Class 1.—MINING AND MINERAL PRODUCTS.South Side—Areas S. 1 to S. 27.
155
Kingdom.]
j
quality, both for household purposes and for the manu-facture of iron. When undisturbed by faults, and ofaverage quality, this bed of coal, with the associated thincoals and ironstones, is worth at least 1,000/. per acre.The quality of iron made is very superior. It was in thisdistrict that coal was first used, in the year i619, for thepurpose of smelting iron.
The Gubbin and White Ironstones are the principalironstones of this district. The Gubbin measures willaverage about 1,500 tons per acre ; the White Ironstonevaries much both in quantity and richness. It yieldsfrom 1,000 to, occasionally, 3,000 tons per acre; 1,500tons may be taken as about the average.
Wolverhampton District.
Ft.
In.
Sulphur Coni . • •
2
0
New Mine ('oal . •
6
6
Fire Clay Coal • •
9
0
202, 203
1
Poor Robin's, Bunker's Hill.
204
2
Fire Clay Balls, Bunker's Hill.
205
3
Rough Hill White, Darlaston.
Bottom Coal . • •
10
0
206, 207
4
Gubbin and Balls, Bunker's Hill.
Mealy Grey Coal • •
2
3
208, 209
5
Blue Flats, Bunker's Hill.
210, 211
6
Bristol Diamonds , Darlaston.
The space of ground occupied by the above mea-sures from the Sulphur Coal to the Bristol Diamondsis about 90 yards. These measures occupy a position inthe general coal series, below the Thick Coal of the Dud-ley District; and attain in the Wolverhampton Field amuch greater thickness and importance than at Dudley,where scarcely any of the above measures of coal andironstone prove workable. The ironstones are all of ex-tremely good quality, averaging from 30 to 35 per cent.From the low cost at which they are generally raised, thenumber and variety of the measures both of coal andironstone contained in so small a space of ground, andthe superior quality of the iron produced, the Wolver-hampton Division of the South Staffordshire coal-fieldmay be considered as one of the most important, in pro-portion to its area, of any of our iron-making districts.
Bentley and Birch IIilt.s District.
212, 213
1
Brown Stoue. Bloxicich. — This is the onlymeasure of Blackband in the South Staf-fordshire Coal-field. It lies underneaththe lowest Heathen Coal, in two coursesaveraging about 12 inches, and does notprove south of Bentley. The other mea-sures of this district do not vary greatlyfrom those of Wolverhampton .
The annual production of iron in South Stafford-shire and Worcestershire is nearly 600,000 tons. Itis considered to be the second most important iron-making district in the kingdom; for although the pro-duction of pig-iron in Scotland is equal to that of thisdistrict, yet it far surpasses Scotland in the manufactureof wrought-iron; whilst the superior quality producedalso gives it pre-eminence over that of Wales . •
214, 215
1
Coventry and Bedworth Coal Field.Bcdworth Balls, Beaworth .—Two courses,
forming an exceeding 1 good and impor-tant measure of Ironstone, raised exten-sively for transport to the South Stafford-shire Coal-field.
General
No.
•Series.
--
Blast
Furnaces.
Principal Works *_
Out
Silverdale ....
1
4
Apedale ....
2
2
Kidsgrove ....
3
2
i
3
Longton ....
2
i
21 Furnaces . . .
13
8
—
General ' No. of
No.
Series.
Strata.
Ft.
Gutter Coal ...
Red Shag Coal . . .
2
0
220
1
Bassey Mine, Fo 'ey Colliery, Longton.—Four courses; thickness 2 to 3 feet: insome places (as at Apedale) it attains the
great thickness of 6 feet.
Bassey Mine Coal . •
2
3
Soincro/t Coal . . .
4
0
Great How Coal .
8
0
Cannel Row Coal • ♦
5
0
221
2
Wood's Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton .—
Four courses = 10 inches.
1
0
222
3
Deep Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton. —Four
courses.
Deep Mine Coal . •
Chalky Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton. —
3
9
223
4
Four courses.
224
5
New Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton. —Two
courses.
New Mine. Coal .
1
8
225
G
Hanbury Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton. —
Two courses.
226
7
Niw Ironstone, Foley Colliery , Longton
Five courses = 16 inches in 3£ feet ofground.
Knowles Coal .
6
0
227
8
Prior’s Field Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton.
—Three courses.
228
9
Knowles' Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton.—
Four courses = 2 feet 3 inches.
Bay Coal .
2
6
Ridt r Coal . . .
3
0
Ash Coal . . .
7
0
229
10
Little Mine, Foley Colliery, Longton.
*
Little Mine Coal • •
4
6
Series from Shelton Colliery, Hanley.
230to236
1 to 7
Red Shay Ironstone. Gutter Mine. B issey
Mine. Penny Stone. Deep Mine. ChalkyMine. Gub6in Stone.
Series from Apedale, near Newcastle.
237to2l9
1 to!3
Blackband Ironstone —4 to 5 feet thick. Red
Shag—6 feet thick. Red Mine —9 feetthick. Bassey Mine — 7 feet thick.Cannel Mine. Black Mine. Rusty Mine.Chalky Mme. Little M.ne. New Mine.
Brown Mine. Thickband. Gold Mine.
These last two series are not numbered accordingto their position in the coal measures. Many of thembelong to the same measures as those of the Foley Col-liery, Longton, although named differently.
The North Staffordshire coal-field, although not ofgreat importance directly, as an iron-making district, itsannual produce being only about 55,000 tons, is yet ofgreat importance from the amazing extent of iron-stone which it contains, and the large quantities sentthence to the South Staffordshire, and the NorthWelsh iron districts. No other known coal-fieldcontains anything like an equal number and extent ofironstone measures. From the Bassey Mine to theKnowles Mine, a series of measures at the Foley Colliery,Longton, of only 250 yards in thickness, there are ninedistinct workable measures of ironstone. At Apedale,the Blackband, Red-shag, Bassey Mine, and Red Mine,ironstones, are respectively 4, 6, 7, and 9 feet thick. Inconsequence of so large a proportion of the cheapestworked ironstone measures being Blackband or carbon-aceous, and also from the inferior quality of its coals, theiron of this district is inferior. The thickness of the coalmeasures already known, is upwards of 1,100 yards, con-taining 32 seams of coal, varying in thickness from 5inches to 8 feet. Of these, there are 14 beds below theLittle Mine coal, all of which, excepting one, are from 2to 7 feet thick.