ELIZABETHTOWX AND PORT HENRY QUADRANGLES 97 



should these ever be called for in the future. The several topics 

 will now be described in order as follows : 



1 Iron ores 



a Nontitaniferous magnetites 

 b Titaniferous magnetites 

 c Red hematite 



2 Limestone 



a For flux, macadam etc. 

 b For building and ornament 



3 Clay 



I Iron ores 



General commercial characters. The iron ores w^hich are at 

 present exploited are non-Bessemer and rather high in phosphorus. 

 ^Magnetic concentration is employed to bring the phosphorus lower, 

 and to a certain degree to raise the percentage in iron. Ores of 

 Bessemer grade have been produced in the past and may any year 

 be revived, since the deposits are far from exhaustion. Besides 

 these two varieties, there is one other case of a magnetite rather rich 

 in sulfur, an element which fails in the mines previously referred 

 to. The ore was lean, however, and the mine, the Lee, near Port 

 Henry, has been idle for years. 



The titaniferous magnetites are a distinct and interesting type 

 and are not at present of commercial importance within the area 

 here covered, but they are not infrequent and are at least of great 

 scientific interest. They are never as rich in iron as the similar 

 ones farther west near Lake Sanford which are now^ about to be 

 commercially mined and concentrated. 



Red hematite has attracted attention in only one locality, just 

 south of Port Henry, where it is the result of the decomposition 

 of crushed hornblendic gneiss along a fault line. The pits have 

 been abandoned and have been filled with water for years past. 



The commercial importance of the iron ore deposits therefore 

 hinges upon the nontitaniferous varieties, which are in some cases 

 high in phosphorus, in others low. The predominant mining center 

 is ]\Iineville and from it the output really comes, but tTie revival 

 of the Cheever mine north of Port Henry, with the aid of magnetic 

 concentration has placed it again upon the list of producers, al- 

 though the business depression of 1897-98 made the operation 

 of the mill intermittent. 



Geological associations. The largest mines occur in more or 

 less gneissoid members of what is here described as the syenite 



