AFTER a lapse of more than four centuries, there are grounds for believing that the dreams of the early Spanish conquerors, who overran Cuba shortly after its discovery by Columbus, may be realized, though not exactly as they expected. Gold may never be found in paying quantities, yet the mineral wealth of the Island may exceed in value its present agricultural output, which amounts annually to hundreds of millions of dollars. The followers of Columbus as a rule cared little for the more quiet pursuits of agriculture, but were obsessed with a craving for the precious metals, and during the first half of the 16th century, with the aid of the Indians, mined and shipped a sufficient amount of gold to encourage greatly the rulers of Spain, who were quite as persistent in their craze for the yellow metal as were the pioneers of the New World.

Narvaez, Velasquez’s most active lieutenant, at the head of 150 men in 1512, marched from Oriente westward in a wild search for gold. Samples of this metal were found in various places and sent back to Velasquez, who forwarded them to King Ferdinand. The seven cities founded within the next two years were said to have been selected, not owing to the fertility of their soil or on account of advantageous locations, but solely with reference to their proximity to gold deposits.

In spite of these early discoveries, however, the amount of gold found in Cuba, although encouraging at the time, has never approached the value of other metals far more common and found in almost unlimited quantities. The district that first seems to have yielded a fair amount of gold was along the shores of the Arimao River, where the Cubenos panned a few hundred dollars in nuggets from the bed of the stream, and this determined the location of the city of Trinidad in 1514.

The first and largest shipment of gold from the Island of Cuba, amounting to $12,437, was forwarded to Spain in the summer of 1515, and was converted into coin of the realm by the King. Since the royal share was one-fifth of all produced, it would seem that the total yield during the first four years in Cuba amounted to $62,000.

The large quantities of gold found in Mexico by Cortez, some ten years later, so greatly excited the Spanish conquerors in their quest for this metal, that gold mining in Cuba gradually became an abandoned industry, and by 1535 had practically ceased. Since that time there have been no discoveries that would seem to justify further search.

Some time during the year 1529, copper was discovered on the crest of a hill known as Cardenillo, about ten miles west of Santiago de Cuba. Mines in this vicinity had apparently been previously worked by the Cubeno Indians, who did not enlighten the Spaniards in regard to their existence. The value of the find was not recognized until a certain bell-maker, returning as a passenger from Mexico, visited the mines and analyzed samples of the ore. As a result of his report the people of Santiago soon became aroused over the prospective value of the find and petitioned the crown for experts and facilities with which to develop the mine.

Dr. Ledoux, the famous French metallurgist, carefully analyzed the ore from these mines, and as a result reached the conclusion that the natives of Cuba, although apparently making no use of the copper themselves, had trafficked with the Indians of Florida, since in the many assays made of the copper relics of those tribes, it was found that the same percentage of silver and gold were contained in them as was found in the ore of the Cuban deposits. No other copper ores known have percentages of silver and gold so closely identical to those of “El Cobre.”

Little was done, however, toward the development of the Santiago mines until 1540, when the Spanish crown found itself short of material with which to make castings for its artillery and ordered an investigation of the Cuban copper deposits. In April of 1540, a German returning from a Flemish settlement in Venezluela visited “El Cobre” and entered into an agreement with the town council to work the mine. The ore yielded, according to the records, from 55% to 60% of pure copper, carrying with it also gold and silver. Samples were again sent to Spain to be tested by the crown. In 1514 forty negroes were set to work in the mines, under the direction of Gaspar Lomanes, and smelted some 15,000 pounds.

In 1546 the German referred to above, John Tezel of Nuremberg, returned from Germany, where he had carried samples of ore from the “El Cobre” and reported it “medium rich in quality and very plentiful in quantity.” Tezel spent the remainder of his life, 20 years, in exploiting the copper of that section.

Up to 1545 Juan Lobera had shipped 9,000 pounds of Cuban Copper to Spain. In the spring of 1547 still further shipments that had arrived in Seville and were ordered cast into artillery to be placed in the first fort in Cuba, La Fuerza, for the protection of the City of Havana. Three cannon were cast, of which one, a falconet, burst in the making, and was perhaps responsible for the report that Cuban copper was of “an intractable quality.”

