354  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1904.         [bull.  2(50. 
MINING  AND  HANDLING  THE  ORES. 
The  two  statements  just  made  have  a  practical  bearing  on  the 
mining  prospects  of  the  districts.  If  no  increase  in  either  thickness 
or  richness  is  to  be  expected  in  depth,  it  is  obvious  that  deep  Avork- 
ings  will  not  be  commercially  practicable.  The  mining  of  the  region 
will  be  confined  to  working  off  the  bowlders  and  other  surface  ores  ] 
and  to  working  the  deposits  nearest  the  surface.  The  Avhole  propo- 
sition is  one  of  shallow  stripping,  unlike  any  other  mining  except 
that  of  the  white  and  brown  phosphates  of  Tennessee. 
The  problem  is  that  of  economically  working  a  deposit  rarely  over 
2  feet  in  thickness,  but  covering  great  areas.  This  deposit  will  in 
places  be  exposed  at  the  surface;  at  other  points  it  will  be  covered 
by  soil  and  sand  varying  from  1  to  6  feet  in  thickness.  When  the 
stripping  becomes  thicker  than  this  the  ores  can  not  be  profitably 
mined,  for  no  cheap  method  of  handling  heavy  stripping  can  be 
applied  here.  Water  is  too  scarce  to  admit  of  hydraulicking  the! 
surface  material,  while  the  location  and  form  of  the  ore  bodies  as 
well  as  the  character  of  the  ores  will  prevent  the  use  of  steam  shovels 
or  other  mechanical  devices. 
The  scarcity  of  water  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  ore  deposits 
has  a  second  disadvantage — it  necessitates  the  working  and  shipment  I 
of  lump  ore  only.     At  a  few  points  Avashers  may  be  installed,  but  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  district  this  is  impracticable. 
All  this  may  sound  discouraging,  in  vieAv  of  preA7ious  enthusiastic' 
estimates  of  the  value  of  these  ore  deposits,  but  the  facts  may  as  wej 
be  faced  now  as  later.  The  ores  are  rich,  and  areally  extensive,  but 
the  deposits  are  thin  and  located  in  a  rugged  country.  So  large  a 
total  amount  of  ore  is  available  and  competitive  districts  are  so  dis- 
tant, however,  that  the  deposits  Avill  probably  be  extensively  worked. 
But  the  individual  workings  Avill  be  so  small  and  scattered  that  no 
large  concentrated  mining  operations  can  be  expected. 
