226  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,    1903.  [bull. 225. 
good  quality,  at  present  it  is  too  far  from  a  railroad  to  admit  of  profit- 
able exploitation,  and  that  it  is  most  suitable  for  use  as  a  flux. 
The  iron  deposits  of  Rhodes  Plateau,  which  are  the  main  subject  of 
this  sketch,  appear  to  be  in  the  principal  metallic  deposits  thus  far 
opened  in  the  Uinta  Mountains.  The  more  important  facts  regarding 
those  deposits,  including  their  situation,  history  and  development, 
character  and  occurrence,  follow. 
Situation  of  ore  deposits.— -These  iron  deposits  are  situated  in  Wasatch 
County,  Utah,  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  Uinta  Range,  about 
10  miles  south  of  its  main  divide,  on  the  main  divide  between  Provo 
and  Duchesne  drainages,  at  the  head  of  Soapstone  Basin,  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  between  9,600  and  9,700  feet  above  sea  level.  The  locality  is 
easily  accessible  from  the  west  by  way  of  Provo  River  and  Soapstone 
Creek.  It  is  reported  that  the  continuation  of  the  same  route  leading 
by  other  deposits  to  the  south  may  also  be  taken  from  the  Duchesne 
on  the  east. 
History  and  development  of  iron  deposits. — The  iron  was  probably 
discovered  and  first  used  b}T  the  Indians,  and  a  reliable  authority 
informs  the  writer  that  the  red  ore  of  these  iron  deposits  was  used  by 
them  for  paint. 
About  twenty-five  years  ago  the  most  promising  deposits  were 
located  by  a  party  from  Heber  led  \>x  a  man  named  Cummings.  It  is 
believed  that  they  did  the  first  actual  development  work  on  the  prop- 
erty and  hauled  a  few  loads  of  ore  to  the  smelters  in  Salt  Lake  Valle}^. 
Two  years  later,  when  Mr.  Potts  first  visited  the  locality,  he  noted 
44 two  small  cuts  about  200  feet  apart"  which  "looked  as  though  10  or 
12  tons  of  ore  might  have  been  taken  out/'"  In  1879,  upon  the  com- 
pletion of  a  smelter  at  Park  City,  he  mined  200  tons  of  this  iron  ore 
and  delivered  it  at  the  smelter  for  flux.  The  following  year  he 
delivered  300  tons,  and  further  shipments  were  then  stopped  by  the 
closing  of  the  smelter.  It  is  thus  known  that  shipments  were  made 
amounting  to  500  tons.  It  is  believed  that  the  total  is  a  little  higher. 
In  1882  or  1883  the  ground  was  surveyed  for  patent,  and  seven  claims, 
each  600  by  1,500  feet,  were  eventually  patented  to  E.  P.  Ferry. 
Some  further  prospecting  has  since  been  done  in  the  vicinity,  and  as 
a  result  a  few  more  claims  may  have  been  staked.  In  the  fall  of  1902 
other  croppings  were  prospected,  additional  claims  were  laid  out,  and 
some  assessment  work  was  done. 
Character  of  ore. — The  ore  is  a  red  hematite  of  two  varieties,  the 
red  ocherous  and  the  gray  massive  semispecular.  It  varies  in  purity 
from  samples  of  higher  grade,  which  are  solid,  pure  iron,  to  samples 
"The  principal  historical  facts  here  given  are  based  npon  information  supplied  by  W.  V.  Rice,  of 
Salt  Lake  City,  who  visited  this  locality  in  the  early  eighties,  while  associated  with  the  owners  of  the 
property  from  which  ore  was  shipped,  and  by  Thos.  W.  Potts,  of  Woodland,  who  assisted  in  the 
survey  of  that  ground  for  patent,  and  took  the  contract  to  transport  the  ore  to  Park  City. 