Don Gabriel Montalvo, appointed Governor of Cuba in 1573, was much impressed by the reports he had heard of the rich copper deposits near the city of Santiago de Cuba, and visited some of the old workings, but found the native Cubenos very reluctant to give him information in regard to mineral deposits, fearing evidently that they would be compelled to work in them as miners.

A copper deposit was soon afterwards found near Havana, and samples of ore were forwarded to Spain with the request that 50 negroes be detailed to exploit the mine. The quality of the ore was apparently satisfactory for the casting of cannon, and the king ordered that it be used for ballast in ships returning from Havana, in order to furnish material for the Royal Spanish Navy.

In 1580, some mining was done, but the find soon proved to be a pocket and not a true vein, and the cost of transportation to Havana was declared prohibitive, in spite of the fact that it showed a “fifth part good copper.” Other copper mines were afterwards reported in the neighborhood of Bayamo, near the southeastern center of the Province of Oriente.

In May, 1587, although comparatively little copper had been taken from “El Cobre” mine, due largely to lack of food crops in the vicinity with which to supply the slaves, the Governor reported that “There is so much metal, and the mines are so numerous that they could supply the world with copper, and only lately there is news of a new mine of even better metal than the rest.”

Effective work in these mines began in 1599. The much needed protection from the incursion of pirates and privateers, that had long preyed on Spain’s possessions in the West Indies, revived industries of all kinds in Cuba, especially copper mining and ship-building. Juan de Texeda, who had been commissioned by the King to go to Havana and do what he could towards protecting the rich shipments of gold that were being sent from Mexico to Spain against the attacks of the English Admiral, Drake, sampled Cuban copper and pronounced it excellent. On the site of the present Maestranza Building, now devoted to the Department of Public Works and the Public Library, Texeda soon established a foundry, where he “cast the copper into both cannon and kettles.”

The mining of copper with profit depends on the price of the metal in the market and on the cost of extracting and transporting the ore to the smelter. This, of course, is true with all metals, hence it frequently happens that mines containing abundant ore are not worked, owing to the fact that the cost of production, when taken into consideration with the market price, eliminates the possibility of profit. During the past century the mines of “El Cobre” and vicinity, the extent of whose deposits seem to be almost unlimited, have been worked at such times and to such an extent as the market price of the ore would seem to justify.

Indications, such as boulders that through seismic disturbances or erosion seem to have rolled down from their original beds, and occasional outcroppings of copper-bearing ore, are found in every Province of the Island, although up to 1790 but few explorations worthy of mention were made outside of the Province of Oriente. The demands for metals of all kinds, especially chrome, manganese and copper, have resulted in more or less desultory prospecting since 1915, which has resulted in finding outcroppings of copper scattered throughout the mountains of Pinar del Rio. Claims have been located near Mantua, Vinales, Las Acostas, Santa Lucia, Pinar del Rio, and at various places between La Esperenza and Bahia Honda along the north coast.

Reports of copper or “claims,” resulting from traces found, have been made also in the Isle of Pines and at Minas, only a short distance east of the city of Havana, in that province. Copper claims have been registered near Pueblo Nuevo, too, in the Province of Matanzas. In the province of Santa Clara, claims have been recorded in the districts of Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Sancti Spiritus. Several very promising copper mines have been opened up in this province that will undoubtedly yield a profit if worked under intelligent management and with the judicious employment of capital. In the Province of Camaguey, copper has been discovered near Minas, and as several different places along the line of the Sierra de Cubitas. In Oriente, copper claims have been registered near Holguin and Bayamo, while “El Cobre,” of course, has been famous for its yield of ore since the days of the Spanish conquerors.

The excessive demand for copper resulting from the War in Europe, together with the high prices offered for that metal, recalled the fact that many years ago Spanish engineers and prospectors, among the hills of Pinar del Rio, frequently found small outcroppings of copper ore, and in some cases sank shafts for short distances, where the ore had been removed and carried to the coast on mule back. The low price of copper at that time, however, and the scarcity of labor following the abolition of slavery at the conclusion of the Ten Years’ War, discouraged serious work on the part of the old timers, traces of whose efforts still remain at various points along the northern slope of the Organos Mountains.

