THE CUBA R E V I E W 13 



CHROME AND MANGANESE ORES IN CUBA 



(Reprinted from "Boletin de Minas.") 



INVESTIGATION BY GOVERNMENT BUREAUS 



In view of the unusual conditions created by the war, the United States (Jeolog- 

 ical Survey and the Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior, have been study- 

 ing the deposits of several of the minerals that are most essential to the successful 

 prosecution of war. One part of this work consists in ascertaining, primarily for the 

 information of the Government, the extent to which importations of some of these 

 minerals from long distances may be curtailed, or possibly discontinued. Among these 

 essential minerals are chromite, about 50 per cent, of the imports of which during 

 the last few years has been brought from Rhodesia and New Caledonia, and man- 

 ganese, for which the United States has been recently dependent on Brazil for 70 to 80 

 per cent, of its supply. These bureaus advised the Shipping Board and the War In- 

 dustries Board as to the extent and rate at which these importations could be re- 

 duced. 



Reports and notices calling attention to the domestic deposits which should be 

 at once developed or brought to larger production have from time to time been pub- 

 lished, but before conclusions could be formulated as to the development and use of 

 some of the deposits of lower grades of ore it became necessary to obtain authentic 

 and detailed information as to the location, character, quantities, and availability 

 of the reported chromite and manganese deposits in the West Indies. A beginning 

 was accordingly made in Cuba by a party consisting of Albert Burch, consulting 

 engineer of the Bureau of Mines, and Ernest F. Burchard, geologist of the United 

 States Geological Survey, under instructions of Secretary Lane. This party left 

 Washington February 15, 1918, and at Havana was joined by E. I. Montoulieu, a 

 Cuban mining engineer, who was detailed by the Treasury Department of Cuba to 

 act as escort and associate throughout the work on the island. George A. Wright, of 

 Baracoa, Cuba, an American mining engineer, who is familiar with the chromite 

 deposits of the Province of Oriente, was attached to the party from February 25 

 to March 20. The field work, which was completed late in April, included examina- 

 tions of such reported deposits of chrome and manganese ore as seemed to be of 

 promise, without regard to stage of development, and a determination of the quan- 

 tity and quality of ore likely to become available for shipment within the next year 

 and a half. 



The mining engineering data and the tonnage, estimates in part, in the following 

 brief reports on the chrome and manganese ores of Cuba are taken from an unpub- 

 lished report made by Albert Burch to the Director of the Bureau of Mines. All 

 the analyses of chrome ores tabulated except two were made by R. C. Wells, of the 

 United States Geological Survey. 



CHROME ORES— DISTRIBUTION OF DEPOSITS 



All the deposits of chrome ore in Cuba that have thus far attracted attention 

 are within 25 miles and most of them within 10 miles of the north coast. There 

 are about twelve groups of deposits, which display considerable diversity in quality, 

 size and accessibility. One of the most westerly deposits is in the eastern part of 

 the Province of Havana, and two are in the Province of Matanzas. The next group 

 toward the east is in the Province of Camaguey, a few miles northeast of the City 

 of Camaguey. Other groups of deposits are in the Province of Oriente, one near 

 Holguin and another south of Nipe Bay, and there are three groups in the mountains 

 near the coast between Punta Gorda and Baracoa. 



