Chrome Ores of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Maryland, by Eleanora B. Knopf, Contributions to Economic Geology, 1921
In 1827 Isaac Tyson, of Baltimore, noticed some black boulders supporting a cider barrel on the floor of a farmer’s cart in the Belair market. His familiarity with European literature has already led him to recognize the occurrence of chromite at Bare Hills, 6 miles north of Baltimore, and he rapidly identified the heavy boulders in the farm wagon as chrome ore. Upon inquiry he traced their origin to a locality near Jarrettsville, in Harford county, which afterward became the sit eof the Reed Mine. In this mine chromit formed several lenses, the largest of which was 80 feet long, 25 feet wide, and 4 to 8 feet thick. It is said that the total output was about 100,000 tons.
Tyson had noticed that chromite is associated with serpentine, and by further prospecting, conducted chiefly during his search for sources of magnesite, he found many deposits of chromite in the serpentine belt of Maryland and Pennsylvania. His most important discovery proved to be that of the deposit at the Wood mine, which is in Little Britain township, in Lancaster county, PA., on a hill alomost surrounded by a horseshoe bend of Octoraro Creek. This mine, which was at one time the largest source of chromium in the world, was worked from 1827 until 1882, except during 1868 to 1873, when it was flooded. Three other mines near Rock Springs, MD., known as the Line pit, the Peebles mine, and the Jenkins or Rock Springs pit, were worked with more or less success for several years but were all abandoned by 1870. From 1873 to 1882 the Wood mine was the only operating chrome mine in the eastern United States. Throughout the areas of chrome-bearing serpentine in Maryland and Pennsylvania the wahsing of chrome sand has continued to be a small and intermittent industry up to the present time.
From 1828 until about 1860 the chrome ores of Pennsylvania and Maryland were practically the only sources of supply for the world. All the chrome mines of the United States were controlled by the Tyson Mining Co., of Baltimore, MD. This company held the monopoly on production until about 1895.
At the time of the Civil War Turkish ores had begun to come into the United States at prices so low that the control of chromite supplies for the world’s market was transfered from the Eastern United States to Turkey and Asia Minor where it remained until about 1905, when the production of Turkish ore decreased owing to the strong competition of New Caledonia deposits. After the Civil War the Wood mine, which before 1868 was reported to have produced as much as 400 to 500 tons a month, reduced its output to 400 to 500 tons per year. In the meantime California chrome ores that had been discovered in 1869 and put on the market about 1878 were furnishing from 1,500 to 2,000 tons per year. In 1882 operations ceased at the Wood mine, which had for several years been held as a source of reserve stock to offset uncertainties of long shipments from the Pacific coast. Since the closing of the Wood mine the chrome industry in Eastern United States has laid dormant. One or two unsuccessful attempts have been made to renew activities, notably in 1897, when mining was revived in Chester county by washing stream chrome. The production was small, however, and these operations lasted only for about 3 years. During this time activity had completely ceased in the California region owing to the competition of imported ore.
It is the opinion of old chrome miners in southern Pennsylvania that the eastern mines were closed because of the decline in price rather than because of exhaustion of the ore. At several mines failure to operate seems to have resulted from litigation and contention over mining rights when drifts were extended under adjoining properties.
After the United States entered the recent war the demand for chrome ore, which had increased from 66,000 tons in 1913 to about 163,000 tons in 1916, became still greater. The domestic production of chromite had to be greatly increased owing to the urgent necessity for thr release of shipping that had been employed in bringing large imports of chrome from New Caledonai to the United States. The imports of Rhodesian ore had already ceased, owing to the lack of transportation facilities in Rhodesia by which the ore might be carried from the mines to the port of shipment. Various attempts were made to revive the eastern chrome industry, and in 1917 J. Lynwood Garrison acquired the mienral rights on the old Line pit and on Rock Springs or Jenkins pit. The Line pit has been operated by the Chrome Mining Co., which has unwatered the mine to a depth of more than 200 feet, located one ore body, and engaged in exploratory work.
|