The first record we have of the exploration of the mineral zone in which the famous copper mine of this Province was discovered, dates back to 1790, but it resulted in no definite or profitable work. An English company of which General Narciso Lopez was president, during the early part of the 19th century, made some explorations in the district of El Brujo and Cacarajicara, located in the mountains back of Bahia Honda; but the defeat of Lopez’s revolutionary forces, and his subsequent execution in 1851, put an end to the effort.

Shortly after the Spanish American War, Col. John Jacob Astor, the American millionaire, became interested in the copper deposits of Pinar del Rio, which resulted in the establishment of several claims, none of which, however, were developed. Shortly after this a Mr. Argudin located claims known as Regelia and Jesus Sacramento, the former only two kilometers from that of the mine Matahambre. A small amount of preliminary work was done, but apparently proved unpromising.

In 1912 Alfredo Porta, a well-known citizen and politician of Pinar del Rio, interested Mr. Luciano Diaz, a former Secretary of the Treasury and a man of some means, in a claim which he had denounced some eight kilometers back from La Esperanza, on the north coast of the province. Messrs. Porta and Diaz secured the services of an experienced mining engineer, Mr. Morse, who visited the district, made a careful survey of the claim, and informed the owners that in his estimate Matahambre was worthy of the investment of any amount of capital, since the grade of the ore, and the amount exposed through Mr. Morse’s preliminary work, was sufficient to place it in the list of paying mineral properties.

Work began at Matahambre in the early part of 1913 under the technical direction of C. L. Constant, of New York. During the first year a number of galleries, only a little below the surface, were thrown out in different directions. Paying ore found in these galleries was very promising. The first two carloads of ore, shipped by rail from the City of Pinar del Rio to Havana, sold for a sufficient amount of money to pay for all of the preliminary work that had been done. In 1915, a shaft was sunk to a depth of 100 feet and afterwards carried down to the 400-foot level, where it about reached the level of the sea. Later this shaft was sent down 150 feet further. The ore taken out at the 400-foot level proved to be the highest grade of all found, although it is said that no ore was encountered at any depth that was not of sufficient value more than to pay for the cost of mining. In fact the percentage of gold and silver in many cases has paid for the expense of mining the copper. In 1918, six shafts, known as 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, were in operation, and all yielding excellent ore. There are some 15 different varieties of copper ore taken from Matahambre.

The ore for some time was conveyed to the docks at Santa Lucia with mule teams and motor trucks. These were eventually replaced by wire cables and the ore was sent to the coast by gravity, greatly decreasing the cost of transportation. Splendid wharves and receiving sheds, dumps, etc., have been built at Santa Lucia, whence the ore is lightered out to deep water anchorage. Fully 300 tons a day are now being removed and conveyed to the landing. An average of 8,000 tons a month is shipped in steamers that can take aboard 800 tons a day. This mineral is consigned to the United States Metal Refining Company. In 1916, thirty-three steamers carried 75,000 tons of mineral to this Company.

Quite a little city has sprung up around the mine, and 2,000 men are given employment by the Company. Comfortable quarters have been erected for the officials, employees and other members of the force. A large amount of ore was mined in 1918 and held for the completion of a new concentration plant, which will enable the Company to utilize ore which under war freight rates would not have been profitable to export. Following the demise of Sr. Luciano Diaz, his son Antonio Diaz assumed control and is carrying on the work of the proposed improvements.

At the time of the closing of the Spanish rÉgime in Cuba, fourteen mineral claims had been made in the Province of Pinar del Rio. Between 1909 and 1911, 212 were denounced, including 48 of the Company headed by Mr. Astor. From 1911 to 1918, 2970 claims were registered in the Bureau of Mines. A large proportion of the interest in copper mining in Pinar del Rio was undoubtedly the result of the wonderful wealth that has come from Matahambre, the ore from which mined in 1916 was valued at $5,500,000.

Not until the early part of the 19th century did the presence of those enormous deposits of iron ore found throughout the mountain districts of Oriente present themselves to the outside world as a profitable commercial proposition.

Nearly all of the great iron deposits of Oriente lie within a few feet of the surface; and on the southern slopes of the Sierra Maestra it is necessary only to scrape the dirt from the side of the hills, take out the ore and send it down to the sea coast by gravity. Similar conditions exist at the Mayari mines on the north coast, just back of Nipe Bay, where the deposits need nothing but washing with cold water. The soil being thus removed at little cost, the iron is ready for shipment to the smelters of the United States.

