^0 
 
 C o 
 
 5j J^ 
 
 Q 
 
 
 X 
 
 
 1 
 
 Sciinens- 
 
 Gowper- 
 Cockrane. 
 
 
 WhitweU. 
 
 
 
 r- 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 ^ 
 
 \f 
 
 . . 
 
 \i 
 
 -S 4 
 
 3| 
 
 :0 
 
 3 
 5 
 
 _ 
 
 ea 
 
 iff 
 : - 
 
 -*^ 
 
 g 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 
 525 
 
 
 c 
 
 D 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 = i 
 
 -_ 
 
 -^ - 
 
 ; *< 
 
 ft- ! 
 
 4J 
 
 a 
 
 <x> 
 O 
 
 ^ 
 
 P-H 
 
 6 
 /c 
 
 4J> 
 
 a 
 
 CD 
 
 O 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 6 
 tzi 
 
 
 
 1 
 I 
 
 6 
 * 
 
 -tJ 
 c 
 
 (D 
 
 Q 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 Y, 
 
 *3 
 
 B 
 o> 
 
 h 
 
 
 0H 
 
 
 64.4 H 2.2 81 22.8 2, 1.5 6 4.4 3 2.211 8.165 47.8 9 6.6J 136 
 
 Rolling Mills, Steel Works, &c., in Alabama. 
 
 (From the Directory of the Iron and Steel Works in 
 the United States. American Iron and Steel Assoc., 
 Phila., 1896, Jas. M. Swank, Manager.) 
 
 Alabama Iron and Steel Company (Formerly 
 Brierfield Rolling Mill,) Brierfield, Bibb county. Built 
 in 1863, rebuilt in 1882-83, and put in operation in 
 August, 1883; 10 double and 4 single puddling furnaces, 
 5 heating furnaces, o 18-inch trains of rolls, and 72 cut 
 nail machines; product, merchant bar iron and nails; 
 annual capacity, 12,000 gross tons. T. J. Peter, Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 Alabama Rolling Mill Company, Bi rmingham, 
 Jefferson County. Works at Gate City, Jefferson 
 county. Built in 1887-88 and put in operation in Feb- 
 ruary, 1888 ; 23 single puddling furnaces, 2 gas heating 
 
1*20 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY O5 1 ALABAMA. 
 
 furnaces, and 3 trains of rolls (18-inch muck and 8 and 
 16 inch bar); product, bars, bands, hoops, light T rails, 
 &c. ^annual capacity, 24,000 gross tons. W. J, Behan, 
 President ; W. H. Hassinger, Vice-President and Gen- 
 eral Manager ; D. M. Forker, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 Alabama Steel Works, (formerly Fort Payne 
 Rolling Mill,) The DeKalb Company, lessee, Fort Payne, 
 DeKalb county. Built in 1889-90; two 15-grosst on 
 basic open-hearth steel furnaces ; first steel made in July, 
 1893; 4 gas heating furnaces, 5 cut-nail machines, 
 (idle,) and 2 trains of rolls (one 2-high 32-inch revers- 
 ing and one 22-inch nail plate) ; product ingots, blooms f 
 billets and slabs ; annual capacity, 10,000 gross tons of 
 ingots. Fuel used, producer gas. E. N. Culiom, Presi- 
 dent ; H. A. Yeaton, Treasurer; S. C. Adams Secretary. 
 Owned by-the Alabama Steel Works, (incorporated) . 
 
 Annisto Rolling Mills, Anniston Iron and Steel 
 Company, lessee, Anniston, Calhoun county. Built in 
 1890-91 ; 12 single puddling furnaces, '2 large heating 
 furnaces and 2 trains of rolls, (3-high 20-inch muck and 
 3-high 12-inch finishing) J. K. Dimmick, President; H. 
 B. Cooper, Vice-President and General Manager; John S. 
 Mooring, Secretary and Treasurer. Owned by the An- 
 niston Rolling Mills Company. 
 
 Bessemer (The) Rolling Mills, Bessemer, Jefferson 
 county. Built in 1887-88 ; 24 single puddling furnaces, 
 6 heating furnaces, 5 trains of rolls (one 20-inch muck, 
 one 8-inch guide, one 16-inch car, one 22-inch sheet, and 
 one 26-inch plate), and 3 Siemens gas producers; prod- 
 uct, bar, guide, plate and sheet iron ; annual capacity, 
 27,000 gross tons. Owned by Morris Adler, of Birming- 
 ham, and others. Idle since the spring of 1891, and for 
 sale. 
 
 Birmingham Rolling Mills, Birmingham Rolling 
 Mill Company, Birmingham, Jefferson county. Built in 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, AC 121 
 
 1880, and first put into operation in July, 1880; enlarged 
 in 1887 and 1895 ; 11 double and 24 single puddling fur- 
 naces, one scrap furnace, 7 gas, 4 box annealing, 2 pair, 
 and 4 sheet heating and annealing furnaces, and 9 trains 
 of rolls, (two 8-inch guide, one 16-inch bar, two 18-inch 
 forge, two 24-inch sheet, one 26-inch plate, and one 24- 
 inch finishing) ; product, iron and steel bars, plates, 
 sheets, angles, round-edge tire, small T rails, fish plates, 
 &c. ; annual capacity, 70,000 gross tons. Fuel used, 
 producer gas and coal. Contemplates erecting an open 
 hearth steel plant (basic). James G. Caldwell, Presi- 
 dent ; Thomas Ward, General Manager; J. D. Dwyer, 
 Superintendent ; J. H. Mohns, Salesman. 
 
 Jefferson Steel Company, Birmingham, Jefferson 
 county. Built in 1889-90 ; one 15-gross ton basic open- 
 hearth steel furnace ; first steel made April 14th, 1890 ; 
 product, ingots; annual capacity, 8,100 gross tons. Brand 
 "Jefferson." (This furnace takes the place of one ex- 
 perimental Henderson open-hearth steel furnace built in 
 1887-88, and first steel made February 27th, 1888. For- 
 merly operated by the Henderson Steel and Manufactur- 
 ing Company.) Eugene F. Erislen, President; P. A. 
 Buyck, Vice-President ; McK. Thomas, Secretary, Treas- 
 urer and General Manager. 
 
 Shelby Rolling Mill Company (formerly Central 
 Iron Works) , Helena, Shelby county. Works started in 
 March, 1873 ; enlarged by present company in 1889 ; 10 
 single puddling furnaces, 3 heating furnaces, and 4 trains 
 of rolls ; product, merchant bar and band iron, and light 
 T rails ; annual capacity, 7,200 gross tons. Company 
 failed ; works idle for several years. Address, Joseph 
 F. Johnston, Birmingham. 
 
 United States (The) Car Company, Anniston, 
 Calhoun county. Chicago office, 1480 Old Colony 
 8 
 
122 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Building ; New York office, 45 Broadway. Built in 1884 
 and enlarged in 1888-89, and 1893 ; one single and six 
 double puddling furnaces, six heating furnaces, one scrap 
 furnace, two trains of rolls (one 18-inch muck and bar, 
 and one 10-inch merchant and guide), and five hammers 
 (one 6,000 lb., two 4,000 lb., and two helve) ; product, 
 car axles and merchant bar iron ; annual capacity, 15,000 
 gross tons. David Cornfoot, President, London, England; 
 Thomas Sturgis, Vice-President, New York; J. M. Maris, 
 General Manager, Chicago; 0. M. Stinson, General Su- 
 perintendent, Anniston. 
 
 Steel Works Projected. 
 
 Bessemer Land and Improvement Company, Bessemer, 
 Jefferson county, contemplates erecting an open-hearth 
 (basic) steel plant at Bessemer in the spring or summer 
 of 1896. 
 
 The Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, in 
 connection with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad 
 Company, the Southern Railway Company and private 
 persons in Birmingham,, contemplates the erection of a 
 large basic open-hearth steel plant during 1896-97. Lo- 
 cation not yet chosen. 
 
 Number of rolling mills and steel works in Alabama : 
 Nine contemplated and two projected. Of these, two 
 have basic open-hearth steel plants, and two more are 
 projected. 
 
 No steel was made in the state in 1894 or in ] 895. The 
 total amount made from 1888 to the close of 1893 will 
 not exceed 4,000 gross tons. ^ 
 
 Annual capacity of rolling mills, 173,300 gross tons 
 with one mill not reporting. Allowing 10,000 gross tons 
 for this one, the total annual capacity is 183,300 gross 
 tons. 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, &C . 123 
 
 Production in 189-1. 
 
 Xumber of completed rolling mills and steel works in 
 the United States, January 1st, 1896, 505; annual ca- 
 pacity, double turn, 14,763,920 gross tons. 
 
 Forges and Bloomaries. 
 
 Anniston Bloomary, Cherokee Iron Company, Cedar- 
 town, Georgia. Works at Anniston, Calhoun county. 
 Built in 1887 ; five forge fires and one hammer ; steam 
 power; product, blooms made from pig iron. Idle. 
 Wm. C. Browning, President, and J. Hull Browning, 
 Treasurer, 408 Broome St., N. Y. ; J. R. Barber, Secre- 
 sary and General Manager, Cedartown, Georgia. 
 
 Pipe Works, Car Wheel Works and Miscellaneous. 
 Bridge Building Works. 
 
 Southern Bridge Company, Birmingham. Works at 
 A vondale, Jefferson county. Highway bridges. Annual 
 capacity, 500 tons. 
 
 Gas and^Water Pipe Works. 
 
 Anniston Pipe Works, Anniston Pipe and Foundry 
 Company, Anniston, Calhoun county. Sizes from 3 to 
 30 inches. Daily melting capacity, 200 tons. 
 
 Chattanooga Foundry and Pipe Works, Chattanooga, 
 Tenn. Works at Bridgeport, Jackson county. Sizes, 
 from 14 to 36 inches, inclusive. Daily melting capacity, 
 125 tons. 
 
 Howard-Harrison Iron Company, Bessemer, Jeffer- 
 son county. Sizes, from 3 to 60 inches, inclusive. Daily 
 melting capacity, 300 tons. 
 
124 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Soil and Plumbers' Pipe Works. 
 
 Alabama Pipe Company, Bessemer, Jefferson county. 
 Sizes, from 2 to 6 inches, inclusive. Daily melting ca- 
 pacity, 30 tons. 
 
 Birmingham Soil Pipe Works, Birmingham Soil Pipe 
 Company, Birmingham, Jefferson county. Sizes, from 
 2 to 8 inches. Daily melting capacity, 10 tons. 
 
 Gadsden Foundry and Machine Works, Gadsden, 
 Etowah county. Sizes, from 2 to 6 inches. Daily melt- 
 ing capacity, 10 tons. 
 
 Hercules Foundry, E. L. Tyler & Co., lessees, An- 
 niston, Calhoun county. Sizes, from 2 to 12 inches. 
 Daily melting capacity, 50 tons. 
 
 Car Axle Works. 
 
