256 
GEOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
ferent character. The ore nearest to the line of the deposits last described 
is the Mountain Ore Bank. It is on a high ridge, or mountain spur, 
(Whetstone Mountain) 2 or 300 feet above the level of the general level, 
and some two miles west of the Furgeson Ore Bank. It is a regular vein 
of limonite, fibrous, radiated, mammillary and cellular; a portion of it a 
dirty bluish-black, earthy mass, with a disposition to break out in small 
angular fragments, — evidently manganiferous and derived by decomposi- 
tion from the carbonate of iron. The vein is four to eight feet thick, asso- 
ciated with a heavy quartz vein, in a quartzo-argillaceous slate, and has a 
strike Is. 35° E., and which does not vary more than 1° to 5° from the 
vertical (towards the west). It is remarkably pure and will no doubt 
become valuable in the manufacture of Spiegeleisen. The second vein 
the Ormond Ore Bank, is in the slate belt also, and is probably a vein, 
(no exposures of it were visible on account of the iilling up of the pits). 
It has been worked quite extensively before and during the late war ; and 
the iron has a high reputation in the region. It is specially preferred for 
wagon tires, and is said to outlast those made from any other iron. The 
vein is reported to be S to 15 feet thick. The strike is H. 35 Q E. The 
ore is fine granular, of a dirty brownish-red color, and much of it is fria- 
ble and easily falls to powder. This ore is manganiferous like the last, 
and is a hematite, which is partly hydrated and limonitic, (turgite?) 
The following analyses, by Dr. Genth, will show the high character of 
these ores : 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
Magnetic Oxide of Iron,... 
. . 92.18 
69.64 
82.14 
86.66 
88.56 
Sesquioxide of Iron, 
4.30 
Oxide of Manganese, 
, .. 0.28 
0.53 
5.12 
5.17 
Alumina, . 
. . 0.44 
0.96 
Magnesia, 
, . 2.23 
1.30 
0.27 
0.30 
Lime, 
. . 0.35 
0.25 
0.37 
Silica and Actinolite, 
... 4.34 
23.80 
4.47 
1.42 
0.S4 
Water, 
... 0.18 
12.S6 
6.28 
4.76 
Iron, 
53.44 
57.50 
60.66 
61.99 
Dr. G. adds : “ These ores contain neither sulphur nor phosphorus.’* 
Ho. 49 contains a trace of cobalt. Ho. 42 is the Costner ore ; Ho. 43 
the Ellison ; Hos. 48 and 49 represent the fibrous limonite, and “ man- 
gauiferous limonite, resulting from the decomposition of siderite,” of 
the Mountain Mine ; and Ho. 50 is the Ormond ore. 
