Sketch of the Mineral Resources of Alabama. 



LJY EUGK^li A. SMITH, STATE GEOLOGIST. 



For the consideration of its mineral resources, the State of 

 Alabama may conveniently be divided into two unequal parts, 

 separated by a curving line drawn from the northwestern 

 corner of the State around by Tuscaloosa, Centreville, and 

 Montgomery, to Columbus, Ga. To the northwestw^ar'd of 

 this lin^ lies tht so-called Mineral Belt or District, compri- 

 sing about i^¥0-fifths cf the area of the state; to the southwest- 

 ward is the Agricultural or Timber Belt, embracing the re- 

 maining three-fifths of the area. In the last named division 

 the useful minerals aie confined, practically, to the clays, the 

 ochres, the marls and the phosphates, while the great bulk 

 of the minerals of economic value are to be found in the first 

 nam-.d division 



THE MINERAL BELT. 



For our purpose we may divide the Mineral District into 

 three regions, which are: i, the Gold Region; 2, the Valley 

 Region ; and 3, the Coal Measures. 



I. The Gold Region. — This is embraced in a triangular 

 area, taking in parts or all of the following counties : Cle- 

 burne, Clay, Talladega, Coosa. Chilton, Elmore, Tallapoosa, 

 Randolph, Chambers and Lee. The mineral productions which 

 are characteristic of this section are the gold ores, copper ores, 

 pyrites', mica, and kaoiin, corundufn, and asbestus. 



Gold.— -In Cleburne county there are several places where 

 a large amount of gold has been obtained in the past. The 

 best known of these localities are Arbacoochee and Chulafin- 

 nee. At the first named place the gravels at Dine creek have 

 yielded the greater part cf the gold, but a }'€ar or two ago a 

 quartz vein was e>:])Osed which carried a very large amount of 

 free gold. This nbce is now in litigation, and nothing has 

 been d'me with it snce its first discovery. From the great 

 quantity of gold obtained from the placers about Arbacoochee, 