 Peacock's Iron Works, George Peacock, Selma, Dal- 
 las county. Iron and steel mine car axles. Annual 
 capacity, 15,000. 
 
 United States (the) Car Company, Anniston, Cal- 
 houn county. Office, 1480 Old Colony Building, Chicago ; 
 45 Broadway, N. Y. Car and locomotive axles. Daily- 
 capacity, 120. 
 
 Car Wheel Works. 
 
 Decatur Car Wheel and Manufacturing Company, 
 New Decatur, Morgan county. Product, chilled, cast- 
 iron wheels. Annual capacity 75,000, Removing to 
 Birmingham. 
 
 Elliott i (the) Car Company, Gadsden, EtoJ^vah 
 county. Product, standard railroad car wheels. Annual 
 capacity, 48,000. 
 
 Hood Machine Company, Birmingham, Jefferson 
 county. Product, small tram wheels for mining cars. 
 Annual capacity, about 12,000. 
 
FURNACES, ROLLING MILLS, <fcC. 125 
 
 
 
 Peacock's Iron Works, George Peacock, Selma, Dal- 
 las county. Product, all kinds of small car wheels. 
 Annual capacity, 35,000 self-oiling and 15,000 plate 
 wheels. 
 
 Carbuilding Works. 
 
 Elliott (the) Car Company, Gadsden, Etowah county. 
 Freight cars. Annual capacity, 3,600. 
 
 Peacock's Iron Works, George Peacock, Selma, Dal- 
 las county. Mine, logging and other small cars. An- 
 nual capacity, 5,000. 
 
 Union Iron Works Company, Selma, Dallas county. 
 Logging, push, cane and other small cars. Annual ca- 
 pacity, 1,200. 
 
 United States (the) Car Company, Anriiston. Of- 
 ffices, 1480 Old Colony Building, Chicago ; 45 Broadway, 
 N. Y.; works at Anniston and New Decatur. Annual 
 capacity, 4,500 freight cars at each place. 
 
126 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 V 
 
 t 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 PIG IRON; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 
 
 THE PIG IRON MARKET ; ITS EXTENT AND How TO IM- 
 PROVE IT. 
 
 BY 
 JAMES BOWRON, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 (Proc. Ala. Indust. and Sci. Soc. Vol. V, 1895, pp. 30-35.} 
 The extent of the market for southern pig iron is very 
 remarkable. According to the statistics published by 
 Mr. Swank, of the American Iron and Steel Association, 
 there were produced in the year 1894, 6,657,388 gross 
 tons of pig iron, of which 120,180 tons were spiegeleisen 
 and ferromanganese, leaving 6,537,208 tons to represent 
 all of the iron produced in the United States for melting, 
 or puddling. There were also produced in the same year 
 4,412,032 tons of steel of various kinds. The production 
 of this steel would require more than a corresponding 
 number of tons of iron, so as to allow for the waste in- 
 cident to any method of conversion ; but as this is a 
 commercial and not a scientific paper, I am content to 
 offset the above mentioned tonnage of spiegeleisen and 
 ferro against the waste incurred in conversion, and sim- 
 ply to deduct the 4,412,032 tons of steel from the Avail- 
 able tonnage of iron, which leaves 2,125,176 tons avail- 
 able for foundry and forge purposes. This may be con- 
 sidered to represent the American market during the re- 
 stricted and unusual year of 1894, for the importations 
 of foreign pig iron were only 15,582 tons, consisting 
 mainly of Scotch, but including some Swedish pig iron. 
 
127 
 
 The production in Alabama in 1894 was 592,392 tons, 
 and in Tennessee 212,773 tons, being 805,165 altogether. 
 
 This production for Alabama represents 27.8 per cent, 
 of the entire consumption of the United States, of pig 
 iron apart from that used in the manufacture of steel ; 
 and for Tennessee a similar production of 10 per cent., 
 being for- the two States an aggregate of 37.8 per cent. 
 
 Without entering into any labored comparisons with 
 other States or districts, this percentage is quite suffi- 
 cient to show the commanding position taken by these 
 districts in the general foundry and rolling mill trade, 
 This is emphasized by the wide area over which the iron 
 is distributed. 
 
 I give at this point the two following tables, showing 
 the distribution by the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad 
 Company for the calendar year 1888, and for the twelve 
 months ending July 1st, 1895 : 
 
 1888. 1895. 
 
 Tuns of -2240 Ibs. Tons of 2240 Ibs. 
 
 Alabama 15,790 Alabama ' 89,054 
 
 Arkansas 122 Arkansas 308 
 
 California 150 California 842 
 
 Colorado 1,200 Colorado 158 
 
 Connecticut 1,505 Connecticut.. 1,950 
 
 Delaware 36 Delaware 360 
 
 Georgia 18 Dist. of Columbia. . 293 
 
 Illinois 16,193 Florida 60 
 
 Indiana 9,599 Georgia 1 ,910 
 
 Iowa 2,300 Illinois 38,736 
 
 Kansas 383 Indiana 28,047 
 
 Kentucky 19,808 Iowa 2,251 
 
 .Louisiana 588 Kansas 1,034 
 
 Maryland 268 Kentucky 48,376 
 
 Massachusetts 3,929 Louisiana 
 
128 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP ALABAMA. 
 
 1888. 1895. 
 
 Michigan 16,582 Maine 1,925 
 
 Minnesota 70 Maryland 4,748 
 
 Mississippi 155 Massachusetts 4,456 
 
 Nebraska.. . 234 
 
 New Jersey 1,820 
 
 New York 22,495 
 
 North Carolina... 15 
 
 Ohio 65,561 
 
 Pennsylvania 6,777 
 
 Rhode Island 818 
 
 Tennessee 13,184 
 
 Texas 221 
 
 West Virginia 387 
 
 Wisconsin . , 818 
 
 Total Domestic.. 224 ,634 
 
 Foreign in 1895. 
 
 Canada 2,034 
 
 England 250 
 
 Italy 17 
 
 Nova Scotia 40 
 
 Mexico . 357 
 
 2,698 
 
 Michigan 28,170 
 
 Minnesota 612 
 
 Mississippi 560 
 
 Missouri 29,851 
 
 Nebraska 276 
 
 New Hampshire. . . 295 
 
 New Jersey 31,965 
 
 New York., 44,690 
 
 North Carolina 1,102 
 
 Ohio 136,487 
 
 Oregon 685 
 
 Pennsylvania 27,215 
 
 Rhode Island 645 
 
 South Carolina. ... 57 
 
 Tennessee 30,368 
 
 Texas 1 ,605 
 
 Vermont 800 
 
 Virginia 580 
 
 Washington 50 
 
 West Virginia 18 
 
 Wisconsin 9,038 
 
 Total Domestic. . .570,212 
 Total Foreign 2,698 
 
 Total Domestic 
 
 and Foreign. .572,910 
 
 An examination of these tables shows the following 
 interesting points : * 
 
 1st. That the number of States consuming these 
 brands of Southern iron increased in six years from 30 
 
PIG IRON ; MARKET, GRADING, KTC. 129 
 
 to 39, besides the addition of five foreign countries. 
 
 2d. That the home consumption had so far increased 
 that Alabama moved up from 7th in progressive im- 
 portance to 2nd, and Tennessee from 8th to 7th. This 
 is a point of supreme importance, for notwithstanding 
 the fact that Birmingham iron ranges from Mexico to 
 Canada, and from San Francisco to Liverpool, it is obvi- 
 ous that distant markets can only be controlled by the 
 sacrifice of profits, and that it is to the development of 
 the home market, that can be reached without the pay- 
 ment of intervening freight charges, that we must look 
 for our profitable business. 
 
 Obviously, therefore, everything that producers of pig 
 iron in this district can do should be done to advance the 
 interests of rolling mills, pipe works, machine foundries, 
 <fcc., which are located beside us. We should advertise their 
 products, give them our patronage, become personaly 
 familiar with the character of their business, quality of 
 the iron they use, their methods of treatment, the stocks 
 they carry, and deliver to them the quantity and quality 
 of iron that will subserve their necessities. 
 
 There are three ways in which the market for Ala- 
 bama iron may be enlarged, namely: the development 
 of (a) the home market ; (6) the domestic ; (c) the for- 
 eign. 
 
 (a) For the enlargement of the home market it is 
 necessary for us to bring continually under the notice of 
 manufacturers in other parts of the country the advan- 
 tages which our cheap iron and coal, our mild climate, 
 and reliable labor afford. This is doubtless done at pres- 
 ent, with perfect loyalty to the district, by the gentle- 
 men who are interested in it, but necessarily in a manner 
 which is more or less desultory ; and if we had a well- 
 organized iron trade association the work might be done 
 continuously and systematically. Many of the largest 
 consumers of our iron have never been in the South, and 
 
130 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 their attention has not been personally directed to the 
 consideration of the removal of their existing plants, or 
 the establishment of new ones. A thoroughly intelligent 
 representative of the district might be sent 
 to call upon and make a presentation of our case to such 
 consumers at a distance as might be selected by the asso- 
 ciation. Facts and figures in the same direction should 
 be submitted in every case where a northern consumer 
 of our iron is burned out and compelled to rebuild. 
 
 It is needless to say that the chief direction in which 
 our efforts should be united, is to impress upon the pro- 
 ducers of basic open hearth steel the advantage to accrue 
 to them from the consumption of our metal at the point 
 of production, where, if desired, it can be furnished hot. 
 With the establishment of such a plant, works for the 
 production of boiler plates, sheets for tinning, bars, 
 structural and bridge work, wire rods, and railroad ma- 
 terial will readily follow. 
 
 (6) For the enlargement of the domestic market, the 
 most desirable thing to be done, in my judgment, is to 
 secure uniformity in grading and naming iron, and sell- 
 ing it upon terms of uniformity. It is very unsatisfac- 
 tory to the consumer in Canada or Minnesota to buy a 
 car load of forge iron for foundry purposes, and next 
 month to buy from another producer a car load of No. 2 
 soft and find that it contains less silicon and is less fluid. 
 
 It is scarcely too much to say that the whole question 
 of grading iron is assuming a more complex condition, 
 and if it is not in a somewhat chaotic state, the minds 
 of some of the graders have attained that undesirable 
 goal ! Harassed by the pressure of evil times and the 
 desire of consumers for something cheaper, the effort has 
 been continually made not to split hairs, but to split 
 grades in a corresponding degree of fineness. This 
 leads to an absence of physical or chemical lines of de- 
 marcation, and makes the question of grading depend 
 
PIG IRON ; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 131 
 
 
 
 more than ever on the individual opinions of the maker 
 and consumer, who naturally look at it from different 
 standpoints, and arrive at different results. This leads 
 to considerable friction, and in the long run Southern 
 iron gets a bad name. With the organization, as before 
 suggested, of a strong local trade association, the names 
 of the grades could be definitely agreed upon, and ar- 
 rangements made for at least monthly or bi-monthly in- 
 terchange of visits from one works to another, so that 
 the members might agree on the maintenance of a com- 
 mon standard, and correct discrepancies aud divergen- 
 cies from it. 
 
