IRON ORES 



349 



It is much narrower than long, and lias the usual lenticular cross- 

 section forming a great pod or elongated lense, with its axis running 

 about S. 60 W, thus showing the invariable southwest pitch with a 

 westerly dip. Two cross sections are given by Putnam, who made 

 them underground. At my visit the mine was full of water. Bor- 

 ings across the gulch to the south have shown a thin bed at 300' 

 depth. The geology of this ore body presents points of interest not 

 shown by others. At first sight it might appear like a great contact 

 deposit near the junction of gabbro and limestone, but so much 

 gneiss intervenes that difficulties are in the way of this view, and 

 the shape, structure, associates and character of the ore all connect 

 it with the usual lenses in the gneiss. It lies however in the gneiss 

 near the overlying limestone, and also near the intruded gabbro. It 

 differs from the ores in the gabbro by having but slight traces of 

 titanic oxide. The general composition is very much like that of 

 the Mineville ores. 



Other Mines in Moriah 



The county atlas mentions an opening near the house of James 

 Lewis, and inquiry of Mr Lewis elicited the fact that he believes 

 that he has opened a large ore body. I did not visit the openings, 

 but specimens gathered from the hill in the rear of his house are 

 gneissoid gabbro, and if in these rocks the ore would prove titanifer- 

 ous. There is also an old series of prospect holes two miles or so 

 south of Lewis's. These show traces of ore but nothing serious. 

 The wall is gneiss and consists of orthoclase, green pyroxene, much 

 titanite and a little hornblende. A small prospect has been ill- 

 advisedly run in on a fine diabase dike, on the east side of a hill a 

 mile west of Moriah Center. A considerable plant lias been set up 

 at the Coat Hill Mines, on Bullwagga Mtn. Both walls and ore 

 consist of crushed quartzes, chloritic matter, rotten feldspar and 

 scattered magnetite grains. There are no surface indications of any 

 ore body of serious moment. 



General Remarks. The present state of the iron business and 

 the small prices at which Lake Superior ores are now sold in the 

 east, offer slight encouragement to new ventures. The productive 

 ones do however occur along common lines of strike, and any pros- 

 pecting would best be done with these as ranges. Disturbances of 

 strike and dip should however be looked for with care, as in such a 