In spite of the fact that this ore was found to be equal to the best Swedish, and that nature in her own laboratories had supplied the requisite amount of nickel and manganese, making these mines of Oriente perhaps the most valuable in the world, but little attention has been paid to this marvellously rich source of minerals, beyond those few who are drawing dividends from the industry. The recent purchase of the Spanish American Iron Company’s holdings at Daiquiri for $32,000,000, however, has called the attention of mining interests in the United States to the fact that millions of tons of untouched ore still lie in the eastern provinces of Cuba. Twenty-five percent of the area of Oriente contains wonderful deposits of ore, mostly iron, and awaits only the necessary capital to place it on the markets of the world.

This nickeliferous iron ore, in which the presence of nickel, so essential to the making of steel, has been contributed by nature in just the right proportions, is found in large quantities also in the provinces of Camaguey and Pinar del Rio. The extent of these mineral deposits is not yet known, but millions of tons are in sight, awaiting only cheap transportation to bring them into the markets of the world, where the grade and quality of the ore will undoubtedly command satisfactory prices.

Up to the present time nearly all of the iron ore exported from Cuba comes from the large deposits of Oriente. The iron on the south coast is loaded into the steamers from the wharves at Daiquiri and Juraguay. That on the north coast, brought down from the Mayari mines, is shipped from the harbor of Nuevitas.

Below are given the tons of copper and iron shipped from Cuba during the year from July, 1917, to June, 1918:

On the south side of the Sierra de Cubitas, in the Province of Camaguey, a distinctly marked zone of this excellent iron ore runs parallel to the main chain of the Cubitas for many miles. Grass covered hills, rising more or less abruptly from the surface, seem to be composed of solid masses of iron ore. So great is the value of this mineral zone that the North Shore Road of Cuba, now under construction and practically completed from its eastern deep water terminus on Nuevitas Harbor to the Maximo River just east of the Sierra de Cubitas, was primarily intended as a means of exploiting and conveying the ore from this zone to the sea coast.

In the western portion of the Organ Mountains of Pinar del Rio, other deposits of nickeliferous iron have been denounced and registered, although the cost of building a railroad to deep water on the north coast up to the present prevented the development of the mines, located about 20 miles southeast of Arroyo de Mantua.

With the enormous amount of constructive work that will undoubtedly follow the great European War, in which iron and steel will play such an important part, there is every reason to believe that capital will be forthcoming with which to build the necessary roads and to develop the nickel bearing iron ores of Cuba.

Structural steel, today and in the future, will probably play a greater part in the world’s progress and development than any other one of the products of nature. The demand for steel, of course, was greatly accentuated by the European conflict, without which modern warfare would be practically impossible. The splendid steel turned out in our mills of today would be impossible of manufacture without the addition of a certain percentage of either manganese or chrome. The alloys of these two metals with iron gives steel its elasticity, hardness and real value.

Manganese ores are found in California, Colorado, Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia, but nowhere within the limits of the United States have the United States have the deposits of manganese proved to be sufficiently extensive to supply the domestic requirements of the country, even in normal times. The total output of manganese in the United States in 1901 was less than 12,000 tons. Southern Russia contains very large deposits of the metal, but up to 1919, 70% to 80% of the manganese consumed in the United States had been brought from the interior of Southern Brazil.

The immediate and imperative demand for both manganese and chrome, impelled the Government at Washington to seek other sources, closer by, in order to save the time consumed in securing shipments from Brazil.

Small amounts of manganese had been secured from Cuba during the ten years previous to the War, but the extent of these deposits remained unknown until, in the spring of 1918, the United States Geological Survey and Bureau of Mines sent two expert engineers, Messrs. Albert Burch, consulting engineer of the Bureau of Mines, and Ernest F. Burchard, geologist of the United States Geological Survey, to Cuba in order to ascertain the quality and quantity of manganese and chrome that might be furnished by that Republic.

The party reached Havana in the latter part of February, and were there joined by Sr. E. I. Montoulieu, a Cuban mining engineer, detailed by the Treasury Department to act as an escort and associate throughout research work in the Island. During the two months of their stay these gentlemen made a rapid survey of the more important chrome and manganese zones, the report of which was made to the United States Government in September of 1918.

