Mineral resources

“ While it is not easy to define the limits of water's use as a mineral resource, it is clear that even with a narrow interpretation the total tonnage extracted from the earth as a mineral resource exceeds in amount all other mineral resources combined. ”

“ In general, the use of mineral resources on a large scale may be said to have started within the lifetime of men still active in business. The wide use of power necessary to an industrial age, the development of metallurgy, the increasing size and complexity of demands for raw material, mean that the intensive development and use of our mineral resources is in its infancy, and is in many respects in an experimental stage. ”

“ Minerals.—The mineral resources of the kingdom, though capable of further development, are not rich. They are chiefly confined to the mountains, where iron, coal, copper, lead, zinc, silver and sulphur are mined in small quantities. ”

“ The Mines.—No country can ever become great in industry unless it has ready access to minerals, especially iron and coal. It was the possession of iron and coal in great quantities that served to make England during the nineteenth century the industrial leader of Europe. Various regions of the United States possess these great stores of mineral wealth and have made good use of them. There is one great difference between mineral resources and other natural resources, namely, that when minerals are once taken from the earth there is no way of renewing them. ”

“ Looked at in a large way, the returns from the mineral industry are commensurate with the effort put into discovery and development of mineral resources, even though the returns to lucky individuals have been excessive. In respect to the importance of the human energy element, the mining of minerals is not unlike the cropping of soils. Some interesting economic studies have been made of mining districts to ascertain whether the total return has been equal to the total investments by both successful and unsuccessful participants. ”

“ Perhaps no other portion of the earth's surface is so rich in mineral resources as that which has been covered by these observations, and nowhere else is to be found as great a variety of ore deposits, or those which illustrate as well their mode of formation. This is so true that it maybe said without exaggeration that no one can intelligently discuss the questions that have been raised in regard to the origin and mode of formation of ore bodies without transversing and studying the great mining belt of our Western States and Territories. ”

“ Mineral Resources.—Numerous mineral deposits have been discovered, but little has been determined with respect to their value. Sub-bituminous coal is widely distributed. That near the surface is generally poor in quality and the difficulties of deep mining may be great because of folds and faults in the rocks. ”

“ Mineral Resources.—Transvaal yields to no other African region in the abundance of its mineral resources, while it is altogether un rivalled in their extraordinary variety. These include, besides the precious metals and diamonds, iron, copper, lead, cobalt, sulphur, saltpetre, and coal, this last with gold, copper, and iron being probably the most abundant and widely distributed. ”

“ Although only a few mineral resources are present in quantity or in good quality ores, the country has a number of them. Large quantities of brown coal and lignite are available, but resources of the better fuels are limited. ”

“ To the natural resources of the soil add the enormous mineral wealth hidden but a few feet below the surface, and wonder grows to amazement. Coal fields surpassing in extent all the remaining fields in the world; iron ore sufficient to stock the world with iron and steel for the next thousand years; copper of the finest quality; zinc, lead, salt, building stone and timber, all in quantities sufficient for a population a hundred times as great. ”

“ The mineral resources consist chiefly of building-stone, including limestone, sandstone, granite and marble; besides slate, iron-ore, clay, bricks, tiles, mineral waters, salt, petroleum and natural gas. ”

“ In view of the immense mineral resources of our country, provision should also be made for the employment of a competent mineralogist and chemist, who should be required, under the direction of the head of the bureau, to collect specimens of the various minerals of our country and to ascertain by careful analysis their respective elements and properties and their adaptation to useful purposes. ”

“ Of course, it is to be remembered that the total benefits from mineral resources are not to be measured in terms of gain to the producers,—but that their measurement must take into account the satisfying of all the complex demands of modern civilization. ”

“ We have mines of gold, lead, copper, iron, and tin, but up to the present, though there have been a few gold rushes, very little attention has been given to our mineral resources, and we really know little about them. ”

“ The increased attention given to mineral resources has been a matter of gradual growth. Mr. King early organized a Division of Mining Geology with Messrs. Pumpelly, Emmons, and Becker as geologists in charge, to whom were assigned the collection of mineral statistics for the Tenth Census. ”

“ It is not among the faults of the New Statistical Account, but rather among its most interesting features, that the mineral resources of the country are so often described with all the skill and passion of the mineralogist, forgetting for the moment everything but the phenomena of nature. ”

“ In terms of value, mineral resources appear in different perspective. The annual world value of mineral production, exclusive of water, is approximately $9,000,000,000. This figure is obtained by dividing the annual value of the United States output of each of the principal minerals by the percentage which the United States output constitutes in the world output, and adding the figures thus obtained. The values here used are mainly selling prices at the mines. It is impossible to reduce the figures absolutely to the value of the mineral as it comes from the ground ”

“ John A. Dix, presented a report at the following session of the Legislature, which contained much valuable information with reference to what had already been done toward developing the mineral resources of the State, giving a summary of our knowledge of the subject at that time, and discussing several questions of great interest; for example, the salt and salt-bearing formations, our mineral springs, and the probabilities of finding coal within the limits of the State. ”

“ Nature has not blessed the United States so abundantly with the minor metals, lead, zinc, and aluminum, while almost all the tin used here has to be imported.
It is apparent from even this brief and hasty survey of the mineral resources of the United States, comprising those extractive industries which once exhausted can never be restored by man, that this country is wonderfully well equipped with the material means of civilization. Minerals and metals are remarkably abundant and accessible. ”

“ A clearer comprehension of the world mineral relations, and an understanding of our own opportunities and limitations in comparison with those of our neighbors, cannot but eliminate some of the unnecessary handicaps to the best use of the world mineral resources, and result in a lessening of causes of international discord. ”

“ But steamboats, railways and telegraphs brought all parts of the land into actual contact; the discovery of petroleum and the cheapening of kerosene by improved methods of refining carried light into the most secluded corners, and added several hours of life to each day among farming communities; the vast expansion of manufactures during the Civil War led to modifications in educational methods, which in their turn made possible the utilization of our mineral resources. Each advance made others imperative. ”

“ The surface outcrops of most manganese deposits give reliable information concerning the size and grade of the deposits, and the most desirable ore occurs in a surface zone scarcely 100 feet deep.
2. Except in Russia and Spain, the most productive mines are open-cuts, and mining is quickly and easily accomplished at minimum expense. Extensive operations in advance of production are rarely necessary. ”

“ The treasures of commercially valuable ore-deposits have been hid by nature whimsically throughout the earth, here and there, by no rule of geography or latitude, and with a great disregard of equality. A nation’s needs or desires for mineral wealth have no stated relation to its actual mineral possessions ”

“ The irreplaceable character of our mineral deposits, together with the tendency for large industrial interests to monopolize minerals. has greatly stimulated the conservation of these resources. A valuable step forward has been the reclassification of public lands to allow of special treatment of lands containing mineral deposits. Coal is still used lavishly, but nine tenths of our original deposits are still in existence. ”

“ See Asphalt. Pittman Silver Act, 233 Placers, formation of, 51 gold deposits in, 227 See also Monazite, Platinum, Tin, Tungsten, and other minerals. use in tracing mineral outcrops, 316-317 Plasticity of clay, 92 Platinum ores, 51, 237-240, 386, 398 Plumbago. See Graphite. Pogue, Joseph E., 100 Pogue, Joseph E., and Gilbert, Chester G., 119, 134, 138 Poland, lead and zinc, 210, 214 Political and commercial control of mineral resources, 65, 387-388 See also under individual resources. Porosity of rocks, 69, 141 Porphyry copper ores, 197, 199, 203 Portland cement. See Cement. ”

“ With respect to the products of the mines in general and particularly if the term be liberally interpreted, to include all inorganic products of the earth, it may be said that they as a group represent one of the most important of physical factors in the modern progress of nations. Leaving coal entirely aside, it still remains true that the tremendous development of every phase of modern industry, from the cultivation of the soil to the most complex manufacturing process, has become possible only through the constantly increasing employment of mineral products. ”

“ On the National Importance of Mineral Possessions, and the Cultivation of Geological Inquiry.
The importance of the metallic ores and other mineral substances, considered as instrumental in the advancement of national prosperity, is obvious to every one. In announcing that a certain country possesses extensive and skilfully worked mines, either of coal, of iron, copper, tin, lead, or other of the numerous ores, we at once proclaim her wealth in terms that all must understand. ”

“ The availability of minerals and mineral materials are essential for economic growth, national security, technological innovation, and the manufacturing and agricultural supply chain. (3) The exploration, production, processing, use, and recycling of minerals contribute significantly to the economic well-being, security and general welfare of the Nation. ”

“ For instance, manganese moves from three principal sources to four or five consuming centers. Chromite moves from two principal sources; tungsten also from two. Even for certain commodities which are widely distributed and move in large amounts, the concentration of movement is rather marked; for instance, the world movement of coal is controlled by England, the United States, and Germany. In other words, although the world movement of mineral commodities is widespread and exhibits many complex features, most of the individual minerals follow two or three salient lines of movement. ”

“ Surface Handling, Storage and Shipment of Minerals.—To mine ore or coal at minimum cost it is necessary to work the mine plant at nearly or quite its full capacity and to avoid interruption and delays. When the mineral is transported by rail or water to concentration or metallurgical works for treatment, or to near or distant markets for sale, provision must be made for the economical loading of railway wagons or vessels, and for the temporary storage of the mineral product. ”

“ In the Missouri lead and zinc districts the ore deposits occur near the surface, the depth of the present working seldom exceeding 150 or 200 feet, and, as nearly as can be judged, have been formed by the downward transfer of mineral matter through the process of solution and recrystallization, as the surface of the land has been lowered by chemical and mechanical denudation.
Many of the rich silver-mines of the Pacific mountains occur in fissures and cavities in sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone. ”

“ The development of soils by weathering should not be regarded as a special process of rock alteration, unrelated to processes producing other mineral products. Exactly the same processes that produce soils may yield important deposits of iron ore, bauxite, and clay, and they cause also secondary enrichment of many metallic mineral deposits. ”

“ Such is the country which appears to be richer in ores of lead than any other mineral district in the world—which yielded forty millions of pounds in seven years—produced a single lump of ore of two thousand cubic feet—and appears adequate to supply almost any amount of this article that the demands of commerce require. ”

“ When we compare the first and second tabulations with the third it is at once apparent that with the possible although only occasional exception of iron the production of an ore-body from the normal rocks which constitute the outer mass of the earth requires the local concentration of each of the metals by one or several geological processes, and to a degree that is only occasionally developed in the ordinary course of nature. ”

“ At the end of the century, in only fifty years, the United States had secured an easy first lace among the mineral-producing countries Present Position of Mining Industries. of the world. It held primacy, with a large margin, in the yield of coal, iron, lead and copper, the minerals most important in manufactures ”