IRON,    MANGANESE,    AND    ALUMINUM.  21 
series  of  reports  on  the  various  lake  ore  ranges  have  been  published,  and  as  the  detailed 
mapping  of  that  district  is  now  practically  completed  work  is  being  commenced  on  the 
iron-ore  deposits  of  the  Southern  and  Western  States. 
Several  Survey  parties  were  engaged  in  the  examination  of  Alabama  iron  districts  din- 
ing 1905.  Mr.  Butts,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Dawson,  completed  area]  and  economic 
mapping  of  a  large  part  of  the  important  Birmingham  district  and  collected  data  on  the 
"Clinton"  rod  ores  of  that  region.  Mr.  E.  C.  Eckel  examined  the  red-ore  deposits  in  the 
Lookout  Mountain  district  from  Chattanooga  to  Attalla,  Gadsden,  and  Gaylesville,  and 
later  visited  the  brown-ore  districts,  of  which  Anniston  is  the  center.  Arrangements  have 
been  made  for  cooperative  work  with  the  Alabama  Geological  Survey,  and  reports  on  the 
iron  ores  and  iron  industries  of  Alabama  will  be  issued  as  soon  as  possible.  The  present 
bulletin  contains  a  brief  preliminary  report  on  the  red  ores  of  the  Lookout  Mountain  dist  rict. 
In  Virginia  work  on  the  iron  ores  was  carried  on  in  cooperation  with  the  Virginia  Geolog- 
ical Survey,  the  field  work  being  divided  between  the  two  organizations.  Mr.  R.  J.  Holden, 
of  the  Virginia  Survey,  examined  the  brown  ores  of  the  New  River-Cripple  Creek  district 
and  later  spent  some  time  in  the  Oriskany  district.  Mr.  E.  C.  Eckel  examined  most  of  the 
Oriskany  and  Clinton  ores  of  the  State,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Grasty.  Prof.  H.  D. 
Campbell  placed  his  detailed  maps  of  the  district  at  our  disposal,  which  rendered  possible 
a  very  complete  report  on  the  district.  In  this  bulletin  (pp.  183  and  190)  preliminary  report  s 
on  several  Virginia  iron  districts  are  presented. 
A  brief  paper  on  the  ores  of  Bath  County,  Ky.,  is  included,  the  report  being  based  on 
data  obtained  by  Messrs.  Kindle  and  Phalen  in  the  course  of  areal  mapping  in  that  district . 
The  recent  extension  of  actual  development  as  well  as  of  detailed  exploration  of  the  new 
ore  deposits  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  Pacific  States  has  made  it  evident  that  these 
deposits  may  prove  to  be  important  factors  in  the  iron  industry  of  the  future.  Mr:  C.  K. 
Leith  examined  most  of  the  developed  districts  during  the  past  year,  and  his  report,  pre- 
sented later  in  this  bulletin,  is  a  valuable  preliminary  statement  on  the  subject.  Detailed 
work  on  these  iron  ores  will  be  taken  up  by  the  Survey  as  soon  as  possible. 
Mr.  A.  C.  Spencer  has  for  some  time  been  engaged  in  a  very  detailed  study  of  the  iron, 
zinc,  and  manganese  deposits  of  the  Franklin  Furnace  district  of  New  Jersey.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  work  he  has  examined  a  number  of  magnetite  deposits  elsewhere  in  New  Jer- 
sey and  in  New  York,  and  has  formulated  theories  of  occurrence  and  origin  which  seem  to 
have  an  important  bearing  on  the  future  development  of  these  ores.  The  exploratory 
work  so  far  carried  on  by  mining  companies  has  been  of  a  rather  haphazard  nature,  based 
on  no  definite  working  theory.  It  is  hoped  that  the  publication,  during  1906,  of  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's report  will  supply  the  prospector  and  miner  with  data  which  will  serve  as  a  guide  both 
in  locating  and  valuing  the  deposits. 
Manganese. — As  most  of  the  manganese  ores  of  the  United  States  are  closely  associated, 
both  geographically  and  geologically,  with  brown-iron  ores,  work  on  the  two  products  is 
best  carried  on  by  the  same  Survey  parties.  In  the  course  of  the  work  on  the  southern 
iron  ores  outlined  on  a  previous  page  considerable  data  have  been  collected  concerning  the 
manganese  ores  of  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  Alabama. 
Aluminum. — During  1905  bauxite  was  discovered  in  Tennessee,  Virginia,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, far  to  the  north  of  the  previously  known  occurrences.  Developments  in  the  use  of 
low-grade  bauxite  for  the  manufacture  of  refractory  brick  have  also  stimulated  interest,  in 
the  industry,  so  that  prospecting  for  bauxite  has  been  particularly  active  during  the  past 
year.  It  is  noteworthy,  however,  that  though  these  new  discoveries  extended  the  area 
known  to  contain  bauxite  deposits,  the  general  location  and  character  of  the  deposits  are 
entirely  in  line  with  the  conditions  pointed  out  by  Survey  geologists  a  decade  ago.  Din- 
ing 1905  the  Arkansas  deposits  were  reexamined  by  Survey  parties, and  it  is  probable  that 
in  1906  the  new  eastern  districts  will  be  surveyed  and  reported  on. 
