cent of lead concentrates, no copper or nickel-cobalt sulphides of consequence having as yet been found.

The Hudson Valley Lead Company was succeeded by the Eastern Lead Company. The mine is located near Mine La Motte station, about 3 miles from Fredericktown, on land leased from the Mine La Motte Lead and Smelting Company. It is operated both by shaft and by incline, ore being hoisted by the former and the men entering the ground by the latter. The mill is of Joplin type, has a capacity of 225 tons, and is equipped with jigs and Deister concentrating tables. The copper and nickel-cobalt sulphide ores occurring with the lead ore are stored, awaiting such time as the smelter at Fredericktown shall make a market for ore of this class.

The Mine La Motte Lead and Smelting Company is operating on deposits which were first located in 1720. The shallow deposits at first worked were followed down to a depth of about 100 feet, from which level the ore has been coming which for fifty years has supplied the mill and smelter. No. 4 shaft has now reached a depth of 170 feet. The old mill of 250 tons capacity is equipped with jigs and concentrating tables. A modern 500-ton mill was completed early in 1908. The smelter was not operated. Certain areas in the mines of this company yield copper and nickel-cobalt sulphide ores. These were formerly smelted by the company, but recently have been avoided, attention being limited to the lead ores.

The Wheeling Milling Company was succeeded by the Fort Henry Lead Company, which leased 100 acres of the Mine La Motte tract, added a crusher section to the mill, and began to mine at depths of 40 to 60 feet. The mill has 400 tons capacity and is equipped with Hartz, Cooley, and Hancock jigs and Standard concentrating tables.

OKLAHOMA.

By C. E. SIEBENTHAL.

PRODUCTION.

The production of lead and zinc in Oklahoma in 1907 and 1908 is shown in the following table:

Production of lead and zinc in Oklahoma in 1907 and 1908, by districts, in short tons.a

a In calculating the metal content of the ores from assays, allowance has been made for smelting losses in case of zinc, but not in the case of lead. In comparing the values of ore and metal it should be borne in mind that the value given for the ore is that actually received by the producer, while the value of the metal is calculated from the average daily quotations at New York.

$275 3,076 119,008, 650 15,667

532 56,392 1,657

The workable deposits of lead and zinc in Oklahoma, so far as known, are confined to the northeastern portion of the State, within the limits of Ottawa County. They form the southwesternmost extension of the ore deposits of the Joplin region. They occur chiefly in chert breccias, but occasionally in limestone and sandstone breccias. The sandstones belong to the Chester group, the cherts to the Boone formation, and the limestones to either the one or the other, both being of lower Carboniferous age. The ores are galena, sphalerite, or zinc blende, and zinc carbonate and silicate. The galena is practically nonargentiferous, never containing as much as an ounce of silver to the ton of lead concentrates.

REVIEW BY DISTRICTS.

Miami district.-Beginning with a single producer in the latter part of 1907, this district had, at the close of 1908, eight steady producers, each with creditable yearly outputs. In spite of low prices and poor recovery the Miami mines were able to operate with fair regularity on account of the richness of the ore. A standard

gage railroad, 4 miles in length, connecting the mines with the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad at Miami, was completed just before the close of the year. Crude petroleum is used for fuel, being hauled to Miami in tank cars and pumped from there to the

mines.

The ores are galena and sphalerite, in about the proportion of one of the former to three of the latter, no oxidized ores having yet been found. They occur at a depth of 90 to 130 feet in sandstone breccias and in flint breccias lying below the sandstone. The sandstone is impregnated with a heavy oil, which, evaporating to asphalt, causes much trouble to save the concentrates, in that it balls up the ores on the jig beds and tends to float off the finer particles of ore. It also has a tendency to lower the grade of the concentrates by enveloping them in films of carbonaceous matter and so causing finely powdered marcasite and pyrite to stick to them. As the scope of mining operations widens, however, there is a noticeable rise in the grade of the concentrates. The average zinc content of the zinc concentrates sold in 1908 was about 50 per cent, the latter half of the year and the first part of 1909 each showing improvement in this respect over the preceding period.

The New State Mining Company completed a small mill in 1907 and made several short test runs while adjusting the machinery to the character of the ore. Steady operations were begun about the middle of 1908. The Emma Gordon Mining Company, after an extensive drilling campaign on a 120-acre lease, sank 2 shafts and completed a 400-ton mill of modern sheet-ground type in the forepart of 1908, and made the largest production of the district. The Old Chief mine and mill, in course of construction early in the year, were leased by the Weiss Mining Company, which had a large output of zinc. The Buckeye mine and mill were operated by the Queen City-Joplin Mining Company. The Temple and Chapman Zinc and Lead Company operated the King Jack mine and produced lead and zinc ores in nearly equal quantities. The Turkey Fat Mining Company operated during the last three months of the year. The

Moosehead Mining Company, operating the Tom Lawson mine, after a run of several months, ceased operations, and the mill was moved away. The Kenwood Mining Company operated the Index mine. The year closed with several mills in process of erection.

Peoria district. The principal production of this district consisted of high-grade zinc carbonate ore, and was made by Gordon & Wilkins, operating the Silicate mine during the first quarter of the year. W. W. Scott, operating the Cowan lease, also produced zinc carbonate ore. The Syndicate Mining Company made a small production of zinc blende. The shallow lead diggings in the vicinity yielded several small lots.

Quapaw district.-The mining companies of this district, for the most part operating blanket ground with small mills, found the prevailing low prices for ore a serious setback. Several of the heaviest producers of the preceding years practically suspended operations, but these were offset by the opening of several steady producers in the northern portion of the district, so that the total production for the year exceeded that for 1907.

