THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY 1915 35 



eastern mines, with demand and prices on a lower basis than they 

 had been for a long time. The output consequently fell off, the 

 mines reporting the smallest total that had been recorded since the 

 panic times of 1907-8. While the upturn that came in the spring 

 of 191 5 was registered in the trend of production for the year, it 

 did not show itself fully in the statistics, inasmuch as the mining 

 companies were not in position to take advantage immediately 

 of the change. 



The outlook for the immediate future of the iron industry in the 

 State is encouraging. The curtailment of the shipments of foreign 

 ores, due to the high ocean freights and uncertainties incident to 

 the European War, has created a situation favorable to the local 

 mines whose market is found in the metallurgical centers of New 

 York and eastern Pennsylvania. A further advantage has been the 

 general rise in railroad rates which has created a larger margin 

 between the rates for Lake Superior ores and those from the East. 



The production of furnace ores and concentrates, as reported by 

 the different mines that were operative in the State, was 944,430 

 long tons. In comparison with the total reported for the preceding 

 year, this represented an increase of 192,714 tons or about 25 per 

 cent, but still was smaller than any other year previously since 1908. 

 The value of the product at the mines was $2,970,526, or $3.15 a 

 ton, against an average of $3.13 a ton in 1914. 



The total was made up of magnetite, hematite and limonite in 

 the order of their importance. The magnetite mines in the Adiron- 

 dacks and the Highlands of Orange county contributed altogether 

 873,422 long tons worth $2,825,176, against 703,670 long tons worth 

 $2,251,656 in 1914. The hematite was from the Clinton belt in 

 Oneida and Wayne counties. The limonite, which amounted to a 

 few hundred tons only, came from Columbia county. 



