SOUTHEBN    RED    HEMATITE .  1  X     METALLIC    PAINT.  433 
TENNESSEE. 
The  red-paint  ore  produced  in  Tennessee  is  obtained  mainly  from 
White  Oak  Mountain  and  a  smaller  ridge  lying  to  the  east  of  it. 
The  mines  are  all  within  4  miles  of  Ooltewah,  a  station  on  the  South- 
ern Railway  15  miles  east  of  Chattanooga. 
White  Oak  Mountain  is  developed  on  the  west  limb  of  a  narrow 
syncline  that  trends  N.  15°  E.  The  Rockwood  formation,  here  eon- 
sis  ting  largely  of  hard  brown  sandstone,  forms  the  ridge  of  White 
Oak  Mountain;  also  the  lower  ridge,  about  a  mile  farther  east,  on  the 
east  limb  of  the  syncline.  The  upper  portion  of  the  formation  appears 
to  contain  the  ore  beds  and  their  inclosing  shales.  Nearly  twenty 
years  ago  soft  ore  was  obtained  in  large  quantities  from  surface  work- 
ings near  the  cuts  of  the  Southern  Railway  through  Julian  Gap  and 
McDaniel  Gap,  and  from  the  strip  of  White  Oak  Mountain,  2  miles 
long,  between  these  gaps,  considerable  soft  ore  has  been  removed  in 
past  years.  At  present  underground  mining  is  in  progress  here.  On 
the  Tallen,  Parker,  and  Craven  properties  abed  14  to  18  inches  thick, 
containing  in  places  a  shale  streak,  is  worked  by  slopes  and  short 
drifts  driven  along  the  strike  of  the  bed,  with  rooms  turned  up  and 
down  the  dip.  The  main  openings — perhaps  30  inches  in  height — 
are  high  enough  only  to  admit  a  shallow  car,  and  the  miners  must 
crawl  in  on  hands  and  knees  and  work  in  a  sitting  posture.  The 
roof  over  the  main  entry  is  in  most  places  supported  by  posts,  but  a 
few  of  the  rooms  are  timbered.  None  of  the  workings  have  been 
carried  underground  more  than  75  feet.  The  beds  dip  22°-25°  S. 
65°  E.,  but  there  are  many  minor  crumplings  in  the  strata  that 
change  the  dip  considerably  and  make  mining  more  difficult.  The 
ore  is  so  firm  that  it  has  to  be  blasted,  yet  it  is  thoroughly  leached. 
The  material  is  very  fossiliferous  and  apparently  contains  only  a 
moderate  amount  of  silica  for  a  well-leached  ore.  The  partial  analysis 
of  an  Ooltewah  paint  ore  from  this  locality  is  as  follows:" 
Pari  iul  analysis  of  Ooltewah  paint  ore. 
Silica  (Si02) 11 .  90 
Iron  oxide  I  Fe203) S3.  14 
The  mines  on  these  properties  are  being  worked  by  lessees,  who 
pay  25  cents  a  ton  royalty  on  the  ore  taken.  The  ore  is  hauled  by 
team  1J  miles  to  Wells  switch  at  a  cost  of  about  50  cents  a  ton,  or 
wagonload,  and  it  brings  $2.85  on  the  cars.  The  freight,  30  cents  a 
ton  to  Chattanooga,  is  paid  by  the  purchasers.  Each  miner  gets  out 
about  1  ton  of  ore  per  day,  and  wages  run  from  $1  to  $1.50  per  day. 
It  is  plain  that  the  cost  of  the  ore  is  such  that  while  red  ore  for  smelt- 
ing sells  at  about  $1  per  ton  these  ores  are  not  available  for  making- 
iron. 
o  Bowron,  W.  M.,  The  Iron  Ores  of  the  Chattanooga  District,  Chattanooga  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
November,  1903,  p.  4. 