The Eastman Lead and Investment Company early in the year remodeled the 200-ton Joplin-type mill at the White Eagle mine. Two additional concentration tables were put in, making 3 in all, and classifiers were installed. Three more tables will be added the coming year. The production of zinc ore was the largest recorded in the district for the year.

The Good Luck Mining Company has one of the new mines in the north end of the district. The ore, which is mostly zinc blende, occurs in broken or confused ground, in contradistinction to the majority of mines in this district. A 100-ton mill of the Joplin type was completed and started in October. Another new mine in the same vicinity is the Lancaster, which operated a 150-ton mill equipped with concentrating tables.

In the southern portion of the district the Mission mine yielded the greatest production of zinc concentrates and in addition turned out a good quantity of lead. The M., K. and T. mine was operated for a short time only. The Big Chief Mining Company developed a mine in the blanket ground southwest of the Mission mine, moved the Ayers-Sloan mill to it, and operated for a short time before the close of the year. The Kramer-Morse mine and mill was sold to the Hawkeye Mining Company, which operated for a portion of the year and obtained a corresponding output of zinc and lead concentrates. Among other principal producers were the Sweeney Mining Company, operating the McAllister mine, the Old Abe Mining Company, and the Mason Mining Company. The Chicago-Quapaw Lead and Zinc Company moved the Spring River mill to the Big Squaw mine just at the close of the year, and sunk a deep well to afford water for milling purposes.

WISCONSIN.

By C. E. SIEBENTHAL.

PRODUCTION.

The production of lead and zinc in Wisconsin in 1907 and 1908 is shown in the following table:

Production of lead and zinc in 1907 and 1908, by districts, in short tons.a

a In calculating the metal content of the ores from assays allowance has been made for smelting losses in case of zinc but not in the case of lead. In comparing the values of ore and metal it should be borne in mind that the value given for the ore is that actually received by the producer, and that the value of the metal is calculated from the average daily quotations at New York.

The lead and zinc mines of Wisconsin are in Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette counties, and comprise the most important part of the ore deposits of the upper Mississippi Valley region. The ore deposits occur in the Galena limestone and in the upper part of the Platteville limestone, both of Ordovician age. The ores are galena, sphalerite or zinc blende, and smithsonite or zinc carbonate, the latter locally known as "dry bone." As a lead region the district has been known from the earliest settlement days. In time the building of smelters near by made a market for the zinc ores. The first zinc ore to be mined was the carbonate found in association with lead in the shallow workings above ground level. When all the main deposits were worked out down to water level, there was a lull in mining in the region. Though the carbonate was known to give place to zinc blende and the lead to continue on below water, it was not deemed profitable to mine when continued pumping was necessary. About eight or ten years ago the higher price of zinc led to the opening of some of the deposits below water level, since which time zinc mining has increased until Wisconsin for 1908 stands fourth in rank among zinc-producing States. The ore bodies are found in perpendicular, horizontal, or inclined cavities known as "openings" or "crevices,'

"flats," and "pitches." These openings sometimes extend for considerable distance in a straight line called a "range" and may be operated at different places by different companies. When a range is once established, it becomes an important guide in prospecting.

The galena of the district is nonargentiferous, and so far as known the zinc ores are free from cadmium. In some of the mines marcasite is so plentiful that the zinc blende concentrates are reduced to a very low grade. Owing to their nearness in specific gravity, marcasite and blende are very difficult to separate by hydraulic methods. Both electrostatic and electro-magnetic separation processes are in operation. Twenty-five concentrating plants in the district are equipped with roasters and magnetic separators, in addition to which the Joplin Separating Company, at Galena, makes a business of separating low-grade blende-marcasite ores, and the Mineral Point Zinc Company operates a roaster and magnetic separator at Mineral Point. The Benton Ore Separating Company was incorporated to build a custom roaster at that place. The concentrates, after being dried, are roasted, the customary form of roaster being a long, slowly revolving cylinder lined with firebrick. The roasting is carried far enough to render the marcasite magnetic, but not to drive off all the sulphur, after which the concentrates are passed under the magnetic separator and the iron is removed. The American Zinc Ore Separating Company finished an electrostatic separator at Platteville in the early part of 1908. It is equipped with driers and both Blake-Morscher and Huff electrostatic separating machines. In this system of separation the expense and attendant losses of roasting are obviated and the separated marcasite finds a market at about $4 per ton. Starting with a capacity of 75 tons daily, it has since been increased to 100 tons daily output. The multiplication of individual and custom roasters, by raising the low-grade ores to high grade, will have a tendency to reduce the tonnage of zinc concentrates, though, of course, the metal content and the value will not be affected; hence these must serve as the basis of comparison for different years.

Milling practice is much as in the Joplin region, except that everything is on a smaller scale in Wisconsin. Many of the mills are from 35 to 50 tons capacity and have but a single jig. Those of 100 tons or over, with rougher, cleaner, sand jigs, and concentrating tables, have generally been built in the last few years. There were about 50 new concentrating plants erected in 1907, many of them being of the larger size. During 1908, mill construction was naturally much less active, and there were but 15 mills completed during the year. The crude ore yields from 5 to 20 per cent or more of zinc concentrates. The contracts, in the case of the larger mills, generally call for a saving of 85 per cent of the blende in the crude ore, but very likely in practice this figure is not often attained. The mining methods are largely determined by the mode of occurrence of the ores, but otherwise are similar to those in vogue in working the pockety ores at Joplin. During the year the Interstate Light and Power Company absorbed several municipal electric lighting plants, secured franchises, and formulated plans to construct a large central power station to supply light and power all over the district.