 (c) The question of developing a foreign market is 
 one which at some future day will be of very great inter- 
 est. When prices of Birmingham iron were at the lowest 
 notch, on April 1st, 18^5, it was then possible to put 
 iron for export f. o. b. ships at tide water in Pensacola 
 or Mobile Harbor, $2,00 per ton below the corresponding 
 value of the cheapest English iron, and it was found 
 practicable to lay down iron in Liverpool, grade for 
 grade, at less than the price of Middlesboro iron shipped 
 across England to that point. The facts also developed 
 that at those figures we have for Alabama iron an ex- 
 ceedingly good chance for competition in all Mediter- 
 ranean ports, very large quantities of iron being shipped 
 from England to Barcelona ; Genoa, Civita Vecchia, and 
 other Italian ports. 
 
 This iron may be shipped in conjunction with steam 
 coal or foundry coke. It would be an experiment of 
 somewhat doubtful outcome as to whether the coke 
 might, by the rolling of the vessel in an Atlantic voyage, 
 be unreasonably broken up in comparison with the 
 shorter voyage sustained by the English coke ; but, if 
 not, there is room for the shipment of Alabama coal and 
 coke, in competition with English, into Mediterranean 
 ports, although it is fair to say that there has not yet 
 
132 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 
 
 been a profit demonstrable in that business. 
 
 The main difficulty, however, in the development of a 
 European market for our iron is and will be the com- 
 manding of marine tonnage ; and any other business that 
 could be grouped with pig iron, such as the exportation 
 to Spain or Italy of coal or coke, or either, to Genoa, 
 Bremen or Havre of cotton will materially facilitate the 
 solution of the difficulty. 
 
 Whenever our prices for iron fall again so as to bring 
 them below the parity of English figures, we should com- 
 mence to work on ship brokers, and get in touch with 
 both regular established lines of steamers, and also 
 "'tramp" steamers and sailing ships. The same remarks 
 apply with as great force to the less importaht markets 
 of Bombay, Calcutta, Melbourne, Yokohama and others. 
 These markets are dominated, in pig iron, iron pipe, 
 coal and coke, by the English because of the present ex- 
 change of commodities, which has settled steamers and 
 sailing ships in certain marine lanes of travel, from 
 which it will require patience and perseverance on our 
 part to divert them. 
 
 GRADING COKE IRON. 
 
 THE GRADING OF BIRMINGHAM PIG IRON. 
 BY I 
 
 KENNETH ROBERTSON, BIRMINGHAM, ALA. 
 
 (Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. Engrs., 1888-1889, Vol. XVII t 
 pp. 94-96.) 
 
 All strangers visiting this district are struck with the 
 
PIG IRON; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 
 
 peculiar manner in which the pig iron is graded. There 
 are eleven regular grades, besides which, when gray 
 forge is ordered, one-half of Nos. 1 and 2 Mill are shipped. 
 Occasionally there is another grade known as Silver Mill, 
 which is made so seldom that I can not describe it, and 
 have no sample to exhibit. 
 
 Most of you have found it difficult to grade properly 
 and uniformly under the simpler system which obtains 
 elsewhere, and can consequently readily imagine the in- 
 creased difficulty with us. Each furnace employs an 
 "expert," and even with this precaution the system is 
 not conducive, at all times, to amicable relations between 
 buyers and sellers. I am told that it was adopted at the 
 time Southern irons were seeking a market ; but it still 
 remains, although the time has come when our iron is 
 sought for, and has obtained for itself a place in the mar- 
 kets of the country. The grades are as follows : 
 
 No. 1 Foundry , a large-grained, dark-colored iron with 
 crystallization extending well out to the edges of the pig. 
 In my experience but little of it is made, and I am in- 
 clined to regard it as more of a freak than a product. 
 An average of three analyses shows 3.66 per cent, of 
 silicon in this grade. 
 
 No. 2 Foundry is the equivalent of a No. 1 Foundry at 
 the North. An average of eighteen analyses gives 3.02 
 per cent, of silicon. 
 
 No. \ Foundry corresponds to No. 2 Foundry else- 
 where. An average of eight analyses shows 3.02 per 
 cent, of silicon. 
 
 No. 1 J//// is also known as No. 3 Foundry, and in it 
 are included irons which are not good enough for 2-J- 
 Foundry, and also those which are equal to what is 
 known as gray forge in the Lehigh Valley and vicinity. 
 The best of this iron is used for foundry purposes. An 
 average of four analyses gives 2.87 per cent, of silicon. 
 
 No. 2 Mill is between 1 Mill and Mottled, and contains 
 2.44 per cent, of silicon as an average. 
 
334 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 No. 1 C is open-grained silver-gray. I have but one 
 analysis, which shows 5.25 per cent, of silicon. 
 
 No. 2 C is close-grained silver-gray. Average of three 
 analyses, 7.09 per cent, of silicon. 
 
 No. 1 Bright is a foundry iron which is light in color 
 but open-grained. It is made by every furnace man in 
 every district, at times ; but it is only in this section that 
 it is separated from the foundry irons. Elsewhere it 
 would be shipped as No. 1 Foundry. Average of three 
 analyses, 3.69 per cent, of silicon. 
 
 No. 2. Bright is one grade lower; is closer-grained ; and 
 the average of fourteen analyses is 3.11 per cent, of sili- 
 con. Elsewhere it would be, a No. 2 Foundry. 
 
 To complete the number we have Mottled and White, 
 which are the same here as elsewhere. 
 
 An idea has been prevalent for a long time that 
 Southern irons are highly siliconized and weak ; that 
 the product of the furnaces is not foundry, but chiefly of 
 lower grades ; and that the lower grades are sold with 
 difficulty. 
 
 The preceding analyses show that the foundry-irons 
 do not contain more silicon than irons of thesairn grade 
 in other districts ; the mill irons are higher in silicon 
 than those of Glendon and Andover, but are sold without 
 difficulty. As to the product of the furnaces, I will give 
 the percentages of each grade which one of the furnaces 
 under my charge made during ten months' working un- 
 der very disadvantageous circumstances. 
 
 Other furnace in the district have undoubtedly done 
 much better ; and these figures are not given as typical, 
 but merely to show that we do make foundry ilia, and 
 that the greater portion of our product is not of lower 
 grades. The average of twenty-seven determinations of 
 phosphorus is 0.66 per cent. 
 
 Percentage of Grades made : 
 
PIG IRON J MARKET, GRADIN 135 
 
 No. 1 Foundry 0.27 
 
 No. 2 " 26.23 
 
 " 2 " 19.48 
 
 " 1 Mill 33.82 
 
 " 2 " 6.85 
 
 "1 C 0.56 
 
 "2 " .1 1.39 
 
 " 1 Bright 6.07 
 
 "2 " 2.76 
 
 Mottled 2.38 
 
 White 0.19 
 
 100.00 
 
 Calling the Bright irons foundry, which they are, the 
 proportion of foundry-iron made was 54.81 per cent. ; 
 probably half the 1 Mill would have been classed as 
 foundry elsewhere. The results are not considered as 
 the neplus ultra of furnace work, but will show what we 
 are doing, and also that the impression that but little 
 foundry iron is made here is erroneous, 
 
 (This paper was prepared for the Birmingham meet- 
 ing of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, 
 May, 1888. At that time the prices, f. o. b. furnace, 
 Birmingham district, for the various grades given were 
 about as follows, per ton of 2,240 Ibs. : 
 
 No. 1 F $14.50 
 
 ; < 2 F 14.00 
 
 " 24- F 13.90 
 
 " 3 F 13.75 
 
 " 1 M 12.50 
 
 ' 2 M 10.50 
 
 " 1 C. 
 
 " 2 C 
 
 " 1 Bright 15.00 
 
136 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 " 2 Bright.. 11.75 
 
 Mottled 11.00 
 
 White 9.00 
 
 The freight rates to various important points were as 
 follows, car load lots: Cleveland, $4.00; Cincinnati, 
 $2.75 j Chicago, $4.00; Columbus, 0., $3.15; Boston, 
 $3.86 ; New York, $3.86 ; Phila., $3.86 ; San Diego, Cal., 
 $21.87; Wheeling, $4.50; Moline, 111., $5.12; Green- 
 castle, Ind., $3.40. 
 
 W. B. P.) 
 
 THE PROPER GRADING OF SOUTHERN PIG IRON 
 
 BY 
 
 91 
 
 A. E. BARTON, ENSLEY, ALA. 
 (Proc. Ala. Indust. & Sci. Soc., Vol. Ill, 1893, pp. 35-39.) 
 
 When requested by our president to prepare a paper 
 to read at the present meeting of the Society, I felt that 
 I had not sufficient time at my disposal for such a task ; 
 but was told that all that was necessary was to bring 
 forward some subject for discussion. . 
 
 The question as to the proper grading of Southern Pig 
 Iron is an important one in these times of depression, 
 and it is necessary that the maker should take inio con- 
 sideration the special needs of the customer more than 
 has hitherto been done. 
 
 Many consumers are now calling the chemist to their 
 aid, and look more to the chemical composition of the 
 pig than to fracture. Some, however, still remain in 
 
i'i<; IRON; MARKET, <;RAIHN<;, ETC. 137 
 
 the old groove, and are giifded altogether by the strength 
 of the iron and appearance of the fracture when broken, 
 which guide is often misleading. 
 
 If \ve look back some twenty-five years, we find m;i 
 firms in Scotland and in the Middlesboro district of Eng- 
 land, offering only two grades of iron Foundry and 
 jr or ge the iron all being shipped ''long," and only an 
 occasional pig being broken. The requirements of cus- 
 tomers soon called for an extension of these grades, and 
 six grades were recognized three of Foundry, i.e., 1,2, 
 and 3 ; and three of Forge, i. e., Gray Forge, Mottled 
 and White. Under certain conditions in the working of 
 the furnaces, a light colored weak iron was made, which 
 the furnace men called "bright iron." This iron was at 
 first very little in demand, and when sold brought a very 
 much lower price than the Foundry grades proper. 
 
 Occasionally, when the stock used was of inferior 
 quality and the fuel consumption high, a still weaker 
 iron would be made, which, from its peculiar fracture, 
 was called ' 'glazed pig," and was generally put back 
 into the furnace as being unsaleable. It was noticed 
 that when this pig was used as scrap in the furnace, the 
 quality of the iron made seemed to improve and become 
 more open in grain. Prof. Turner, of Birmingham, 
 England, gave this matter considerable attention, and 
 discovered that when a certain proportion of the glazed 
 pig was mixed with a hard iron and melted in a cupola, 
 it had a tendency to open the grain and make the iron 
 softer, and that " bright" iron brought about the same 
 result in a modified degree. After another research, it 
 was found that the large amount of silicon contained in 
 the "bright, "and "glazed" pig was responsible for the 
 result, and it found that by the use of these irons a con- 
 siderable amount of scrap could be used in foundry mix- 
 ture which , by repeated melting, had become too hard 
 9 
 
138 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 to use alone, and only in small proportions when mixed 
 with foundry iron. After this, "bright," and "glazed" 
 pig found a ready sale, and several grades of bright and 
 silvery iron were established. 
 
