THE CUBA REVIEW 



21 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



MANGANESE 



While several hundred manganese mining 

 clauns have been filed during the past year at 

 the mining bureau of this Province, in only 

 a small number has it been demonstrated that 

 they may be operated at a profit, even with 

 the present abnormally high prices paid for 

 the ore. The lack of proper transportation 

 facilities and of good roads is the great draw- 

 back to the development of the industry here. 

 With three exceptions the mines have to haul 

 their ore to the railroad in ox carts and mule 

 carts, or by pack mules, for a distance of 3 to 

 15 miles, and at a cost of $3.50 to $10 a ton. 



As most of the ores are of low grade and 

 practically none come up to the standard of 

 48 per cent metallic manganese, it is difficult 

 to operate at a profit under the conditions 

 that exist. The roads that are available dur- 

 ing the few months of the dry season become 

 practically impassable in the season of abun- 

 dant rainfall which usually occurs from April 

 to November. Some of the American mine 

 operators are now introducing motor trucks 

 and tractors for transportation of the ore, and 

 it is hoped that by this means some of the 

 present difficulties may be overcome. 



The manganese mines or claims of this 

 Province may be divided into nine groups — 

 Cristo, Ponupo, San Nicolas, Palmarito, Los 

 Negros, Santa Rita, Giusa, Sabanilla, and 

 South Coast- — the mos+ important of which 

 are the Ponupo and Cristo. 



The Ponupo group produces at present 

 about 5,000 tons of ore a month. It is chiefly 

 low grade, averaging from 38 to 40 per cent 

 metallic manganese, and is rather low in 

 silica and iron. As this group is near the line 

 of the railroad, the ore is mined and shipped 

 at a profit under present prices. 



The Cristo group consists of several small 

 claims which at present produce approximate- 

 ly 4,000 tons of ore monthly. The mineral 

 runs slightly higher in metallic manganese 

 and about the same in silica and iron as the 

 Ponupo ore, but the greater part of it requires 

 washing. 



The Palmarito and Los Negros groups pro- 

 duce each about 1,000 tons monthty. The 

 ore from them is high grade and very low in 

 silica and iron. 



Considerable modern machinerj' has re- 

 cently been installed at the San Nicolas 

 mines, and it is expected that several thousand 

 tons monthly will soon be produced from this 

 group. 



The remaining four groups have a combined 

 montlily i)roduction at present estimated at 

 1,000 tons, making the total for the Province 

 approximately 12,000 tons monthly, all of 

 which is exported to the United States 

 through the ports of Santiago and Nipe. 



The declared exports of manganese ore from 

 the Province of Oriente in 1917 were valued 

 at $567,849, of which a large proportion was 

 shipped through the port of Santiago de Cuba, 

 and the remainder from Antilla (Nipe). — - 

 Consul H. M. Wolcoit, Santiago de Cuba. 



CITRUS WASTE 



Florida experiments with oranges and 

 grapefruit unfit for shipment to distant 

 markets show that the juice from sound, culled 

 fruit can be pasteurized, clarified, concen- 

 trated by vacuum evaporation, and kept in 

 good condition for at least 18 months, which 

 is more than sufficient for marketing. A 

 flavoring oil can be prepared from the peel of 

 the Florida orange by distillation with steam, 

 but the amount of oil in grapefruit peel is not 

 sufficient to warrant extraction. Decayed 

 and dropped citrus fruits can be turned into 

 alcohol and citric acid, wdth a pulp residue 

 suitable for stock feeding. 



PATENT MEDICINE REGULATIONS 



According to a notice in the British Board 

 of Trade Journal of November 22, 1917, the 

 enforcement of the Cuban regulations for the 

 sale of foreign pharmaceutical preparations, 

 originally enacted in 1913, and subsequently 

 suspended until September 10, 1917, has been 

 deferred for a further period of two years. 



BAN ON COAL 



Henry H. ^Morgan, representative in Cuba 

 of the American food controller, notified the 

 National Defense Board that authority for 

 the supplying of coal to neutral, Cuban or 

 other ships which carry sugar to Mexico, 

 would not be granted. 



