BROWN     IRON    ORES    OF    RUSSELLVILLE    DISTRICT,   ALA.  157 
from  ponds  or  reservoirs  that  are  supplied  by  the  small  creeks  of  the 
district.  After  being  pumped  to  the  washers  the  residue  runs  into 
settling  ponds,  which  eventually  yield  part  of  the  water  for  use  again. 
Rough  estimates  indicate  that  from  2,000  to  2,500  gallons  of  water  are 
used  for  each  ton  of  ore  washed,  but  as  a  general  rule  much  more  ore — 
perhaps  twice  as  much — might  be  washed  with  the  same  quantity  of 
water,  since  during  the  operation  ore  is  delivered  irregularly,  and 
often  no  ore  whatever  is  on  the  screen,  while  the  water  must  of 
necessity  be  pumped  constantly. 
Operators. — Three  companies — the  Sloss-Sheffield  Steel  and  Iron 
Company,  the  Sheffield  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  and  the  Alabama- 
Virginia  Iron  Ore  Company — are  at  present  mining  in  the  Russellville 
district.  The  first  two  companies  mine  ore  for  smelting  in  their  own 
furnaces;  the  latter  company  mines  ore  for  sale  only. 
The  workings  of  the  Sloss  Company  are  southeast  of  Russellville  and 
cover  the  greater  part  of  sees.  27,  28,  29,  31,  32,  33,  and  34,  T.  6  S., 
R.  1 1  W.  Four  washers  handle  the  output  of  ore,  which  ranges  from 
700  to  900  tons  a  day,  all  taken  by  the  company's  furnaces  at  Shef- 
field. The  ore  is  all  mined  from  open  cuts.  At  the  first  workings 
east  of  the  town  the  ore  is  mined  by  steam  shovel  and  hauled  by  a 
•'dinkey"  to  washer  No.  1.  The  ore  from  these  cuts  is  entirely  of 
type  B.  It  lies  along  an  old  ridge  of  limestone,  the  strata  of  which 
have  been  exposed  in  places  by  stripping  the  ore-bearing  loam.  This 
loam  varies  in  depth  from  a  few  inches  to  30  feet,  and  10  to  11  cubic 
yards  of  it  yield  1  ton  of  washed  ore.  The  ore  worked  near  washer 
No.  4  is  of  type  A.  It  is  massive  and  occurs  in  association  with  white 
to  greenish  residual  clays,  which  overlie  the  Bangor  limestone. 
Pots  of  ore  12  to  15  feet  deep  and  " horses"  of  limestone  and  clay  are 
mingled  together,  but  above  the  general  level  of  the  highest  clay 
" horses"  a  rich  deposit  of  ore  extends  10  to  20  feet  higher,  and  this  is 
overlain  by  an  equal  thickness  of  pebbly  conglomerate  and  barren 
loam.  The  material  worked  here  yields  1  ton  of  ore  for  each  3J  cubic 
yards  of  dirt,  and  the  entire  output  of  the  property  washed  6  to  1  in 
the  summer  of  1906. 
The  mines  of  the  Sheffield  Coal  and  Iron  Company  lie  southwest  of 
Russellville,  mainly  in  sec.  36,  T.  6  S.,  R.  12  W.,  and  sec.  1,  T.  7  S., 
;R.  12  W.     In  August,  1906,  one  washer  was  in  operation,  cleaning  up 
Ebout  250  tons  of  ore  daily,  which  was  supplied  from  a  large  open  cut 
wo-thirds  of  a  mile  to  the  southeast.  Two  steam  shovels  load  the 
dirt  into  cars  singly  and  in  trains.  The  ore  is  rather  fine  grained, 
Especially  in  the  upper  beds,  which  are  of  loam,  and  it  appears  to 
belong  to  type  B,  although  richer  than  most  deposits  of  that  kind. 
The  deposit  ranges  from  12  to  25  feet  in  thickness  and  is  underlain  by 
flat-lying  limestone  ledges,  which  are  usually  covered  by  a  few  inches 
[of  residual  clay.  In  the  SW.  \  SW.  \  sec.  35,  T.  6  S.,  R.  12  W.,  are  the 
Bull.  315—07 11 
