Mining Bureau of the Philippine Islands 419 



ington in 1901. This report was sup- 

 plemented by a visit of inspection to the 

 principal known coal deposits by Lieut. 

 Edward M. Markham, Corps of Engi- 

 neers, U. S. A., under directions of the 

 Secretary of War. As the result of 

 these investigations and reports, the 

 western portion of the Island of Batan 

 was recommended and selected for gov- 

 ernmental experiments, and this work 

 is now in progress with every prospect 

 •of success. 



In 1902 a field party was organized 

 and sent out from this Bureau to make 

 a reconnoissance of the well-known iron 

 region of Angat, Bulacan, and to sub- 

 mit a report thereon as a basis upon 

 which to institute and build up a sys- 

 tematic geological and mineralogical 

 survey of the archipelago and to dis- 

 seminate such information as to the 

 mineral resources and other conditions 

 as to enable capital to be intelligently 

 directed in the mining industry. Mr 

 Hiram D. McCaskey, B. S., and the 

 mining engineer of this Bureau, a grad- 

 uate of the Lehigh School of Mines, 

 was placed at the head of this expedi- 

 tion, and his report on "A Geological 

 Reconnoissance of the Iron Region of 

 Angat, Bulacan," a work of 62 pages, 

 with 14 maps, sketches, and tables and 

 41 half-tone illustrations, has just been 

 issued as ' ' Bulletin No. 3 " of this Bu- 

 reau and from the Bureau of Public 

 Printing of the Government of the Phil- 

 ippines. This work covers a brief de- 

 scription of the class and character of 

 the field work, with subdivision, phys- 

 ical and geographical, geological, litho- 

 logical, and mineralogical ; with a well 

 illustrated description of the iron-mining 

 industry as carried on by the natives 

 and which is one of the oldest mining 

 industries of this archipelago. The 

 Zuiiiga theory of the Taal volcano is 

 discussed at length, and the authorities 

 upon that subject are carefully com- 

 pared. In addition to the iron deposits, 

 the author has also treated of the gold, 

 graphite, and lignite deposits of that 



region, and has also added a chapter on 

 lime-burning. The tables of analyses 

 of ores are very complete, and the prac- 

 tical questions of labor and transporta- 

 tion are fully" presented. The famous 

 mineral springs of Bulacan are also de- 

 scribed. 



The Bureau has also issued a bulletin 

 (No. 1) on "Platinum and the Associ- 

 ated Rare Metals in Placer Formations " 

 for the use of miners and prospectors. 



This completes the publications of the 

 Bureau, but it represents only a small 

 portion of the work that has been done 

 by the Bureau. Questions of titles have 

 constantly arisen, and the manuscript 

 reports on this line make several large 

 volumes. The mining engineer has 

 made a careful study of both the geo- 

 logical and economic conditions so far 

 as the same could be learned from the 

 voluminous records and archives, as 

 well as from prospectors and miners, 

 and scientific expeditions have been 

 made to Culion and Paragua, with pre- 

 liminary reports thereon. These expe- 

 ditious, which were only cursory, to- 

 gether with the field work in Bulacan 

 and the study of the archives and rec- 

 ords, have enabled this Bureau to frame 

 and recommend to the U. S. Philippine 

 Commission a proposition for the reor- 

 ganization of this Bureau, transferring 

 all titles to the Bureau of Public Lands, 

 in order that titles on mineral lands 

 may be more economically administered, 

 and placing this Bureau in a condition 

 to take up the work of (a) geological 

 and mineralogical surveys and studies 

 and (b) the promotion and encourage- 

 ment of the mining industries, the work 

 in the future to follow along the lines 

 of state geological bureaus or state bu- 

 reaus of mines in the United States. 

 That there is an urgent demand for this 

 reorganization, and that under it the 

 mining industry will be promoted and 

 in a reasonable time become an impor- 

 tant factor in these islands, the writer 

 has no doubt, while the field of geolog- 

 ical research is one of untold wealth. 



