INVESTIGATION  OF  NONMETALLIFEROIIS  ECONOMIC  MINERALS. 
By  ('.  W.  Hayes,   Geologist  in  Charge. 
The  investigation  of  the  non metalliferous  minerals  has  been  carried 
on  during  the  year  1903,  as  heretofore,  largely  in  connection  with  work 
on  areal  geology.  In  addition  to  such  incidental  investigations,  how- 
ever, certain'classes  of  deposits  have  been  independently  studied. 
Iron  ore.a — A  systematic  study  of  the  Lake  Superior  iron-ore  dis- 
tricts was  completed  during  the  year  by  the  publication  of  monographs 
on  the  Vermilion  district,  by  J.  Morgan  Clements,  the  Mesabi  dis- 
trict, by  C.  K.  Leith,  and  the  Menominee  district,  by  W.  S.  Ba}dey. 
Field  work  has  been  continued  in  the  Lake  Superior  region  during  the 
year,  chiefly  by  Messrs.  Leith  and  Smith,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing 
a  final  summary  report  on  the  entire  region.  Under  the  general  super- 
vision of  C.  R.  Van  Hise  an  investigation  of  the  Baraboo  district  has 
been  made  by  Samuel  Weidman,  of  the  Wisconsin  survey.  A  brief  sum- 
mary of  his  conclusions  appears  in  this  bulletin,  in  Mr.  Leith's  paper. 
During  the  year  there  has  been  a  renewal  of  interest  in  the  iron-ore 
deposits  of  the  West,  and  two  groups  of  deposits  in  Utah  have  been 
examined — one  in  the  Uinta  Mountains,  by  J.  M.  Boutwell,  and  one  in 
southern  Utah,  by  C.  K.  Leith.  A  brief  statement  of  their  conclusions 
appears  in  this  volume. 
Fuels. — The  fuel  resources  of  the  country  have  received  a  large 
share  of  attention  during  the  past  year.  In  the  Appalachian  field 
M.  R.  Campbell  and  his  assistants  have  been  actively  engaged  in 
detailed  areal  work  in  the  bituminous  field  of  Pennsylvania,  and  sum- 
mary reports  on  this  work  have  been  prepared  by  Messrs.  Burrows, 
Stone,  and  Butts.  Mr.  Campbell  has'  made  a  special  study  of  the 
Meadow  Branch  coal  field  in  West  Virginia,  a  brief  report  on  which 
appears  in  this  volume.  This  field  is  at  present  attracting  considerable 
interest  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  coal  and  its  proximity  to 
the  eastern  markets.  The  coal  is  essential^  an  anthracite,  occupying 
an  isolated  basin  a  long  distance  east  of  the  main  Appalachian  coal 
field.  It  may  be  regarded  as  the  southernmost  representative  of  the 
anthracite  coal  basins  of  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  George  H.  Ashley  has  continued  the  work  begun  in  1902  on  the 
Cumberland  Gap  coal  field,  in  cooperation  with  the  State  of  Kentucky, 
a  Investigations  of  the  ores  of  iron  and  aluminum  are  made  by  the  section  of  the  Survey  having 
charge  of  the  economic  geology  of  nonmetallifenms  minerals. 
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