6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



INTRODUCTION 



Substantial progress was made during the past year in many 

 departments of the mineral industry, and though conditions in 

 some lines were not so prosperous as they had been in previous 

 years, the general record may be regarded with satisfaction. 

 The census of production that has been conducted for the 

 present and preceding issues of this report covers over 30 differ- 

 ent materials mined or quarried in the State; the total value of 

 the output returned for 1907 amounted to $37,427,405, showing 

 a small advance over the corresponding total for 1906 which was 

 $37,132,832, the largest recorded up to that time. When com- 

 pared with other years the status of the industry in 1907 appears 

 in even more favorable light, as the value of the production in 

 1905 was $35,470,987 and in 1904 only $28,812,595. Within the 

 four years for which returns have been collected, there has thus 

 been a gain of 30 per cent in the mineral production of the State. 



These valuations, it may be noted, are based on materials in 

 elementary or first marketable form, so that they actually repre- 

 sent only a small part of the aggregates contributed each* year 

 by the mineral industry in general. The metallurgical and 

 chemical products classed as mineral are among the largest items 

 of local manufactures. 



By comparison of the tables of production included herewith, 

 it will be observed that iron mining has undergone uninterrupted 

 expansion during the past few years. The output for 1907 

 amounted to 1,018,013 long tons and exceeded that of any pre- 

 vious year since 1890. There were 13 mines under exploitation, 

 or two more than in 1906 when the production was 905,367 tons. 

 Several additional mines have been under development prelimin- 

 ary to active work. The Clinton ore belt has been the center 

 of special interest, and large tracts of land in Wayne and Cayuga 

 counties have been taken over by companies with a view to 

 mining operations. The Fair Haven Iron Co. began shipments 

 from this region for the first time last year. The Adirondack 

 region also has shared in the activity. The Benson mines in 

 St Lawrence county and the Cheever mine near Port Henry 

 have been reopened, while the deposits of titaniferous ores at 

 Lake Sanford received attention and their operation is post- 

 poned only for the want of railroad facilities which are planned 

 for the near future. With a return of the iron market to normal 

 conditions, it may be expected that the iron ore production of 

 New York will soon develop beyond all proportions of the past. 