The chrome deposits, which up to the time of the visit of these engineers had attracted attention in Cuba, are all located within distances varying from ten to twenty-five miles from the north coast of the Island. Some twelve groups were examined which displayed considerable diversity in quality, size and accessibility.

Manganese claims have been registered near Mantua and Vinales, in the Province of Pinar del Rio, but time did not permit an extended study of those deposits. Valuable manganese deposits of known value are found also in the districts of Cienfuegos and Trinidad in the Province of Santa Clara. By far the largest deposits of this ore, and the only ones that are being extensively worked, are located in the Province of Oriente.

The most westerly deposit of chrome visited was found in the eastern part of Havana province, and two others were located, one near Coliser, in the Province of Matanzas, another near Canasi, and a third near the automobile drive about half way between the City of Matanzas and Cardenas. In the province of Camaguey, only a few miles north of the city, valuable deposits of chrome were found quite accessible to the railroad for shipment. Other chrome deposits were found in Oriente; one near Holguin, another south of Nipe Bay, and three groups in the mountains not far from the coast between Punta Corda and Baracoa.

All of the chrome deposits examined by these engineers were found in serpentinized basic rocks. The ore lies in lenticular and tabular masses, ranging in thickness from one to more than fifty feet. The ore is generally fine grained to medium coarse, and runs from spotted material, consisting of black grains of chromite ranging in diameter from 1/30 to ¼ of an inch, embedded in light green serpentine, to a solid black material containing little or no visible serpentine.

Most of the masses of ore are highly inclined and certain of them are exposed in ravines, on steep hillsides and in mountainous or hilly regions. The deposits west of Nipe Bay are in areas of moderate relief, and those near Camaguey are in an area of very low relief. The deposits in the eastern part of Oriente, which are the largest visited, are in a mountainous country and very difficult of access.

In Havana Province small pockets of chrome ore have been found about two miles south of Canasi, ten miles from the railroad. A little mining has been done and about 600 tons of ore shipped.

In Matanzas Province small deposits of chrome were visited on the “Jack” claim, seven miles northwest of the railroad station on Mocha, and on the Anna Maria claim ten miles west of Cardenas. The latter is only two miles from the railroad but no ore had been shipped from it. Considerable development work has been done on the “Jack” claim and about 450 tons of ore were on hand in February of 1918.

Another promising claim was located in a group of several serpentine hills that rise from the comparatively level surface about a mile north of kilometer 36, on the automobile drive between Cardenas and Matanzas. The outcropping chrome and loose lumps of float, found on the surface, were of high grade, exceeding probably 50%.

Since the visit of the American engineers another very promising chromite claim has been located some four kilometers from the railroad, near Coliseo, in the Province of Matanzas. The owners of this claim announce an unlimited quantity of good grade ore, and were shipping in the winter of 1918 and 1919 two carloads of ore per day to the United States by rail, using the Havana and Key West Ferry. Messrs. Burch and Burchard state in their report that the geological conditions in the areas referred to above warrant further exploration.

The deposits of chrome examined in Camaguey consist of three groups, which lie along a narrow zone, beginning nine miles north of the City of Camaguey and extending southeast to a point only two miles from Alta Gracia, on the Nuevitas Railroad. A level plain, covered with a thin mantle of clay and limonite gravel, extends from the City of Camaguey northward until its junction with the hills of the Sierra de Cubitas, rendering the country easily accessible by wagon road. Float ore is found in this zone, and broken ore caps some ten or twelve small hills that rise from five to fifty feet above the surrounding surface. In this zone there are also fifteen or more other outcroppings of chromite, most of them obscured by broken ore and rock debris. Prospecting has been done here to obtain samples of ore for analysis, but it has not shown either the nature or the extent of the deposits. On the surface, however, there is a considerable quantity of ore in the form of broken rocks or coarse float, probably 20,000 tons.

Ten samples of ore from the deposits near Camaguey contain from 27% to 36% of chromic oxide. Only two produced less than 30% while a few ran above 35%. This is a low grade ore but is suitable for certain purposes. If it should require concentration, sufficient water is available in small streams within a mile of the deposit.

