12 THE CUBA REVIEW THECUBAREVIEW 18 or how they succeeded in recovermg their gold and silver contents from them. As the "El Cobre" mines mineral never carried any gold or silver values, and it has been conclusively proven that the mines had been worked previous to the discovery of America, and besides, that the Indians had communication with the Continent, a distinguished American mining engineer has advanced the theory that for years, and perhaps centuries before the discovery, these Cuban mines had supplied this Continent with all the copper needed by its inhabitants. The next mineral to make its appearance in the mining history of Cuba, appears to be iron. At the Daiquiri and Juragua mines in the Province of Oriente, and only a few miles from Santiago de Cuba, miUions of tons of excellent, low phosphorous, iron ore have been mined, and there are many more miUions available. These mines began to be actively worked in 1883. In later years, the wonderful nickeliferous iron ores of Mayari, Moa and Cubitas, have been discovered and there are hundreds of millions of tons of ore proved by extensive boring, con- stituting the biggest ore-body of high grade iron known in the world, which, in spite of active mining since 1908, can be said to be hardly touched yet. Ashphalt comes, probably, next, chronologically speaking, in the hst of minerals of economi- cal importance in Cuba. It is very widely disseminated all over the island, and it occurs in really remarkable quantities, being in all cases of a high grade and purity; its analysis compares favorably with the best world asphalts. To give an idea of the vastness of the Cuban asphalt

supply, it need only be said that the w^hole of Cardenas Bay, a sheet of water over 10 kilo- metres wide and 20 ui length, is completely underlaid by soUd asphalt, which has been mined for years in crude and primitive fashion. Manganese has been the source of great mining activity at different periods and when- ever active warfare has been waged in any of the quarters of the world affecting the great man- ganese producing countries, like the Russo-Japanese war, and the present world-war. While for years the Ponupo Group, northeast of Santiago, were the sole source of manganese, today

work is actively carried on in about two hundred mmes and prospects, and the tonnage has been raised to a monthly output of at least 50,000 tons of both chemical and lower grade man- ganese. War is directly responsible for the great activity in chrome ore mining which had but a mineralogical mterest in Cuba. The vast serpentine areas of Cuba are being carefully pros- pected and hundreds of new claims and all the known deposits are bemg feverishly worked to the extent that it is safe to say that Cuba is in the race as a chrome producmg country to stay, for even when after the war prices are readjusted, the big chrome mines now being devel- oped will be in a position to brmg profits to their operators, as the initial cost of development has been made while high prices prevailed. At Camaguey and Matanzas Provinces, immense deposits of high and medium grade chrome have been located within from one to six kilometres from the railroad. Lead in payable quantities is now being mined at Pinar del Rio in the form of argen- tiferous galena. Zinc as high as 14% has been sampled from a mine near Bueycito in the Province of Oriente. Cinnabar is reported m Santa Clara Province at a mine worked years ago by a Spaniard. A soft bituminous coal is now being mmed at Placetas and Santa Maria del Rosario, in Santa Clara and Havana Provinces, respectively. But none of the above-mentioned minerals has been so welcome or its discovery the source of such interest and speculation as the cUscovery of coal oil at Bacuranao, 15 kilo- Tnetres northeast of Havana, and near the north coast of Cuba.

'iu.:, i-Jiriefly outhning the principal minerals being mined in Cuba, it is well to make a its wealth of oil sdvia(5e-Vi'icncandns,''specTaiiy m its central portion. ''At-feacuranao,'' about 23 kilometres east of Havana, oil in paying amounts was first struck in a well 540 feet deep by the Union Oil Company, a concern organized with Spanish and Cuban capital. It is very interesting to note that the country rock is serpentine, although a few miles to the north, the formation is flanked by limestones which form a low range of hills. To many ob- servers the presence of serpentine was the best proof that oil would never be found, based on the generaUty that oil could not be found near, or in, igneous rocks. In spite of all prejudices and predictions, about 100 barrels of oil have been coming from three wells in this camp, while 14 THE CUBA REVIEW

Scene along the road from Pinar del Rio to Vinales, in the Manganese district.

their extent appears to be of considerable importance, they have not been systematically explored or actively mined. At Sabalo, south of the railroad, there are some very extensive deposits of perfectly white siliceous sand 98% pure, which have been very actively mined for the manufacture of bottles for the Havana breweries and general bottle making, and a new company has just been organized to install a complete glass factory to produce all kinds of glassware. Just a few kilometres to the northwest, at a point known as Narajo, there are some highly interesting lead prospects which are being carefully explored by a Philadelphia concern which has already shipped, via Havana, its first 30 tons of first-class galena. From just about this point to a point 50 kilometre^ to the north, and from here in a north- easterly direction for about 7 5 kilometres there is a belt of various sedimentary rocks intruded

at places by highly serpentinized rocks, often flanked by limestone formations, rich in all manner