 Some six or seven years ago there were fifteen recog- 
 nized grades of Southern iron, as follows : Open silvery; 
 close silvery ; open bright ; medium bright ; close bright; 1 
 foundry; 2 foundry; 2i foundry; 3 foundry ; extra 1 mill ; 
 1 mill ; 2 mill ; silvery mill ; mottled ; and white. 
 
 About five years ago it was decided, at a meeting of 
 Southern Iron Masters, that a revision of grades was 
 necessary, and that the South had too many grades, and 
 the following change was made ; Open, and close silvery 
 were continued and called silver gray; open, medium 
 and closed bright were, condensed into two grades and 
 called Nos. 1 and 2 soft ; No. 2 foundry was called No. 1 
 foundry, and the old No. 1 foundr}^, which was a very 
 open iron and seldom made, was mixed in with the old 
 No. 2 foundry; No. 2|- and No. 3 foundry were mixed 
 together and called No. 2 foundry ; extra 1 mill became 
 No. 3 foundry; Nos. 1 and 2 mill were continued and 
 called gray forge ; silvery mill was no longer recognized 
 as a grade. Mottled and white remained the same. 
 
 This alteration in the classification caused a good deal 
 of confusion and many complaints from customers. Old 
 buyers of Southern iron complained that the silver gray 
 shipped was "mixed," and to any one grading by frac- 
 ture alone it certainly looked mixed. The two irons, 
 however, are practically identical in composition chemi- 
 cally, the close flaky iron generally running slightly the 
 highest in silicon, which will vary from 4 to 5i per cent., 
 and both are somewhat low in total carbon. 
 
 To meet the wishes of a certain class of customers, the 
 old method of grading silver gray has gradually been 
 adopted by producers, and we have now two grades of 
 silvery iron recognized, Nos. 1 and 2, corresponding to 
 
139 
 
 ihe old open, and close. In soft irons, the openest pigs 
 of medium bright were thrown into 1 soft, and the 
 remainder called 2 soft. The latter can not be graded 
 so uniformly as to fracture as could be desired, for this 
 reason, and is considered by many buyers as an off grade. 
 
 Soft iron should contain from 3 to 4 per cent, of silicon, 
 and be practically free from sulphur, whilst the carbon, 
 though not so high as in the foundry grades, runs higher 
 than in silver gray, combined carbon being usually about 
 the half of 1 per cent. ; and graphite 2 to 2i per cent, in 
 No. 1 soft, and t of one per cent., and li per cent., re- 
 spectively, in No. 2 soft. 
 
 Soft iron is used as a softener in mixtures, and to use 
 up scrap, and is essentially siliceous. One mistake, 
 often made by the grader, is to class as No. 2 soft the 
 pigs from a foundry cast that have been chilled during 
 their course down a long runner, and have, from this 
 cause, a light colored appearance, with a close edge. 
 These pigs generally run about 2 per cent, in silicon, 
 and should be graded either as 2 or 3 foundry. Care 
 should also be taken with the grading of 1 soft, for the 
 same reason. Recently a pig was graded by those com- 
 petent graders as 1 soft, by fracture alone, without see- 
 ing the pig broken, and on analyses it showed 1.12-J- per 
 cent., silicon, and was not a soft iron at all. Many 
 buyers, however, would have rejected a car of such iron 
 on sight, if shipped to them^as 2 foundry, and would 
 Ikave used it as 1 soft, probably with disastrous results. 
 The grading of the three straight foundry grades does 
 not require much comment. The standard amount of 
 silicon in each grade should be about as follows : 1 foun- 
 dry, 2.75 per cent. ; 2 foundry, 2.50 per cent.; and 3 
 foundry, 2.00 per cent. ; and these contents should be 
 maintained as nearly as possible by repeated analyses 
 and changes in the burden of the furnace, when neces- 
 sary. It was in forge iron that the change in the grad- 
 
140 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 ing caused the greatest trouble. Until lately, the fur- 
 naces of the district made sufficient gray forge iron, in 
 endeavoring to make foundry irons, to meet all demands, 
 and the forge iron thus made was apt to be high in sili- 
 con, and very wasteful for rolling mill iron, though suit- 
 able as a mixture in pipe works and foundries, and com- 
 plaints from rolling mills that had been using No. 2 mill 
 came in thick and fast. Pipe works would also get a 
 car of said iron occasionally, and the furnace would gen- 
 erally hear about it. 
 
 Graders soon saw the impracticability of having only 
 one grade of Gray Forge, and tacitly made two grades 
 in their yard, though only one was recognized; ascer- 
 taining before making shipment if the Gray Forge was 
 to go to rolling mill or foundry, and shipping accord- 
 ingly 2 mill, or 1 mill. These two grades are now gen- 
 erally recognized, being called Gray Forge, and Foundry 
 Forge, the former being a much harder iron, lower in. 
 silicon and higher in combined carbon, with a different 
 crystal. 
 
 As blast furnace practice inproves in the South, and 
 the iron making materials are more carefully selected, 
 the furnaces will be kept more steadily in one grade of 
 iron, and the iron will become, and is now becoming, 
 more improved ; and should the demand justify it, the 
 furnaces will be run with the express purpose of making 
 low silicon Gray Forge, similar to the Northern prac- 
 tice. 
 
 A considerable portion of this paper will be ancienfe 
 history to many here, but it brings forward a very im- 
 portant subject a subject which until lately has haAlly 
 been given the^attention it deserved that of giving cus- 
 tomers uniform iron, and iron best suited to their special 
 needs, and removing the stigma that a buyer of Southern 
 iron never quite knows what he is going to get. 
 
PIG IRON; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 141 
 
 (This paper was prepared for the Birmingham meet- 
 ing of the Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 
 May, 1893. At that time the prices, f. o. b. furnace, 
 Birmingham district, for the grades given, were about 
 as follows, per ton of 2240 Ibs. : 
 
 Silver Gray $9 . 50 
 
 1 Soft.. 9.00 
 
 2 Soft 8.75 
 
 1 Foundry 10 . 75 
 
 2 Foundry 9 . 50 
 
 3 Foundry 8 . 50 
 
 Gray Forge , 8.25 
 
 Mottled 7.90 
 
 White 7.50 
 
 The freight rates to inportant points, car load lots, 
 were as follows: Atlanta, $1.30; Boston, $4.36; Buffalo, 
 $4.40; Cleveland, $3.85; Cincinnati, $2.75; Detroit, 
 $3.49; Erie, $4.40; Evansville, $2.75; Louisville, $2.10; 
 New Orleans, $2.55; New York, $4.31; Philadelphia, 
 $4.31 ; St. Louis, $3.25 ; Worcester, $5.14. 
 
 The agreement between the Southern coke iron makers, 
 to which Mr. Barton alludes, was made during the sum- 
 mer of 1888, and was as follows, according to the circu- 
 lar that was issued : 
 
 "CHANGE OF NOMENCLATURE OF SOUTHERN COKE IRON 
 
 GRADING. 
 
 The system of grading pursued by Southern coke 
 furnaces in the past having been peculiar to the district 
 and out of line with the grading followed by Northern 
 furnaces, it has been determined to change the nomen- 
 clature of Southern grading as to make it conform to 
 to the standard throughout the country. 
 
 Therefore, on and after October 1st, I88S, the follow- 
 ing schedule will be uniformly pursued by the compa- 
 nies whose signatures are attached : 
 
142 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 No. 1 Foundry, same as hitherto called No. 2. 
 
 No. 2 Foundry, " il " No. 2|. 
 
 No. 3 Foundry, " " No. 1 Mill. 
 
 No. 1 Soft, " Open Bright 
 
 No. 2 Soft, " " Close Bright, 
 
 Silver Gray , "' " " Silver Gray . 
 
 Gray Forge, " li " No. 2 Mill. 
 
 Mottled, " " " Mottled. 
 
 White, " " " White. 
 
 Sales agents are required to invoice in accordance 
 with this schedule all shipments on new orders, and also 
 those on orders taken before this goes into effect and not 
 yet completed. 
 
 Tenn. Coal, Iron & Ry. Co., operating the 4 Ensley, 
 2 Alice, 3 South Pittsburg and 1 Sewanee furnaces. 
 
 Sloss Iron & Steel Co., operating the 4 Sloss furnaces, 
 
 Nashville Iron, Steel & Charcoal Co., operating the 2 
 Nashville furnaces. 
 
 Williamson Iron Co., operating the 1 Williamson fur- 
 nace. 
 
 Mary Pratt Furnace Co., operating the 1 Mary Pratt 
 furnace. 
 
 Roane Iron Co., operating the 2 Rockwood furnaces, 
 
 Citico Furnace Co., operating the 1 Citico furnace. 
 
 Dayton Coal & Iron Co., L'd., operating the 2 Dayton 
 furnaces. 
 
 Gadsden- Alabama Furnace Co., operating the 1 Eto- 
 wah furnace. 
 
 Walker Iron Co., operating the 1 Rising Fawn furnace, 
 
 Chattanooga Iron Co., operating the 1 Chattanooga 
 furnace. 
 
 Sheffield & Birmingham Coal, Iron & Ry. Co., oper- 
 ating the 3 Cole furnaces. 
 
 Eureka Co., operating the 2 Eureka furnaces. 
 
 Woodward Iron Co., operating the 2 Woodward fur- 
 naces. 
 
PIC IRON ; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 143 
 
 DeBardeleben Coal & Iron Co., operating the 2 De- 
 Bardeleben furnaces." 
 
 This was the first concerted step taken towards uni- 
 formity of grading in Southern Coke Iron, and was pro- 
 ductive of very considerable benefit to the trade. 
 
 W. B. P.) 
 
 THE GRADING OF SOUTHERN COKE IRON WITH 
 SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE BIR- 
 MINGHAM DISTRICT. 
 
 (Proc. Ala. Induct. & Sci. $oc., Vol. VI, 1896, pp. 11-14,} 
 
 BY 
 
 \V. H. BRANNOX, Bessemer, Ala. 
 
 Eight years ago there were in the Birmingham Dis- 
 trict 15 grades of iron, viz : 1 Foundry ; 2 Foundry ; 2| 
 Foundry;3 Foundry; Extra No. 1 Mill; No. 2 Mill ; 
 Mottled; White; No. 1 Bright; Medium Bright; Close 
 Bright; No. 1 Silvery ; No. 2 Silvery; and Silvery Mill. 
 
 This list was revised in 1888, and to-day we recognize 
 11 grades, viz: No. 2 Silvery ; No. 1 Silvery ; No. 2 
 Soft ; No. 1 Soft ; No. 1 Foundry ; No. 2 Foundry; No. 3 
 Foundry ; No. 4 Foundry ; Gray Forge ; Mottled ;, and 
 White. 
 