Twenty miles north of Camaguey, near the eastern end of the Cubitas iron ore beds, are several other deposits of chrome that were examined by A. C. Spencer of the United States Geological Survey in 1907. All of these denoted noteworthy quantities of chrome float, apparently of high grade, and the occurrence of tabular bodies of chrome from one to five feet in width. On one claim boulders of chrome ore are distributed over a belt of some 1700 feet, and on another, fragments of ore are found in an area 150 by 250 feet. On still another claim, five deposits lie within an area measuring 1200 by 3000 feet. One of these seems to be continuous for something over 900 feet.

Both chrome and manganese are scattered throughout various sections of Oriente and the largest deposits of these minerals as well as those of iron are located in this Province. Small deposits of chrome are located some seven miles northeast of Holguin, on the slopes of a low ridge of serpentine that lies between two higher ridges of steeply inclined limestone, about a half mile distant from each other. One pocket had yielded about 150 tons of ore, which with 25 tons of float was ready for shipment in March, 1918. Analysis of samples showed an average of 34% of chromic oxide. The maximum content of chromium in pure chromite is 46.66% and the content of chromic oxide is 68%. Late in July of that year the company’s consulting engineer reported that a large body of 40% ore had been developed, and that in all about 500 tons were ready for shipment.

One of the larger deposits of chrome that gives promise of a considerable output is located on the south slope of the Sierra de Nipe, about seven miles southeast of Woodfred, the headquarters of the Spanish American Iron Company’s Mayari mines. The upper part of the ore body crops out of a steep hillside about 300 feet above a mountain stream, flowing into a small tributary of the Mayari River, and seems to be from ten to thirty feet in thickness. Where it does not crop out, it lies from 30 to 50 feet below the surface. The ore varies in quality, the better grade carrying as high as 48% of chromic oxide, with 7% to 15% of silica, and 7% to 10% of iron. The deposit was estimated to contain about 50,000 tons of chrome ore, 25,000 tons of which would carry more than 40% of chromic oxide and the remaining 25,000 tons between 34% and 40%.

The Cayojuan group of chrome ore claims are located on both sides of a small river emptying into Moa Bay, and lie at an altitude of about 750 feet above the sea level. An outcrop that extends around the hill for about 300 feet, and covers some 6,400 square feet, has been prospected. Samples on analysis gave an average of 38.1% chromic oxide.

The Narciso claim, which nearly surrounds the above group, includes an ore body that crops out on a steep hillside, about 500 feet above the river. A sample of ore from this outcrop showed an analysis of 34.8% of chromic oxide.

The Cromita claims, one the left side of the river, contain three known ore bodies, and hundreds of tons of boulder float ore, in an arroyo or gulch. The ore bodies are exposed on the side of a bluff at a height of 150 to 300 feet above the river. The most northerly ore body shows a face 20 feet wide and 15 feet high. The middle body includes an outcrop 75 feet long and 50 feet high and has been penetrated by cutting a tunnel. Geological conditions would indicate that these bodies are connected within the hill. Samples of these ores on analysis varied from 26% to 40.5% of chromic oxide.

The deposits of the Cayojuan group contain probably about 22,500 tons of available chrome ore, but may run as high as 60,000 tons. These estimates include 2,000 tons of float ore in the Cayojuan River and the tributary arroyo. The group of deposits is about eight miles by mule trail from an old wharf at Punta Gorda, to which a road will have to be built along the valley of the Cayojuan, a narrow gorge bordered in many places by steep cliffs. A light tramway for mule cars, or a narrow gauge steam railway, will probably be the most economical way of removing the ore.

The Potosi chrome claim is located on Saltadero Creek four miles above its mouth. This is a tributary of the Yamaniguey River. The ore body is a steeply dipping lens that reaches a depth of more than 100 feet and at one place has a thickness of 250 feet with a length along the strike, of 45 feet. The upper edge crops out about 325 feet above the creek bed, and about 600 feet above sea level. The ore is medium to coarse grained. Some of the material in the drifts is spotted but most of the outcropping and float ore is black and of good appearance. According to the analysis that accompanied the report of G. W. Maynard, the representative ore contains 35% to 41% chromic oxide. This deposit contains from 10,000 to 20,000 tons and the work of getting the ore to the coast involves rather a difficult problem in transportation.

