THE CUBA REVIEW 



15 



South of Bahfa Honda, and extending some 50 kilometres in a south-easterly direction, 

 begins an important belt of sedimentary' rocks, rich in all manner of oil indications. Import- 

 ant seepages are visible in many localities ; porous rocks are often found saturated in an excellent 

 grade of oil which flows out upon breaking the specimen under the hammer; the geological 

 features of the land from a structural point of view are of the highest interest and just the type 

 that would interest petroleum experts. 



Quite recently an American concern took a lease on a claim covering over 100,000 

 acres of this land. Some of the best indications are apparent at Artemisa, while at Candelaria, 

 a man drilled a shallow well with a small four-inch rig and obtained a few barrels a day which 

 he used about his farm. 



The future of Pinar del Rio as a mining district is no longer a source of speculation; intelli- 

 gent mining is only needed. 



Occurrence of Chromite at the Elena Mine. 



PROVINCE OF HAVANA 



The northern half of the Province of Havana is very interesting to the petrologist.dueto 

 its wealth of oil surface-indications, specially in its central portion. At Bacuranao, about 23 

 kilometres east of Havana, oil in paying amounts was first struck in a well 540 feet deep by 

 the Union Oil Company, a concern organized with Spanish and Cuban capital. 



It is very interesting to note that the country rock is serpentine, although a few miles to 

 the north, the formation is flanked by limestones which form a low range of hills. To many ob- 

 servers the presence of serpentine was the best proof that oil would never be found, based on 

 the generality that oil could not be found near, or in, igneous rocks. In spite of all prejudices 

 and predictions, about 100 barrels of oil have been coming from three wells in this camp, while 