 In 1888 very little attention was paid to chemical 
 analysis, the irons being graded almost entirely by color 
 and granulation. In addition to having a fair knowl- 
 edge of the principal chemical ingredients of pig iron 
 the grader now must be thoroughly familiar with the 
 
144 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP ALABAMA. 
 
 four points in uniform grading, viz : color, granulation; 
 fracture and face. 
 
 No. 2 Silvery contains from 5 to 5.50 per cent, of sili- 
 con, has very little or no granulation, and is almost 
 smooth, with a galvanized appearance. No. 1 Silvery 
 has some granulation, and a smooth face, and contains 
 from 4.50 to 5 per cent, of silicon. Both these irons are 
 weak in fracture, and show a fine, silvery lustre on a 
 fresh face, and are flaky. They should exhibit no dark 
 spots, and the crystallization is obscure. They are what 
 they purport to be 'Silvery irons,' and the difference be- 
 tween them, on the yard, is mainly, one of granulation. 
 They are the hottest irons, and contain much more sili- 
 con and much less combined carbon than any of the 
 other grades . Their carbon is almost wholly in the shape 
 of graphite, but the large excess of silicon prevents this 
 ingredient from conferring a dark color on the iron. 
 
 No. 2 Soft contains 3.50 to 4.0 per cent, of silicon. 
 No. 1 Soft from 3.0 to 3.5 per cent. They are both of a 
 light color, smooth face and weak fracture. A distinct 
 granulation begins to be apparent in No. 1 Soft, which 
 is more pronounced in No. I Soft, but in neither of these 
 grades is the granulation so marked as in the Foundry 
 irons. 
 
 The Soft irons are darker than the Silvery irons, but 
 lighter in color than the Foundry irons, and the granu- 
 lation is not so jagged as in these latter grades. In 
 particular they do not show a silvery appearance, and 
 are not flaky. The increasing ratio of graphite to silicon 
 begins to manifest itself in the Soft irons in the dajken- 
 ing of the color as compared with the Silvery irons. 
 
 No. 1 Foundry contains from 2.50 to 3.0 per cent, of 
 silicon, has a very open and regular granulation extend- 
 ing through the entire face, and a dark gray color. The 
 crystallization is marked, and the face is rough to the 
 feel. The difference between this and No. 2 Foundry, 
 
i'i<, IRON; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 11.") 
 
 which contains from 2.25 to 2.50 per cent, of silicon, is 
 the same in kind as exists between the two silvery, and 
 the two soft irons, and is cniefly one of granulation. In 
 No. 2 Foundry the grain is not so open as in Xo. 1 Foun- 
 dry, nor is the crystallization so coarse. The color may 
 be as dark in one as in the other, but in No. 1 Foundry 
 there is a 4eep blackish gray color which is absent in 
 No. 2 Foundry. 
 
 No. 3 Foundry contains from 2.0 to 2.25 per cent, of 
 silicon, and resembles No. 1 and No. 2 Foundry in struc- 
 ture, but the granulation is much less marked. The 
 crystallization is finer than in No. 2 Foundry, and the 
 color, while still dark gray, is not so pronounced. 
 
 No. 1 Foundry, recently called Foundry Forge, shows 
 the dark gray color of the other foundry irons, but the 
 granulation is closer and the crystallization finer. It 
 carries from 1.75 to 2.0 per cent, of silicon. Taken to- 
 gether the foundry irons are distinguished by dark gray 
 color, open grain, and well marked crystallization, three 
 points which are seen to the best advantage in No. 1 
 Foundry. 
 
 Gray Forge is the old No. 2 Mill. It has 1.50 to 1.75 
 percent, of silicon, and shows a pebbled granulation in 
 the center, with mottled edges about one-quarter of an 
 inch deep all around. It has a blistered and pitted face, 
 and is frequently honey-combed on the fractured end, 
 some of the holes being an eighth to a half an inch deep. 
 
 Mottled iron has from 1.25 to 1.50 per cent, of silicon, 
 shows no granulation, and has a pepper-and salt appear- 
 ance on a fresh face. It begins to show an increasing 
 amount of combined carbon, about one-half of the total 
 carbon being in this condition. 
 
 White iron has from 1.0 to 1.25 per cent, of silicon, 
 shows no granulation, and is often as white as bleached 
 linen. It carries very little graphite, and is usually 
 high in sulphur. It is very hard, often resisting the 
 
146 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 drill, and on this account is difficult to sample properly. 
 
 In sampling pig iron one of two methods may be used, 
 the choice depending on the extent of the subsequent 
 analysis. When silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, manga- 
 nese and total carbon are to be determined the iron is 
 best sampled from the runner, from 4 to 6 small ladles- 
 full being taken during the cast and shotted in a bucket 
 of cold water. When graphite, and combined carbon 
 are also to be determined boring must be resorted to. In 
 this case two methods may be used. In the first, the 
 face of the pig is bored in three places to the depth of i 
 to 1 inch along a line drawn diagonally across the face, 
 the borings being mixed. In the second, the pig is bored 
 diagonally almost entirely through in one place. 
 
 In boring pig iron care must be taken to prevent the 
 intermixture of sand from the pig with the borings , and 
 it is well to put a careful man in charge of the drill. In 
 boring chilled pig, and in sampling from the runner, 
 there is, of course, much less danger of adhering sand 
 getting into the borings. A neglect of this matter may 
 often mislead the grader, as sand in the borings shows 
 up as silicon in the pig, and a No. 3 Foundry may be 
 classed as a No. 1 Soft. It is a difficult and tiresome 
 matter to separate sand from borings by means of a mag- 
 net, and at the best entails a good deal of extra and un- 
 necessary labor upon the chemist. 
 
 The tendency of the trade is now strongly towards a 
 closer chemical inspection of the irons offered for sale, 
 and the grader who intends to keep up with his profes- 
 sion must take this fact into consideration. He must, 
 therefore, acquaint himself with the effect of the chief 
 constituents upon the various irons in respect of color, 
 granulation, fracture and face. He is called upon every 
 day to decide questions involving a great deal of money, 
 and as it sometimes happens that he can not wait for an 
 analysis he must be prepared to grade without it. But 
 
PIG IRON ; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 147 
 
 he should by all means cultivate the closest intimacy 
 with the laboratory, and have the grades analysed as 
 often as possible, and not neglect to inform himself as to 
 the influence of the burden, heat and pressure upon the 
 product under his care. 
 
 (This paper was prepared for the Birmingham meet- 
 ing of the Alabama Industrial and Scientific Society, 
 May, 1896. 
 
 At that time the prices, f. q. b. furnace Birmingham 
 district, for the grades given were about as follows, per 
 ton of 2,2401bs. : 
 
 Open Silver Gray $8.75 
 
 Close " 8.50 
 
 1 Soft 7.75 
 
 2 Soft 7.50 
 
 1 Foundry 8 .25 
 
 2 Foundry 7.75 
 
 3 Foundry 7.25 
 
 4 Foundry 6.90 
 
 dray Forge 6.75 
 
 Mottled 6.75 
 
 White 6.25 
 
 The freight rates to various important points were as 
 follows : 
 
148 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 FREIGHT TARIFF FOR PIG IRON. 
 IN EFFECT FEBRUARY 24TH, 1896. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM To 
 
 Distance in 
 Miles. 
 
 Rate per Ton. 
 Car load not 
 less than 17}/ 2 
 tons of 2,288 
 Ibs. 
 
 Route. 
 
 Atlanta 
 
 167 
 
 $ 1 30 
 
 Rail. 
 
 Baltimore 
 Boston 
 Buffalo 
 
 1050 
 1450 
 950 
 
 3.60 
 4.10 ' 
 4 40 
 
 Rail and water. 
 
 n 
 
 Rail. 
 
 Cincinnati 
 
 504 
 
 2.75 
 
 
 Cleveland 
 Chicago 
 
 767 
 650 
 
 3.90 
 3 85 
 
 
 Detroit 
 
 766 
 
 3 95 
 
 
 Galveston 
 
 800 
 
 4 83M 
 
 
 Hamilton, Canada. 
 Louisville 
 
 975 
 394 
 
 5.10 
 2 50 
 
 
 Mobile 
 New Orleans 
 New York 
 Norfolk 
 Philadelphia 
 Pittsburg 
 
 276 
 417 
 1225 
 765 
 1150 
 817 
 
 2.50 
 2.50 
 3.75 
 3.00 
 4.75 
 4.40 
 
 Ra 1 and water. 
 Ral. 
 
 Portland, Oregon. . 
 San Francisco 
 Savannah 
 St. Louis 
 Toronto, Canada. . . 
 
 3675 
 2900 
 448 
 528 
 996 
 
 14.47 
 13.34 
 2.90 
 3.25 
 5.10 
 
 
 W. B. P.) 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON GRADING COKE IRON. 
 
 (Proc. Ala. Indust. & Sci. Soc., Vol. VI, 1896, pp. 15-23.) 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM B. PHILLIPS, BIRMINGHAM, ALA. 
 
 The grading of coke iron calls for a considerable 
 amount of skill, which can be attained only by experi- 
 ence and the closest attention to details. Even then it 
 not infrequently happens that the best graders will be at 
 fault and the question can be settled only by the chemist. 
 
PKi IRON : MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 140 
 
 Reference has been made by Mr. Barton (Proc., Vol. Ill, 
 1893, pages 35-39) to a case where an iron which was 
 afterwurcls found to contain 1.12 per cent, silicon was 
 graded by these different men as No. 1 Soft. Other in- 
 stances might be adduced in support of the proposition 
 that, after all, the proper place for grading iron is the 
 laboratory. It is not meant by this that iron should be 
 graded only in the laboratory, for this would entail con- 
 siderable expense, which might not be warranted by the 
 situation. But that the closest affinity should exist be- 
 tween the grader and the chemist, no one who has ob- 
 served the course of the Southern coke irons during the 
 past eight or nine years can reasonably deny. 
 
 When Mr. Robertson prepared his paper on the grad- 
 ing of Southern coke irons (Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. 
 Engrs., Vol. XVII, 1883-89, pp. 94-96), the foundry 
 irons carried more than 3 per cent, of silicon, and there 
 was constant complaint by consumers that there was too 
 much variation in the grades. This was to a great ex- 
 tent allayed by the practice that began with the circular 
 issued by the Southern iron men in 1888, which has been 
 quoted in full in my Report on Iron Making in Alabama. 
 
 But it was found in 1893 that another grade was need- 
 ed, intermediate between 3 Foundry and Gray Forge, 
 and it was established by some companies under the 
 term Foundry Forge. To this the objection was made 
 that ttve term was self-contradictory, an iron could not 
 be at once Foundry, and Forge. In 1895 the grade was 
 abolished, and what was formerly Forge is now termed 
 No. 4 Foundry. 
 
 Xow and then it happened that a close, fine grained 
 silvery looking iron would show on analysis not more 
 than 2 per cent, of silicon, while again, without greatly 
 altering in appearance, it would show from 2.90 to 3.10 
 per cent, silicon. If the silicon was about 2 per cent, 
 the iron was termed Foundry Forge, as it is now termed 
 
150 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 No. 4 Foundry ; if the silicon was about 3 per cent, it 
 was and is yet, termed No. 1 Soft. 
 
