THE SKETCHES*.

Otago Witness, Issue 3619, 24 July 1923, Page 59

THE SKETCHES*.

THE GREATEST IRON DEPOSIT IN THE WORLD. The world’s greatest iron storehouse is a vast ore-bearing legion in the interior of Brazil, says Frank E. Kennedy, in The Pure Iron Era (Chicago). Dr 0. C. Farrington, curator of the geological department of the Field Columbian Museum, has recently returned from a trip to this part of the world, and an interview with him forms the basis of Mr Kennedy’s article. The ore-beds are remarkably pure and abundant, but the region is remote and there are no transportation facilities. The valuable ore, where it is touched at all, is smelted in the most primitive way. With all this wealth of metal in her back-country districts, sea-coast- Brazil is still importing iron for her uses, writes Mr Kennedy: “Scores of miles beyond the farthest railroad outpost, boring into the interior along narrow mountain-trails where the only means of transportation was mule-back, Dr Farrington penetrated wliat is without a doubt a region that holds the greatest iron deposits in the world. “Due to the fact that the country lies far away from the beaten track followed by the tourist, or even the adventurer, and has only been traversed at rare intervals even by scientists and the concessionseeker, the exact extent and magnitude of this vast iron country has not been determined. “Enough is known, however, from the one or two cursory investigations that have been made, to prove conclusively that the great iron deposits of Europe, the Saar Basin, Alsace Lorraine, the Ruhr Valley and the Ural Mountain district, and even the vast iron centres of the United States, will appear small when compared with the enormous resources of Brazil. “Professor J. W. Gregory is quoted as Baying that if iron-ore consumption continues at the pre-war rate, plus an annual increase of 5 per cent., the supply will be exhausted in 130 years. Possibly this English authority referred only to the ironore deposits of the globe which are now being worked, when making his calculations. At any rate, the rocent- report of Dr Farrington shows that there are several thousand square miles of iron-ore deposits in Brazil. “This colossal wealth of the world's most needed metal is far from the limits of transportation at the present time. But necessity will eventually force the iron and steel-hungry world to build railroads and tap this hitherto little-known country and extract its marvellous store of iron. “That time may not be far distant, for not only are the deposits greater in extent than anything that has yet been discovered in the world, but they are of unprece-. dented richness. Mountains, ranges of hills, and rolling prairie-like country contain iron ore of such purity and so close to the surface that for hundreds of years the sinking of extensive shafts will be unnecessary. In many places the iron crops out on the surface to such an extent that many of the mountains and native villages have been named after it. “One of the native towns which Dr Farrington visited is called Itabira, which, translated, means ‘Shining Rock.’ Not far distant is a huge mountain of iron ore. “Samples which Dr Farrington brought back—pieces which were picked up on the surface of the ground or chipped off t.b sides of mountains—show an ore that is probably one of the purest that has been smelted for commercial purposes anywhere in the world. “ ‘ltabirite’ is the native name. The ‘Shining Rock’ gleams with a silver sheen and is so heavy that a man can hardly lift a piece as large as a typewriter. “The ore is so pure that the natives smelt it and fashion it into utensils and forming implements by the crudest process known to modern man. “ ‘lt was rather a striking oontrast,’ said Dr Farrington; ‘there in the heart of the greatest and purest iron deposits in the wjorld the natives were using the crudest form of furnace for the extraction of the metal. A modification of the ancient Catalian Forge v/as employed. Part of it was even simpler than the furnace used in Spain and Portugal hundreds of years ago. “Starting by train from Rio de Janeiro last July, which is midwinter in Brazil, Dr Farrington rode north and east to the er.d of railroad transportation—a little town called Santa Barbara. Here an outfit was gathered together, suitable for traversing the sparsely inhabited region. Striking due north across a country similar to eastern Colorado or western Kansas, the expedition slowly made its way into the heart of the iron country. The region is treeless to a great extent. Low bushes and thin grass a few inches high is the characteristic vegetation. “At a little native village named Con eeicao, ten days’ travel by mule from the nearest railroad point. Dr Farrington found the natives smelting the rich iron ore in what is without doubt the most primitive form of blast furnace in use anywhere in the world. The ore is carried in from the hare hillside not far distant. There is no mine in any sense of the word, the iron ore cropping out on the surface of the earth.” Very little work was going on at the time of Dr Farrington's visit, but he learned that at times this primitive blast furnace employed about twenty men. The natives, however, are not over-industrious, being content with the simplest implements and mode of living. In these remote districts the standard of civilisation is very low. Brazil bad slavery until 1838. and the negroes, which were brought over from Africa by the thousands, have intermarried with the natives, said the explorer : “During the forty-five days we were traversing the country on mule-back we rarely saw an Englishman or an American. We learned that about three years previous to our being at Conceicao, an American had appeared in the district and had been killed by the natives. This American had been in search of deposits of gold-

bearing iron ore, called Jacutinga, which is sometimes found in that region. “We, however, were not threatened nor molested in any way. The only apparent danger is that of disease produced by the insects or the horrible unsanitary conditions under which the natives live.” Many other mineral deposits and mines ■were inspected by Dr Farrington, one of the most striking being an outcrop of zirconium ore. “Zirconium is a very rare metal and the ore has high refractory qualities. One photograph shows Dr Farrington standing by a single boulder of zirconium ore, which he estimated to be worth 15,000 dollars. ! “The solution of the economic development of this great iron area,’ concluded Dr Farrington, ‘may lie in the perfection of the electric furnace. Brazil has wonderful possibilities for the development of water-power which could be used in generating electricity. The rivers of Brazil are as numerous as they are beautiful. When the electric furnace becomes a success, Brazil may easily become the greatest iron-producing country in the world.’ “As the situation stands to-day Brazil is importing large quantities of iron and sheet from other countries for industrial use along the sea-coast and in the more thickly populated areas- —importing commercially pure iron, manufactured thousands of miles away by the most modern processes —while in her back yard, one might say, is the greatest store of high-quality iron ore in the world and a single primitive furnace similar to the type used in Europe 200 years ago.”