B. H. Brough—TIron Ore Supplies. 449 
During the past half-century the development of the iron industry 
has been remarkable. In 1854 Mr. J. K. Blackwell showed that the 
world’s production of pig iron did not exceed 6,000,000 tons, of which 
the United Kingdom produced 50 per cent., France and the United 
States each 123 per cent., and Germany 6°6 per cent. In 1905 the 
world’s production had attained the enormous total of 56,000,000 tons, 
of which the United States produced 42°7 per cent., Germany and 
Luxemburg 20 per cent., the United Kingdom 17°6 per cent., and 
France 5°5 per cent. 
In Great Britain the principal iron-ore producing districts are 
Cleveland, in North Yorkshire, which in 1905 yielded 41 per cent. 
of the total output of the kingdom; Lincolnshire (14'8 per cent.), 
Northamptonshire (13°9 per cent.), and Leicestershire (4°7 per cent.), 
together yielding 33:4 per cent. of the total output; Cumberland 
(8°6 per cent.) and North Lancashire (2:7 per cent.), Staffordshire 
(6°1 per cent.), and Scotland (5-7 per cent.). The Cleveland iron ore 
oceurs in a 10-foot bed in the Middle Lias, and contains about 30 per 
cent. of iron. It is worked by underground mining. In Lincolnshire, 
Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire the brown iron-ore beds form 
part of the Inferior Oolite, and contain about 33 per cent. of iron, 
the workings being mostly opencast. In Cumberland and North 
Lancashire the red hematite occurs in irregular masses in Carboniferous 
Limestone. It contains more than 50 per cent. of iron, and is worked 
by underground ming. ‘The ironstone in Staffordshire and in 
Scotland is mostly obtained from mines that also produce coal. 
Such, in brief, are the home deposits from which the British supply 
of 14,590,703 tons of iron ore, valued at £3,482,184, was obtained in 
1905. Even that enormous output did not meet the consumption, and 
7,344,786 tons were imported. Of that amount 78°5 per cent. was 
brought from Spain, 5:4 per cent. from Norway, 4:2 per cent. from 
Greece, 4:0 per cent. from Algeria, 2°6 per cent. from France, 2°6 per 
cent. from Sweden, 1°5 per cent. from Russia, and smaller quantities 
from Turkey, Germany, islands in the Pacific, Belgium, Newfoundland, 
India, Australia, Italy (Elba), Persia, Portugal, and other countries. 
In fact, the world is being ransacked for fresh iron-ore fields to supply 
ores for the British blast-furnaces. The port at which most of the ore 
was delivered was Middlesbrough (1,789,639 tons), then followed 
Glasgow with 1,042,179 tons, and then Cardiff with 875,462 tons. 
While it is probable that the British iron-ore fields will be exhausted 
in a century or two, the outlook in other countries is similar. This is 
borne out by data relative to the available iron-ore supplies of the 
world which have been collected by Tornebshm for the Swedish 
Parliament, and, although largely conjectural, these figures are of 
great interest. 
In the United States the iron-ore production in 1905 exceeded 
424 million tons, the highest output ever recorded, the ore containing 
more iron than the ores raised in Germany, in the United Kingdom, 
and in Spain combined. The bulk of the production was obtained in 
the Lake Superior region, where the five iron-ore belts or ranges 
(Marquette, Menominee, Gogebic, Vermilion, and Mesaba), beds of 
pre-Silurian age, have furnished since the beginning of regular mining 
DECADE V.—VOL. IV.—NO. X. 29 