 Ordinarily and when grading for the same furnace 
 running on about the same burden, the competent grader 
 comes very near the proper grade, and can be trusted 
 to ship on his own judgment. But when complaints 
 arise, as they do sometimes, and especially on a de- 
 pressed market, the only way in which the ire of 
 the consumer can be placated is to show him that 
 the iron he objected to as not being No. 3 Foundry, for 
 instance, does really contain from 1.75 to 2 per cent, of 
 silicon, and falls within the limits for this particular 
 grade. This much as to silicon. But how is it in res- 
 pect to graphitic, and combined carbon? Is the iron to 
 be graded solely by its silicon .content? It is granted 
 that for the most part iron can be fairly well graded on 
 its content of silicon, and that the variation of this ele- 
 ment confers upon the iron peculiarities of color, gran- 
 ulation, fracture, and face that are more strongly marked 
 than peculiarities due to other elements. It is this fact 
 that has rendered possible the present system of visual 
 and tactual grading. It was quietly assumed that if the 
 silicon was all right, the iron was all right, and this was 
 supplemented by the further assumption that if the iron 
 was all right the silicon was all right. In .this way it 
 was possible even for a conscientious grader to fortify 
 himself behind a pretty high wall of silicon, and fire sili- 
 con bombs ad libitum. 
 
 The easiest way of grading iron is by its silicon con- 
 tent, but it by no means follows that it is the best way, 
 or the only way. Leaving out the content of sulphur, 
 as not seriously affecting any of the grades above Gray 
 Forge, there should be certain ratios established between 
 silicon and combined carbon for the Soft and Foundry 
 irons. The variation in the amount of silicon does, of 
 course, influence the quality of the iron, and one might 
 
PIG IROX ; MARKET, GRADING, ETC. 151 
 
 go even farther and allow that it influences the iron 
 more than any other single element. But combined car- 
 bon is by no means to be neglected. 
 
 In 29 complete analyses of iron graded as No. 3 Foun- 
 dry, I found that the silicon varied from 1.45 to 3.83 per 
 cent., the average being 2.37 per cent. Five of the sam- 
 ples should. have been graded as No. 1 Soft, as the silicon 
 was between 3.04 and 3.17 per cent., and one should 
 have been No. 2 Soft with silicon 3.83 per cent. These 
 irons were all graded on the yard by a careful and com- 
 petent man, yet in 6 cases out of 29, or 20.7 per cent., 
 the iron graded as No. 3 Foundry was really Soft. Ex- 
 cluding these six, the average silicon in the other 23 was 
 2.16 per cent., a result not far wrong, if at all, as No. 3 
 Foundry may vary from 1.90 to 2.20 per cent, of silicon. 
 In the six cases in which the silicon was over 3 per cent, 
 the combined carbon was 1.04 per cent., and the 23 
 others it was 0.82 per cent., the average of the 29 being 
 0.87 per cent. 
 
 The combined carbon in No. 3 Foundry does not 
 usually run as high as 0.82 per cent., the average being 
 about 0.40 per cent. In the Soft irons it should not be 
 above 0.40 per cent., but in some cases especially when 
 the iron resembles No. 3 Foundry, it may go to 1.00 per 
 cent. 
 
 We have then to discriminate between Soft irons with 
 over 3 per cent, of silicon, and the normal amount of 
 combined carbon, and irons which contain over 3 per 
 cent, of silicon and upwards of 1 per cent, of combined 
 carbon. Grading on fracture and appearance some of 
 these latter irons would be put in No. :-> Foundry ; grad- 
 ing on silicon content they would go in the Soft irons, 
 with the understanding that the combined carbon was 
 abnormally high. 
 
 The same principle holds good in respect of the other 
 Foundry irons, although in a less degree. It is this ten- 
 
152 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 dency of the lower grades of Foundry iron to show higher 
 percentage of combined carbon than is usually the case 
 that renders grading by fracture and appearance some- 
 what uncertain. In case of doubt a silicon estimation 
 will enable one to decide whether or no the iron should 
 be put in the Soft grades, and an estimation of combined 
 carbon will show whether or no it should be stated that 
 this element is above the average. 
 
 In a paper read before the Alabama Industrial and 
 Scientific Society in 1895, which we have quoted in full, 
 Mr. James Bowron said : "For the enlargement of the 
 domestic market, the most desirable thing to be done r 
 in my judgment, is to secure uniformity in grading and 
 naming iron, and selling it upon terms of uniformity. 
 * * * It is scarcely too much to say that the whole 
 question of grading iron is assuming a more complex 
 condition, and that if it is not in a somewhat chaotic 
 state, the minds of some of the graders have attained 
 that undesirable goal. Harassed by the pressure of evil 
 times and the desire of the consumer for something cheap 
 er, the effort has been continually made not to split hairs, 
 but to split grades in a corresponding degree of fineness. 
 This leads to absence of physical or chemical lines of 
 demarcation, and makes the question of grading depend 
 more than ever on the individual opinions of the maker 
 and consumer, who naturally look at it from different 
 standpoints, and arrive at different results. This leads 
 to considerable friction, and, in the long run, Southe.rn 
 iron gets a bad name." 
 
 Mr. Bowron' s long and intimate acquaintance with 
 the commercial aspects of grading qualifies him fo speak 
 ex cathedra, and if he can deliberately take the position 
 that uniformity in grading and naming iron is the most 
 desirable thing that can be done towards enlarging the 
 domestic market for pig iron, surely it is time to discuss 
 the matter from every point of view, with the hope of 
 
153 
 
 arriving at some more reasonable system than is at pres 
 ent used. 
 
 The multiplication of grades may go on indefinitely 
 according as the fancied needs of consumers increase in 
 number. If a manufacturer asks for an iron carrying 
 not more than 3.50 per cent, and not less than 3 per cent, 
 of silicon with combined carbon not over 0.50 per cent., 
 he should be able to get it. 
 
 There has recently been completed an agreement be- 
 tween the chief producers of Alabama coke iron whereby 
 certain uniform prices for standard grades are to be ob- 
 served. It is a very good thing as far as it goes, but it 
 does not go far enough, nor strike very heartily at the 
 root of the trouble. 
 
 The main point is to secure uniform grading, and this 
 can certainly not be gained merely by establishing uni- 
 form prices. Mr. Bowron was unquestionably right in 
 saying that uniformity in price and uniformity in grading, 
 (the italics are ours) must be maintained if the domestic 
 market is to be enlarged. 
 
 The local trade association of which he speaks could 
 take the matter in hand, but a simpler and it seems to 
 us a more satisfactory plan would be for the companies 
 that made the agreement as to prices to make a similar 
 agreement as to grading, and put a competent man in 
 charge of it. The price depends upon the grading. It 
 is not enough for the iron-masters to meet and say what 
 the names of the grades shall be, nor to fix the price at 
 which the grades thus named shall be sold. Unless 
 there is at the same time an agreement as to what kind 
 of iron shall be deemed No. 1 Soft, or No. 3 Foundry, 
 the proctocol as to uniform prices is to a large extent 
 abrogated. It is sure to happen that permission to ask 
 a special price for a special iron will be solicited, and 
 unless it is known what this iron is, what relation it 
 10 
 
154 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 bears to the grades whose prices are already fixed and 
 agreed upon, how can there be any thing but confusion? 
 One may say : "I am making an iron, or I have it and 
 it is now piled, which to all ordinary grading would be 
 put in No. 2 Foundry. But it carries less than 1.50 per 
 cent, of silicon and is therefore not a typical No. 2 Foun- 
 dry and I wish to ask a special price for it." He has 
 called in his chemist and knows that the iron is not No. 
 2 Foundry, although it closely resembles it in granula- 
 tion, color, fracture and face. He wishes to sell it on 
 analysis, for this is really the gist of the whole matter. 
 
 By all means let there be uniform prices, but if the 
 grading is not uniform what do the uniform prices 
 amount to, after all? They are simply grade-splitters, 
 and will inevitably lead to more confusion than at pres- 
 ent exists, if they are not based on the chemical analysis 
 of the irons. 
 
 Some people are inclined to regard the chemical grad- 
 ing of pig iron as a sort of Panjandrum, or Mysterious 
 Monster, lying in wait for the unwary, and they begin 
 to tell their beads as soon as a- chemist heaves in sight. 
 But no chemist who understands the situation in Ala- 
 bama can declare out and out for laboratory grading, as 
 no chemist can doubt that the present system is out of 
 date, illogical, and cumbersome. 
 
 The purposes to which pig iron is put depend abso- 
 lutely upon its composition ; the color, fracture, granu- 
 lation, and face have nothing to do with it except in so 
 far as they indicate the existence of certain ingredients 
 whose actual percentages can be determined only fey the 
 chemist. As regards grading the inferences to be drawn 
 from data obtained on the iron yard are reliable only if 
 confirmed by laboratory tests, and it is particularly un- 
 grateful in graders and furnace managers to decry the 
 further application of the very science upon which they 
 base the practice of their art. 
 
PIG IRON ; MARKET, GRADING, <fcC. 155 
 
 What changes are to be suggested? First the main- 
 tenance of a chief grader, whose business it should be to 
 regulate the grading under conditions imposed by the 
 separate companies. Second, the establishment of a 
 central laboratory devoted to pig iron analyses. Third, 
 the diminution of the number of grades and the substi- 
 tution therefor of not more than six grades, differentiated 
 by the content in silicon, and combined carbon, and 
 possibly sulphur. These six grades might be as follows ; 
 
 Silicon. Combined Carbon. Sulphur. 
 
 Silvery Irons, 5 to 6 0.10 to 0.30 0.01 to 0.04 
 
 Soft Irons, 3 to 5 0.20 to 0.60 0.01 to 0.05 
 
 Foundry Irons, 2 to 3 0.30 to 0.90 0.01 to 0.07 
 
 Gray Forge, 1 to 2 0.40 to 1.25 0.04 to 0.09 
 
 Mottled, 0.6 to 1 0.50 to 1.80 0.06 to 0.11 
 
 White, * 0.1 to 0.6 1.00 to 2.50 0.08 to 0.30 
 
 This scheme, or some modification of it in line with its 
 general provisions would retain the present nomencla- 
 ture, and bring it into closer accord with laboratory re- 
 stilts. It would do away with five grades, which are no 
 more than side-grades at best, and would enable the 
 grader to exercise better discretion in the yard. The 
 rapidity and accuracy with which the estimation of sili- 
 con, and combined carbon can now be made render it 
 possible to have the results from the cast-house by the 
 time the iron is ready to break and pile. The estimation 
 of silicon now leaves very little to be desired, and while 
 the estimation of combined carbon in pig iron is not so 
 accurate as in steel it is sufficiently so for the purpose in 
 hand. If objection be made to such a radical change 
 much could be done to improve the present system with- 
 out decreasing the number of grades, or interfering with 
 the nomenclature. If a systematic record of the pigs 
 sampled were kept it would be possible to control the 
 
156 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 grading within narrower limits than now maintain. An 
 excellent system has been devised by consultation with 
 Mr. W. H. Brannon, chief grader for the Tennessee Coal, 
 Iron & Railroad Co., Mr. W. J. Sleep, manager of the 
 American Pig Iron Storage Warrant Co., in this district, 
 and two well known pig iron brokers whose names it^is 
 not necessary to mention. It was our purpose to have a 
 convenient envelope prepared for holding the borings, 
 and on the front of it we had the following : 
 
 Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. 
 