A small body of chrome ore occurs on the Constancia claim, three-quarters of a mile south of Navas Bay, and about 100 feet above the sea level. The ore body appears to extend about 50 feet along the face of a gently sloping hill. It is not of a uniform quality, being largely a spotted ore; that is chromite mixed with serpentine ganue. About six feet of better ore, however, is exposed in a cut some 25 feet in length. This contains 39.4% chromic oxide. Water for concentration is available near by in the Navas River, and a road could easily be built to the bay, but this is not deep enough for steamers, so it would have to be lightered four miles north to Taco Bay, or ten miles southeast to Baracoa. Another body containing about 10,000 tons of chrome ore of low-grade lies in the mountain eight miles south of Navas Bay.

The reserves of marketable chrome ore that have been prospected in Cuba up to the summer of 1918, range from 92,500 long tons to 170,000. The largest known deposits of chrome ore, or at least the largest of those visited by the engineers Burch and Burchard in the spring of 1918, are those of the Caledonia, and the Cayojuan and the Potosi claims, near the northeast coast of Oriente Province, in a region of rather difficult access. According to indications, they will probably yield 130,000 tons of ore, most of which can be brought to the present commercial grade by simple concentration.

The next largest group of chrome ore deposits is near Camaguey. They are very easy of access, but are of a lower grade than those of Oriente. They appear to contain a maximum of about 40,000 tons of ore that can be gathered by hand from the surface.

Near Holguin, Cardenas and Matanzas, are small stocks of ore ready for shipment, perhaps 1,000 tons. The most productive chrome mine operating in the fall of 1918 seemed to be that of the “Britannia Company,” located about twelve miles southwest of Cardenas and about 80 miles from Havana. Two carloads a day were being shipped by rail from Coliseo to Havana, and thence by ferry to Key West and northern smelters.

The manganese ores of Cuba occur principally in sedimentary rocks such as limestone, sandstone and shale, that in places have become metamorphosed, but in the most heavily mineralized zones are associated with masses of silicious rocks, locally temed “jasper” and “byate.” In one locality the manganese and its silicious associates were found in igneous rocks, such as Latite-porphyry and Latite. The sedimentary rocks with which manganese deposits are usually associated are in some places nearly horizontal, but generally show dips ranging from a few degrees to forty-five or more. The inclined beds usually represent portions of local folds. Some faulting is shown in the vicinity of various manganese deposits and may have influenced the localization of the deposits.

Manganese ore is found in Oriente, Santa Clara and Pinar del Rio provinces, but only in Oriente has it been found in large commercial quantities. In Oriente the deposits are in three areas, one north and northeast of Santiago de Cuba, another south of Bayamo and Baire, and the third on the Caribbean coast between Torquino Peak and Portillo. The first two include the most extensive deposits on the Island. In Santa Clara ore has been found near the Caribbean coast west of Trinidad, and in Pinar del Rio Province manganese ore occurs north of the city of Pinar del Rio and farther west near Mendoza.

The deposits of the northeast coast and those south of Bayamo, distant from each other approximately 100 miles, show nevertheless an interesting concordance in altitude. They stand from 500 to 1200 feet above sea level and nearly all of them are at altitude near 600 and 700 feet, suggesting a relation between the deposition of the manganese and a certain stage in the physiographic development of the region. Most of the manganese ore deposits are above drainage level, on the slopes of hills of moderate height, the maximum relief in the immediate vicinity of the deposits seldom exceeding 500 feet.

The deposits of manganese ore examined in Cuba are rather diverse, but may be grouped into three general physical types—buried deposits, irregular masses associated with silicious rock or “jaspar,” and deposits in residual clay. The buried deposits comprise several varieties, one of the most common being of poorly consolidated beds of sandy chloritic material, cemented, with manganese oxides, that fill inequalities in the surface of hard rocks. Other bedded deposits clearly replace limestone, shale conglomerate or other rocks, and tabular masses of ore are interbedded with strata of nearly horizontal limestone. The ore consists largely of Pyrolusite, but many deposits contain Psilomelane, Manganite and Wad, or mixtures of all these materials. The richness of the deposits varies considerably. Most of the richest masses are associated with the “jaspar,” but masses that have replaced limestone are also very rich.

