158
Class 1.— MINING AND MINERAL PRODUCTS.South Side—Areas S. 1 to S. 27.
[United
are becoming every day of greater importance. Theyare found, both as veins traversing the beds of the moun-tain limestone formation, transversely to the lines ofstratification, and also as beds more or less regular. Theformer is the general character of the Ulverstone andFurness ores, no clearly defined bed being, as yet, knownin that district, whilst at Whitehaven there are two, ifnot more beds of irregular thickness, but with clearlydefined floors and roofs, and oftentimes subdivided byregular partings. These beds attain a considerable thick-ness, occasionally 20 or 30 feet. The area over whichthey extend is not as yet well known; but they havebeen worked extensively for many years, and the workingsupon them are rapidly increasing. They lie beneath andclose to the coal measures, which both furnish the neces-sary fuel, and also important beds of argillaceous iron-stones for admixture.
| The micaceous iron ores and the magnetic oxides ofDartmoor (Ilennock, &c.) are only just beginning to beknown. The quality of iron which they produce is of asuperior description, and is calculated to make the fineststeel. These ores are not at present raised extensively;but will doubtless become more so when their character isbetter known, and the localities in which they are foundmore thoroughly explored. They are sent principally tothe South Wales Iron District.
General
No.
446
447
448
No. ofSenes.
,
Ft.
t Geological Formation : Granite and the
Older Rocks.
1
1 Fysolitic Iron Ore, Tremadoc, Caemar-
3
f vonshire.
General
No.
No. ofSeries.
_
Blast
Furnaces
Principal Works :—
Cinderford.
Forest of Dean Company
In
3
2
Out
5 Furnaces ....
5
433-438
1-6
Hamatite.
Ft.
In.
Annual production of iron about 30,000 tons. Theores of the Forest of Dean are carboniferous or moun-tain limestone ores, lying beneath the coal measures,which are not here productive of argillaceous ironstonesas in the other principal coal-fields of the kingdom. Be-sides the limestone ore, there is a bed of ore in the mill-stone grit measures; but which is only worked verylocally. The limestone ore occupies a regular positionin the limestone measures, although in itself exceedinglyirregular, assuming rather the character of a series ofchambers than a regular bed. These chambers are some-times of great extent, and contain many thousand tons ofore, which is generally raised at an exceedingly low cost,no timbering or other supports for the roof being required.The supply of ore producible in the Forest of Dean isalmost unlimited. The iron made from it is of a redshort nature, and especially celebrated for the manufac-ture of tin plates. Its superior quality always commandsa high price. This ore is raised extensively for shipmentto the iron-works of South Wales. It was worked at avery ancient date either by the Romans or the Britons,as is evident from the remains of old woi’kings along theoutcrop of the ore bed. This ore averages from 30 to 40per cent.
General
No. of
Ft.
No.
Series.
—
Geological Formation : Granite and theOlder Rocks.
439
1
Compact Micaceous Iron Ore, Ilennock,Devon .—Found in lodes varying from 1 to12 feet wide, bearing east and west. Theselodes are in coarse-grained porphyriticgranite. The oar is associated withQuartz, Clay, Schorl, and Hornblende .It contains 60 per cent.
440
2
Soft Micaceous Iron Ore, Hennock .—Foundassociated with No. 1.
441
3
Maqnetic Oxide, Haytor, Devon .—Foundinterstratified with a compact Felspathicand Hornblende' Slate. It is associatedwith Asbestos , Actynolite, Garnet, Opal,Ouartz. and Clay. It contains 7 0 per cent.
442
4
Compact Brownlron Ore, Bishopsteignton ,Devon .—Found in irregular masses, inLimestone . It contains 60 per cent.
443
5
Compact and Crystallized Brown IronOre, Bnxham, Devon .—Found in irre-gular masses, in Limestone .. It contains55 per cent.
444
6
Red Hamatite, Sheviock, Cornwall.—Found in lodes in Clay Slate.
445
7
These iron ores have, at different periods, been workedto a considerable extent for transport to South Wales.They are of inferior quality; but the large masses inwhich they lie, enable them to be raised at a very triflingexpense. They are found at Tremadoc, Pwllheli, Car-narvon, Island of Anglesea, and many other localitiesround the North Welsh coast; and will doubtless, atsome period, prove of importance, from the great extentto which they are there developed.
General No. ofNo. Series.
Ft.
In.
449
450
Geological Formation: Grauwaclce.
1 Ila’matite, Brendon Hills , Somersetshire.
2 Soft Hamatitc, Brendon Hills, Somerset-
shire.— Found in lodes varying from 1 toC feet in thickness, in Grauwaclce andGray Slate. These lodes are not atpresent worked extensively; but theyform the site of very old and extensiveworkings, probably by the Ancient Britons.
451
452
453
454
455
456
Geological Formation: New Red Sandstone.
1 Fine Hatmatitic Conglomerate , Newent,
2 Haimatitic Conglomerate, Newent, Glou-
3 Hamatitic Conglomerate, Brockwell, near
Wotton Courtney, Somersetshire.
4 Hamatitic Conglomerate, Brockwell.
5 Hamatitic Conglomerate, Frampton Cot-
terell, Somersetshire.
6 Hcvmatitic Conglomerate, Cowbridge , South
Wales.
These hsematitic conglomerates are found at the baseof the New Red Sandstone, and generally occupy theposition of its lowest bed. Their character as workingores is very variable, being sometimes mixed up with somuch extraneous material as almost to be worthless; butoccasionally they exist in regular beds, and contain solarge a proportion of lisematite as to become of consider-'able importance.
General
No. of
No.
Senes.
—
Ft.
Geological Formation: Lias, d-c.
457
1
)
458
2
> Ironstone, Whitby.
459
3
I
460
461
4
5
| Ironstone, Middlesborough.
462
6
Silicious Ironstone, Saxelby, near Lin-
coin .—Bed 2 to 3 feet thick.
463
464
7
8
| Silicious Ironstone, near Northampton.
The clay ironstones of the lias are only just beginningto add to our iron-making resources. They furnish aninstance of the unexpected development of nationalwealth, arising from the facilities afforded by railroads.Nos. 1, 2, and 3, are raised along the outcrop of the bedsalong the coast from Whitby to Scarborough. The costof raising is trifling. Nos. 4 and 5 are from an importantbed recently opened at Middlesborough. The thickness