 - Tons. Grade - 
 
 Furnace. Division - 
 
 189 Sampled - 189 
 
 Regular. ( Fine. 
 
 Granulation. < Medium. 
 
 Irregular. ( Coarse. 
 
 ( Smooth. 
 Face. < Pitted. 
 
 ( Blistered. 
 Chilled edge - 
 
 Signed - 
 
 On the back of the envelope was printed the following 
 
 Charges - 
 Burden. 
 
 Hard Ore ................... 
 
 Soft Ore .............. , ..... 
 
 Brown Ore ......... . . , ...... 
 
 Limestone. 
 
 Stone ' Dolomite. 
 Coke 
 
 Total 
 
PIG IRON ; MARKET, GRADIX( 
 
 157 
 
 To be taken before each cast. 
 
 Time . 
 
 Average. 
 
 Keys, of Kngine. 
 
 Heat. 
 
 Pressure. 
 
 The line on the front of the envelope that does not ap- 
 ply to the sample is marked out, thus if the color is dark 
 the word 'light* is marked out, if the granulation is reg- 
 ular and fine, the words irregular, medium, and coarse 
 are marked out, if there is a chilled edge i or i inch 
 deep it is so stated, if there is no chilled edge, the words 
 are erased. 
 
 By the use of this envelope it is possible to have re- 
 corded a complete' history of the sample under examina- 
 tion. The results reached are of the highest importance 
 if the system is faithfully adhered to, for at any time, 
 by reference to the laboratory books, it can be known 
 what was the exact composition of any grade of iron, its 
 physical peculiarities and the burden on which it was 
 made. 
 
 We are convinced that if this, or a similar, system 
 were intelligently and persistently followed the com- 
 plaints of lack of uniformity in grading our coke irons 
 would gradually disappear. 
 
 It is acknowledged on every side that the irons are not 
 uniformly graded, and unless some steps are taken to 
 remedy this most serious obstacle to the enlargement of 
 our markets we shall always be met with the assertion 
 that we are not doing what we could do to correct the 
 evil. 
 
158 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 TABLE XI. 
 
 PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE, COAL, COKE AND PIG IRON IN 
 
 ALABAMA. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pig I 
 
 ron. Tons 
 
 of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,240 Ibs. 
 
 
 
 Iron Ore. 
 
 Coal. 
 
 Coke. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tons of 
 
 Tons of 
 
 Tons of 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,240 Ibs. 
 
 2,000 Ibs. 
 
 2,000 Ibs. 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 n- 
 
 
 
 
 Coke. 
 
 Charcoal. 
 
 Total. 
 
 o> 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1870 
 
 11,350 
 
 10,999 
 
 
 
 
 
 1871 
 
 
 20,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 1872 
 
 22,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 
 
 .11,171 
 
 11,171 
 
 1873 
 
 39,000 
 
 44,800 
 
 :::::::::::: 
 
 
 19,895 
 
 19,895 
 
 1874 
 
 58,000 
 
 50,400 
 
 
 
 29,342 
 
 29,342 
 
 1875 
 
 44,000 
 
 67,200 
 
 
 
 22,418 
 
 22,418 
 
 1876 
 
 44,000 
 
 112,000 
 
 
 1,262 
 
 20,818 
 
 22,080 
 
 1877 
 
 70,000 
 
 196,000 
 
 
 
 14,643 
 
 22,180 
 
 36,823 
 
 1878 
 
 75,000 
 
 224,000 
 
 
 15,615 
 
 21,422 
 
 37,037 
 
 1879 
 
 90,000 
 
 280,000 
 
 
 15 937 
 
 28,56H 
 
 44,500 
 
 1880 
 
 171,139 
 
 380,000 
 
 60,781 
 
 35,232 
 
 33,693 
 
 68,925 
 
 1881 
 
 220,000 
 
 420,000 
 
 109,033 
 
 48,107 
 
 39,483 
 
 87,590 
 
 1882 
 
 250,000 
 
 896,000 
 
 152,940 
 
 51,093 
 
 49,590 
 
 100,683 
 
 1883 
 
 385,000 
 
 1,568,000 
 
 217,531 
 
 102,750 
 
 51,237 
 
 153,987 
 
 1884 
 
 420,000 
 
 2,240,000 
 
 244,009 
 
 116,264 
 
 53.078 
 
 169,342 
 
 1885 
 
 505,000 
 
 2,492,000 
 
 301,180 
 
 133,808 
 
 69,261 
 
 203,069 
 
 1886 
 
 650,000 
 
 1,800,000 
 
 375,054 
 
 180,133 
 
 73,312 
 
 253,445 
 
 1887 
 
 675,000 
 
 1,950,000 
 
 325,020 
 
 176,374 
 
 85,020 
 
 261,394 
 
 1888 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 2,900,000 
 
 508,511 
 
 317,289 
 
 84,041 
 
 401,330 
 
 1889 
 1890 
 
 1,570,000 
 1,897,815 
 
 3,572,983 
 4,090,409 
 
 1,030,510 
 1,072,942 
 
 608,034 
 718,383 
 
 98,595 
 
 98,528 
 
 706,629 
 816,911 
 
 1891 
 
 1,986,830 
 
 4,759,781 
 
 1,282,496 
 
 717,687 
 
 77,985 
 
 795,672 
 
 1892 
 
 2,312,071 
 
 5,529,312 
 
 1,501,571 
 
 835,840 
 
 79,456 J 
 
 915,296 
 
 1893 
 
 1,742,410 
 
 5,136,935 
 
 1,168,085 
 
 659,725 
 
 67,163 
 
 726,888 
 
 1894 
 
 1,493,086 
 
 4,397,178 
 
 923,817 
 
 556,314 
 
 36,078 
 
 592,392 
 
 1895 
 
 2,199,390 
 
 5,705,713 
 
 1,444,339 
 
 835,851 
 
 18,816 
 
 854,667 
 
PIG IRON ; MARKET, GRADING, &C . 
 
 TABLE XII. 
 
 159 
 
 FREIGHT TARIFF FOR COAL AND COKE. IN EFFECT FEB- 
 RUARY, 1896. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM To 
 
 Distance in 
 Miles. 
 
 Rate per 
 Ton. Car 
 load not less 
 than 23 tons 
 of 2,000 Ibs. 
 
 Local. 
 
 \tlanta 
 
 167 
 
 $ 1 05 
 
 A.ugu8ta 
 
 338 
 
 2 05 
 
 Charleston 
 Columbia, S. C . . . .... 
 
 476 
 423 
 
 2 20 
 
 Columbus Miss .... 
 
 125 
 
 1 05 
 
 Dallas 
 El Paso 
 
 861 
 1612 
 
 3 50 
 
 6 50 
 
 Grftlvestoo 
 
 800 
 
 Variable 
 
 Greenville* Miss 
 
 292 
 
 1 50 
 
 Houston .... 
 
 710 
 
 3 40 
 
 \Iacon 
 
 257 
 
 1 60 
 
 "Meridian 
 
 152 
 
 1 15 
 
 Mobile 
 
 276 
 
 1 50 
 
 Montgomery 
 
 96 
 
 1 10 
 
 Nashville 
 
 209 
 
 1 50 
 
 \e\v Orleans 
 
 417 
 
 
 Pensaeola 
 Savannah 
 
 260 
 
 1 To 
 1 80 
 
 Selma 
 
 101 
 
 473 
 
 1 20 
 
 2 "") 
 
 Yicksburg 
 
 294 
 
 1 55 
 
 Remarks : Bunker rate to Mobile, $1.10 ; to New Orleans, $1.65 ; to 
 Pensacola. $1.10. Export rate to Mobile, $1.10; to Pensacola, 1.05. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 Alabama Iron and Steel 
 
 Company Hi, 119 
 
 Alabama Pipe Company 124 
 
 Alabama Rolling Mill Co. ... 119 
 
 Alabama Steel Works 120 
 
 Alice Furnace 10, 111 
 
 Anniston Bloomary See 
 
 Cherokee Iron Co. 
 
 Anniston Pipe Works 123 
 
 Anniston Rolling Mills 120 
 
 Attalla Furnace 114 
 
 B. 
 Barton, A. E., on grading 
 
 pig iron 136 
 
 Bay State Furnace 107 
 
 Bessemer Land and Improve- 
 ment Co 106,122 
 
 Bessemer Ore 14, 15 
 
 Bessemer Rolling Mills 120 
 
 Bibb County, bloomaries in . 10 
 
 Bibb Furnace 114 
 
 Birkinbine, John, ores ofU. 
 
 16, 24, 27 
 
 Birmingham Rolling Mills. . . 120 
 Birmingham Soil Pipe Co. ... 124 
 
 Blackband Iron Ore . 13 
 
 Blair, A. A., Analysis of soft 
 
 Red Ore 31 
 
 Bloomaries 123 
 
 Blue Billy 55 
 
 Bowron, James, on Pig Iron 
 
 Market 126 
 
 Bninnon, W. H., on Grading 
 
 Pig Iron 143 
 
 Bridge Building Works 123 
 
 Brown Ore burdens 94. 104 
 
 calcining ... .22, 52-54 
 composition ..... 48 
 
 definition of 13 
 
 improvement of 
 
 21, 22,52, 54 
 
 mining 46 
 
 occurrence of. ... 45 
 phosphorus in . . 14, 48 
 
 Page. 
 
 Brown Ore, price of 49, 92 
 
 " proportions of, in 
 
 " bank 47 
 
 " proportions used in 
 
 furnace. . . . 14, 94, 104 
 Russell ville belt. . 7 
 " screening, results 
 
 from 51 
 
 use of in charcoal 
 
 furnaces 104 
 
 ' ' used for car-wheel 
 
 iron 9, 14 
 
 used for pipe iron . 14 
 
 " used in the state 13, 45 
 
 valuation of .... 49 
 
 variable nature of 14 
 
 " washing 46 
 
 "water in 17,48 
 
 Buffalo Iron Co 114 
 
 Buchanan, Franklin, builds 
 
 Tennessee 9 
 
 Burdens, furnace 78 
 
 Burdens, charcoal furnace. . . 104 
 Burdens, coke furnace, 
 
 61, 62, 79, 84, 94 
 
 C. 
 