The deposits of manganese examined in the Santiago district comprise the Ponupo Group, the Ysobelita, Botsford, Boston, Pilar, Dolores, Laura, San Andrea, Cauto or Abundancia, Llave and Gloria Mines, together with the Caridad and Valle prospects. All of these properties except the two prospects are producing ore. The Ponupo, Ysobelita and Boston mines were opened many years ago and have produced a large quantity of ore. The Ponupo and Ysobelita are still relatively large producers, though the grade of ore is not so high as that shipped in the earlier days. The Ponupo mine is connected with the Cuba Railroad at La Maya by a branch two miles long, and a narrow gauge track from Cristo, on the Cuba Railroad, runs to the Ysobelita mine three miles distant. Extensions of this line to the Boston and Pilar mines can be made with little additional outlay. The Dolores and Laura mines are near the Guantanamo & Western Railroad, not far from Sabanilla station, and the Cauto mine is adjacent to the Cuba Railroad at Manganeso Station. The other mines are from one to eight miles from the railroad, to which the ore is hauled mainly by oxcarts. In the rainy season these roads are impassable, and even in the dry season they include many difficult places, so that the quantity of the output is much less than could be mined under different circumstances.

The ore is mined by hand, mostly from open cuts, though short drifts and tunnels have been run into lenses of ore at the Ponopu, Cauto and Laura mines, and a slope has been driven on a thin tabular mass of ore between strata of limestone, dipping about 34 degrees, at the Botsford.

High grade ore may be selected in mining the richer parts of these deposits, but most of it requires mechanical treatment, such as long washing and jigging to free it from clay, sand and other impurities. At one mine the ore is cleaned by raking over a horizontal screen in a stream of water. Log washers are in operation at some mines and under construction at others. At one time a system of washing, screening and jigging is employed. They daily production of manganese ore in March, 1918, from this district, was about 300 tons.

The approximate average composition of the ore now shipped is as follows:

The greater part of the manganese ore from this district contains from 36% to 45% manganese, a few thousand tons running over 45%.

The manganese deposits examined by Messrs. Burch and Burchard south of Bayamo consist of the Manuel, Costa group, 18 to 23 miles by wagon road southwest of Bayamo; the Francisco and Cadiz groups, 15 and 20 miles southeast of the same city; and Guinea, Llego and Charco Redondo, seven to eight miles southeast of Santa Rite; and the Adriano and San Antonio mines, 9 to 10 miles south of Bayari. Other deposits, further to the southeast, are in what is known as the Los Negros district. But little mining has been done so far in this district. Deposits of milling ore are available and will undoubtedly be developed later if prices remain favorable.

It was estimated in April, 1918, that the output of manganese from this district, during 1918, would not exceed 12,000 tons, half of which would be high-grade ore carrying from 45% to 55% of manganese. Later developments, however, indicated a much larger output.

The reserve of manganese ore in this section was estimated at about 50,000 tons, but this does not include the Los Negros district which lies further southeast, 25 to 35 miles from the railroad. Engineers who have examined this zone believe that with good transportation facilities it will yield a large output of high-grade ore from many small deposits.

Aside from difficult transportation facilities in some districts, one of the chief obstacles in the way of a large yield of ore from the mines has resulted from an inability to hold a sufficient number of miners at certain mines, owing to an inadequate supply of foodstuffs. Many workmen preferred to work in the sugar mills where good food was more readily obtained and living conditions were easier. Lack of explosives also handicapped mining in some districts. The building of narrow gauge railroads in which the Cuban Federal Government will probably assist will greatly contribute to the successful or profitable mining of manganese in the Province of Oriente. The fact that most of the ore is removed during the dry season, when the Cuba Company’s roads are taxed to the limit in conveying sugar cane to the mills, also renders transportation by rail rather uncertain.

Despite the handicaps outlined above, operators of manganese mines are striving to increase their output, and there is a strong interest taken everywhere in Cuba in developing manganese prospects. If railway cars and ships are provided for transporting the ore, food for the mine laborers, and explosives for blasting, the outlook for a steadily increasing production is good. The output for 1918 was estimated at between 110,000 and 125,000 tons, more than 90% of which runs from 36% to 45% manganese, the remainder being of a higher grade. The reserves of manganese ore in the mines above referred to in Oriente Province are estimated at from 700,000 to 800,000 tons, 85% of which is located in the district northeast of Santiago.