114 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA. 



places, and showed good ore at all points. Thickness of 

 solid ore from one to two feet. This out-crop was seen for 

 about quarter of a mile. It is a little over half way down the 

 N. W. slope of Red Mountain. At the top of the mountain 

 above it, (but geologically in older strata, and at least 100 

 feet below it,) was seen a great bed of impure manga- 

 niferous matter, consisting of chert, silica, psilomelane, 

 manganiferous iron ore, and pyrolusite, all mixed in varying 

 proportions. Where this was cut into a few feet, the rocks 

 became very hard, and were in regular layers. The 

 openings only penetrated far enough to show three feet of 

 this material. The surface indicated much more, it covered 

 the brow of the mountain for a breadth of sixty feet. This 

 bed, though differing in structure, is evidently the same a& 

 seen near the line of sections 14 and 15. It is very promi. 

 nently exposed here for a quarter of a mile, then a gap inter- 

 venes; beyond that for over a 100 yards, it is wholly manga- 

 niferous iron ore, soft, of a dark blue color, and probably carry- 

 ing 20 per cent, dioxide of manganese. This ore if free from 

 phosphorus will be valuable. An exposure of the Black 

 Shale near by showed only 50 feet of intervening strata, be- 

 tween it and this manganiferous bed. No opening had been 

 made on the bed, its thickness is unknown, it shows on the 

 surface for a breadth 20 to 30 feet, but as the out crop 

 slopes down the hill, that gives no certain evidence of its- 

 thickness. This is near the line between S. 16 and 21, T. 

 11, R. 3, E. 



Near the east side section 21 a gap exists in the moun- 

 tain, and)no signs of manganese were there visible. But in 

 the remainder of the section it comes prominently to the 

 surface in many places. In the N. E. ^ it presents several 

 fine exposures of manganiferous iron ore. Also a good out- 

 crop of the same, and of better quality, was seen inN. W. . 

 But in S. W. i several openings had been made, and the 

 best show of pyrolusite ore yet seen is exhibited. In differ- 

 ent holes dug on it, the thickness of the bed varied from 

 two and a half to four feet. The extent, and form of the de- 

 posit is unknown. The ore is in chunks, nearly solid in the 