 Calhoun County, bloomaries 
 
 in 10 
 
 Capital invested in iron ore 
 
 mining 3 
 
 Car Axle Works 124 
 
 Car Building Works 125 
 
 Car Wheel Works 124 
 
 Central Iron Works, See Shel- 
 by Rolling Mill Co. 
 
 Charcoal, furnaces, list of 114 
 
 Chattanooga District, ores 
 
 used in 1 
 
 Chattanooga Foundry and 
 
 Pipe Works 123 
 
 Cherokee Iron Co 123 
 
 Clara Furnace 107 
 
 Clifton furnaces 107 
 
 Clinton formation, source of 
 ore 29 
 
162 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Page. 
 Coals of Ala., Ga. and Tenn. . 1 
 
 Coal, for coking 77 
 
 freight tariff 158 
 
 kind used for coking. . 78 
 
 production of 158 
 
 value of for coking. ... 77 
 
 yield of in coke 77 
 
 Cokes and Iron Ores, South- 
 ern 1 
 
 Coke, analysis of 70, 72 
 
 " analysis of ash of. . . 72. 73 
 
 *, cell space of 71 
 
 " character of coal used 
 
 in making 78 
 
 " consumption of, in fur- 
 naces. 74-76.84,87,94,98 
 
 cost of 92 
 
 crushing, strain of. ... 70 
 first made in Alabama. 9 
 
 freight tariff 158 
 
 furnaces, list of 106 
 
 kinds of 68 
 
 production of 77, 153 
 
 specific gravity of 71 
 
 Colbert Iron Co 107 
 
 Concentration of ore 
 
 1, 23, 37-39, 42 
 
 Coosa Furnace . 115 
 
 D. 
 
 DeBardeleben, H. F 18 
 
 Decatur Charcoal Iron Fur- 
 nace 115 
 
 Decatur Car Wheel and Man- 
 ufacturing Co 124 
 
 Decatur Land Co 115 
 
 Davis-Colby kiln 52 
 
 D'Invilliers, E. V., on South- 
 ern Coke and Ore 1 
 
 fto'lomite, analysis of 58 
 
 as flux, E. A. Ueh- 
 
 ling 64 
 
 use of, largely in- 
 creasing 58 
 
 use of, due to C. A. 
 
 Meissner 67 
 
 valuation of 57 
 
 E. 
 
 Edwards Furnace 106 
 
 Elliott Car Co, 124, 125 
 
 Engineering and Mining Jour- 
 nal, articles 1 
 
 Ensley Furnaces 89, 111 
 
 Eureka Coke Furnace. . 10 
 
 F. 
 
 Page, 
 Fleming, H. S., Ores used in 
 
 Chattanooga District 1 
 
 Florence Cotton & Iron Co . . 108 
 
 Flue Cinder 55 
 
 Forges and Bloomaries 123 
 
 Fort Payne, furnace at 106 
 
 Fort Payne Rolling Mill, see 
 
 Ala. Steel works. 
 Freight tariff on coal 1896. . 158 
 on coke 1896.. 158 
 " on pig iron 1888 136 
 " 1893 141 
 " 1896 148 
 Furnaces, charcoal, list of . . . 114 
 
 coke, list of 106 
 
 first in Alabama. . . 7 
 progress of build- 
 ing, charcoal. ... 118 
 progress of build- 
 ing, coke 113 
 
 G. 
 
 Gadsden Foundry and Ma- 
 chine Works 124 
 
 Gadsden Iron Co 115 
 
 Gadsden- Alabama Furnace. . 107 
 Gholson coal seam, first coke 
 
 in Ala. made from 9 
 
 Gordon, F. W., Large Furna- 
 ces on Ala. Materials 89 
 
 Gouge, definition of .. . 30 
 
 Grading Pig Iron, agreement* 
 by Southern Iron Masters 
 
 in 1888 .... 141 
 
 Grading Pig iron, local prac- 
 tice 130, 132, 136, 143, 148 
 
 H. 
 
 Hard Red Ore- 
 behavior of in depth 41 
 
 calcination of . 42 
 
 composition of 36, 40 
 
 definition of 29 
 
 effects of, on coke consump- 
 tion 87 
 
 effect of, on limestone Con- 
 sumption 84, 87 
 
 effect of, on quality of iron 90 
 
 occurrence of 39 
 
 price of 81 
 
 proportions used in fur- 
 nace 84, 94 
 
 use of crushed 89 
 
 Hattie Ensley Furnace 107 
 
INDEX 
 
 163 
 
 Page. 
 Hematite Ores 
 
 classification of 29 
 
 iron chiefly made from. . 
 
 occurrence of 29 
 
 phosphorus in 15 
 
 Hematite Ores, see under 
 Hard, and Soft Red. 
 
 Hercules Foundry 124 
 
 Hillman, T. T 10 
 
 Hood Machine Oo 124 
 
 Hot Blast Stoves 119 
 
 Howard-Harrison Iron Co. . . 123 
 
 I. 
 Iron Ores and Coals of Ala., 
 
 Ga.andTenn 1 
 
 Iron, Pig 
 
 freight tariff 136,141, 148 
 
 grading, see under Grading. 
 
 production, charcoal 119 
 
 coke 114 
 
 cost of raw ma- 
 terials 84, 94, 104 
 Iron Trade Review 27 
 
 J. 
 
 Jefferson Steel Co 121 ! 
 
 Jenifer Furnace 115 
 
 Jones, Catesby ap. builds 
 
 Ten: 9 
 
 L. 
 
 Lake < >re 23, 26, 27 
 
 Laboratories, chemical .... 6, 14 
 
 Lady Ensley Furnace 108 
 
 Langdon Furnace 116 
 
 Limestone 
 
 analysis of 57 
 
 consumption of 
 
 ~ 84,87,94,98,104 
 
 compared with dolomite as 
 
 flux 64 
 
 cost of 92 
 
 valuation of 57 
 
 M. 
 McCreath, A. S. on Southern 
 
 Cokes and Ores 1 
 
 Magnetic Concentration 
 
 1, 22,37-39 
 
 Mary Pratt Furnace 108 
 
 Meissner, C. A., use of dolo- 
 mite due to 67 
 
 Monte vallo, bloomary near. . 10 
 
 Morris, Geo. L 10 
 
 Michigan, iron ore production 26 
 
 Page. 
 
 Mill Cinder r>5 
 
 M innesota, iron ore prnduc- 
 
 tion 26 
 
 Minnesota, value of ore in. .. 16 
 
 o. 
 
 , Ohio, pig iron production. ... 23 
 
 Ore, Bessemer 14, 15 
 
 ( >re, iron, analysis of, see un- 
 der Brown, Hard, and Soft 
 Red. 
 
 Ore, Mesabe 38 
 
 i Ore, Iron 
 
 production of in Ala... 25,158 
 
 sale of on analysis 19, 49 
 
 semi-hard 40 
 
 used in Chattanooga dis- 
 trict 1 
 
 varieties, see under Black- 
 . band, Brown, Hard, and 
 
 Soft Red. 
 value of in Ala. and United 
 
 States 16,25, 28 
 
 Oxmoor Furnace 10, 110 
 
 P. 
 
 Peacock's Iron Works.. 124,125 
 
 Pechin,E. C 1 
 
 Pennsylvania, iron ore pro- 
 duction 26 
 
 Perry, Matthew Calbraith. . . 9 
 
 Philadelphia Furnace 108 
 
 Phosphorus in Ala. Ore 15 
 
 Piedmont Land & Improve- 
 ment Co 116 
 
 Pig Iron 
 change of nomenclature in 
 
 1888 141 
 
 'charcoal, production of 119, 158 
 coke, production of. ... 114, 158 
 
 cost of making 5 
 
 cost of raw material in mak- 
 ing 84,94, 104 
 
 freight tariff, 1888 136 
 
 1893 141 
 
 1896 148 
 
 grading. . 130, 132, 136, 143, 148 
 grades effected by burden 
 
 84, 90,94 
 
 market 126 
 
 prices of in 1888 -135 
 
 " " 1893 141 
 
 " " " 1896 147 
 
 production charcoal.. 118, 158 
 
 coke 114, 158 
 
 total yearly. . 158 
 
164 
 
 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Pioneer Furnaces 108 
 
 Pipe Works 123 
 
 Polksville, charcoal furnace 
 
 at 8 
 
 Porter, Jno. B., Iron Ores and 
 
 Coals of Ala., Ga. and Tenn. 1 
 Pratt Coal Mines, paper on 
 
 by E. Ramsay 1 
 
 Puddle Cinder 55 
 
 Purple Ore 55 
 
 K. 
 
 Pratt 
 
 Ramsay, Erskine, on 
 
 Coal Mines 1 
 
 Residue from Acid Works ... 55 
 Robertson, Kenneth, on grad- 
 ing pig iron 132 
 
 Rock Run Furnace L16 
 
 Rolling Mills in Alabama. . . . 119 
 Round Mountain, charcoal 
 
 furnace at 8 
 
 Round Mountain Furnace. . . 116 
 Russellville Brown Ore 7 
 
 S. 
 
 Schultz, Captain 10 
 
 Selma, Confederate arsenal at -9 
 
 Sheffield Furnaces 109 
 
 Sheffield, ore used at 7 
 
 Shelby, charcoal furnace at 
 
 8, 117 
 
 Shelby Rolling Mill Co 121 
 
 " Iron& Steel Co 109 
 
 Sloss, J, W 10 
 
 Smith, Eugene A 1, 9, 10 
 
 Soft Red Ore- 
 composition of 31, 32 
 
 concentration of 37, 38 
 
 definition of 2 
 
 exhaustion of 37 
 
 improvement of 22, 38 
 
 occurrence of 30 
 
 Page. 
 
 Soft Red Ore- 
 price of 5, 1,928 
 
 physical nature of 34 
 
 proportion of used in fur- 
 naces 84, 94 
 
 Soil Pipe Co., Birmingham. . 124 
 
 Southern Bridge Co 123 
 
 Southern Cokes and Iron 
 
 Ores .'... 1 
 
 Spathite Furnace 109 
 
 Spathite ore 23 
 
 Stoves, Hot Blast, 'in Ala 119 
 
 Swank, Jas. M 7 
 
 T. 
 Talladega Co., bloomary in. . 10 
 
 Talladega Furnace 110 
 
 Tap Cinder 55 
 
 Tecumseh Furnace 117 
 
 Tennessee, iron clad ram 9 
 
 Tennessee Coal, Iron & Ry. 
 
 Co 110, 111, 122 
 
 Texas, value of ore in 16 
 
 Thomas, Robt 8 
 
 Trussville Furnace Jh.1 
 
 U. 
 
 Uehling, E. A., use of dolo- 
 mite as flux 64 
 
 Union Iron Works 125 
 
 United States Car Co. 121, 124, 125 
 
 V. 
 Valuation of Ore 17, et seq* 
 
 W. 
 
 Ware, Horace 8 
 
 Williamson Furnace 112 
 
 Witherby, E. T 8 
 
 Woodstock Furnaces.... 112,117 
 Woodward Iron Co 112 
 
YC 
 
 M36733O 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY