Show california IRON ORES the iron ores of the pacific coast have until recently received but little attention numerous deposits have been known to exist but they have generally been regarded las as too far from centers of consumption and fuel supplies to be worked at a profit and too small to warrant the expense ot of t erecting furnaces within reach the de L posits at minaret madera county california are said to be among the largest n california and perhaps in the west they occur on the summits of the sierra nevada probably next in size but of greater commercial importance are the eagle mountain deposits in riverside county california the united states geological survey has just published as bulletin a report on the iron ore deposits of the eagle mountains aalfs by E C I harder the examination and mapping of these deposits form the first detailed investigation of the iron ores bof W california made by the federal survey band and are a continuation of similar investigations in the iron springs district in southwestern utah made several years ago the eagle mountain range is one of a large number of bare ranges of rocky mountains in the mohave and colorado deserts the higher peaks of the eagle mountains rise about feet above sea level and the edge of the desert that surrounds the range on the west north and east averages about 1500 feet above sea level the principal iron ores of the eagle mountains occur on the north limb of the dome in a chain of discontinuous deposits 6 12 1 2 miles long trending across the summit of the range in a northwesterly direction they extend 3 miles west of the summit and 3 12 1 2 miles east the ore bearing zone reaches in places a width of feet but individual ore deposits do not exceed feet in width A moderate estimate of the total quantity of mixed ore and gangue material available in the deposits now exposed assuming that they extend several hundred feet down is about tons of this quantity about four fifths is assumed to be ore most of it of very high grade no iron ore has been mined in the district the principal obstacle to the establishment lish ment of the iron industry in southern california being the absence of fuel the nearest deposits of coking coal are in colorado the and bituminous coals of washington and oregon being unsuitable for this purpose it seems likely however that before many years extensive mining operations will be started in the alaskan coal fields and then large quantities of coking coal will be shipped to pacific coast ports thus making possible the establishing 0 of blast furnaces and steel plants A copy of bulletin may be obtained free on application to the director oi of the geological survey at washington D C |