of copper indications. Many hundreds of claims have been made on this land and there is hardly a square kilometre without some prospect holes, an addit, an active or deserted camp, or, in a word, some evidence of mining activities. Of the many prospects of the zone, one has become one of the most important copper mines of the continent. "Minas de Matahambre," 14 kilometres south of the harbor of Santa Lucia, was discovered in 1913, prospected and explored in 1914, the ore located, blocked and prepared for intensive mining in 1915, until in 1916, 33 ships left Santa Lucia carrying a total cargo of 65,000 tons of excellent grade ore. "Minas de Matahambre" is a real mine today, producing over twenty million tons of copper and seventy thousand ounces of silver per year. To mention just a few of the more promising prospects of this copper belt. Mono, Vivero, Catalina, and Nieves are near the great Matahambre and their exploration goes on with varyino' success. Francisco and Cdndida that shipped some six thousand tons of high gra^lr^„__,.,^concern- , , ' iiwiii Dii- - - . . ,-•-'" ^ ^^v* t . — _ , »T. old workings left by the native Indians. iTg thTfact that their discovery was due to the relative proficiency of the Indians in the metallurgy of We all admit and recognize the of that metal are numerous; but it is not so copper, as the utensils and rehcs of articles made copper was known or practised by them. In the easily accepted that the process of refining relics found in dwelhngs and tombs from all analyses of over two thousand samples of copper been found. When we remember that prac- over the continent, not a trace of;gold or silver has America bears gold and silver, often in paying amounts, tically all the copper from Continental their copper by a process which we have failed to determine. we wonder if the Indians refined THE CUBA REVIEW 15

South of Bahfa Honda, and extending some 50 kilometres in a south-easterly direction, begins an important belt of sedimentary' rocks, rich in all manner of oil indications. Import- visible in many localities porous rocks are often found saturated in an excellent ant seepages are ; grade of oil which flows out upon breaking the specimen under the hammer; the geological features of the land from a structural point of view are of the highest interest and just the type that would interest petroleum experts. Quite recently an American concern took a lease on a claim covering over 100,000 acres of this land. Some of the best indications are apparent at Artemisa, while at Candelaria, a man drilled a shallow well with a small four-inch rig and obtained a few barrels a day which he used about his farm. The future of Pinar del Rio as a mining district is no longer a source of speculation; intelli- gent mining is only needed.

Occurrence of Chromite at the Elena Mine.

PROVINCE OF HAVANA

The northern half of the Province of Havana is very interesting to the petrologist.dueto its wealth of oil surface-indications, specially in its central portion. At Bacuranao, about 23 kilometres east of Havana, oil in paying amounts was first struck in a well 540 feet deep by the Union Oil Company, a concern organized with Spanish and Cuban capital. It is very interesting to note that the country rock is serpentine, although a few miles to

the north, the formation is flanked by limestones which form a low range of hills. To many ob- servers the presence of serpentine was the best proof that oil would never be found, based on the generality that oil could not be found near, or in, igneous rocks. In spite of all prejudices and predictions, about 100 barrels of oil have been coming from three wells in this camp, while 16 THE CUBA REVIEW a hundred yards away from them another well at 845 feet penetrated a gas pocket; quantities of serpentine rock with fragments of limestones and some oil blew out; after blowing for two hours the gas stopped, and the hole fiUed 500 feet with oil. A 50-gallon bailer was run continuously for an hour or so without lowering the level of the oU in the well, and in about seven hours the wen producedabout 150 barrels of 28° Baume oil. The grit in the oil, as well as the gas, made it very difficult to keep the pump going; however, aU available tankage was filled with oU, in- cluding a 1,000 barrel tank which was built after the well came in. These occurrences and others of less consequence have attracted considerable attention both at home and abroad and more careful attention is being given to the possibility of a boom of "Cuba for OU." It is well to remember here the fact that geologists in general admit that Cuba was once a part of Continental America, and in a general way the proximity of our western San Antonio Point to Yucatan, and Florida to our Havana Province, as well as the general direction of our most important moimtain-ranges, seem to sustain the belief. Besides, the nature of the predominant formations of the Island is sedimentary, and therefore appropriate for the accumulation of oil by saturation. Cuba is a country, very rich in asphalt and its compounds and derivatives; sulphur springs are very common, and seepages and gas outflows are by no means scarce. From a stratigraph- ical point of view, antichnes are as common as in any soft rolling or slightly hilly coimtry. In a word, the usual conditions sought by the oil scout are very common on the Is'and. When we remember that in 1917 over 72% of the world's oil production came from the countries surrounding Cuba on the big arch forming the Mexican Gulf, and the inverted arch of northern South America, from Florida to INIexico, and from this prodigious petroleum country to the volcanic. Island of Trinidad, north of Venezuela, we cannot but strengthen our belief that our oil future is not an illusion but a founded hope. Besides, petrographical re- searches have recently shown beyond any doubt that many of our serpentines are the result of the metamorphoris of impure limestones. This dispels the fear, that our serpentines, if of igneous origin might be a curse to our petroleum production, because it is more reasonable to expect that in a coimtry where limestone is one of the great orders of sedimentary rocks, our serpentmes, especially those nearest to them, are the result of their metamorphosis, than to ascribe their origin to serpentinization of basic igneous rocks. Another interesting aspect of the mining industry in the Province of Havana is furnished by a coal prospect near Santa Maria del Rosario, which for many years has been operated in an irregular manner, but which is at present controlled by the "General Wood Mining Com- pany," which intends to explore it by borings in a definite manner. The coal is a sort of a soft bitvuninous coal which looks very much hke a soUd, duU asphalt, but -ndthout its characteristic conchoidal fractm-e, but its behavior during combustion is entirely different, as it gives no drippings nor changes its state, and is, therefore, very useful to mix with inert or low grade coals,

as it burns with a long, hot flame. An all-day test was recently given this bituminous product,

burning it continuously without any other coal, at the preserve factory of the Pedro Bros, at Santa Maria del Rosario with the most flattering results. The coal expands a httle at the be- ginning of the process of combustion with a violent evolution of volatile matter, and then burns off steadily leaving little ash, hardly any cUnkers, and without sticking to the grate or clugging

its openings. If borings should reveal a large tonnage it would be the greatest contribution to the local industries, especially in war times. A small chrome mine, called "Elena," was operated sometime ago at the northern corner of the Province near its boimdary with Matanzas; some 600 tons of high grade chromite were

shipped from it in 1915, and it is now being prospected for copper along some very good surface indications crossing the prospect longitudinally.

THE ISLE OF PINES

This beautiful Island is poUtically regarded as a part of the Province of Havana. Its principal harbor being some 80 kilometres to the south of Bataban6, the southern port of that Province, directly south of the City of Havana, its mining wealth finds place here. Recent reports concerning a copper prospect have attracted considerable attention, while its marble quarries, of great reno%vn smce Spanish days, are being actively worked and some grades of marble are said to compare favorably with the best Carrara marble. THE CUBA REVIEW 17

PROVINCE OF MATANZAS.

The garden Province of Cuba, remarkable for the fertihty of its soil, bids fair to be in the near future quite as important for the extent and variety of its mineral production. Just to the west of the City of Matanzas, some 10 kilometres from it, an oil well 12 inches in diameter has now boon driven 500 feet, with excellent showing of oil and considerable amount of gas. This claim is the centre of a claim over 12,000 acres in extent which will be explored by the Bess interests, formerly of the Union Oil Company of Havana. Further to the west and north the "Margot," and the "Vigilante" copper prospects are giving excellent results; in the first mentioned claim, a fine body of excellent grade of iron pyrites, with a good percentage of copper, was cut by the 100 ft. level, while some samples of the outcrops assay from 6% to 17% of metallic copper. In the last-mentioned claim, some ex- cellent copper ore has been shipped, with good returns to the owners and operators.

«

The Camp of the Matanzas Oil Co.

All the northwestern part of the Province is scarred with old workings, some three cen- turies old, of quite an extensive nature. One of the most recent additions to the mining industry of Matanzas, and indeed of Cuba,

is a mine of sulphate of lime for the manufacture of plaster of Paris. At Coliseo a splendid chrome mine was discovered last August and is shipping about 60 tons a day of chromite assaying from 43% to 58% of sexquioxide of chrome. A test pit in the ore pocket 12 feet deep is reported to be still in solid chrome, while the diameter of this one body is reported to exceed 100 feet. North of Coliseo, at San Miguel de los Bafios sulphur springs of remarkable degree of saturation and fertility are a source of great interest. All around this zone some of the most remarkable oil seepages have been observed by the writer. The country rock here, as in the case of the oil fields of the Province of Havana, is mostly serpentine flanked, and in some cases cut, by a hmestone range which in places attains a considerable altitude, for the usual reUef of this zone. Near Cardenas the Lord Cowdray interests have done some deep drilling, but aside from finding some gas, a little oil of no consequence, and many layers of dry oil, asphalt, their wells which in a case attained a depth of nearly 3,000 feet, were all dry holes. 18 THE CUBA REVIEW

Asphalt is, however, an important asset in this zone. The bottom of Cdrdenas Bay, as has been said elsewhere, is one solid sheet of asphalt. For many years a considerable tonnage was exported from this bay; the asphalt was crudely mined by dropping steel bars from shallow boats, and the pieces of asphalt broken up in this manner were brought to the surface after a diver had tied a rope around them. Naturally the production was not steady, and in spite of the high grade of the product which compared favorably with the Trinidad asphalt, the buyers were forced to recur to more ably managed mines for their asphalt. There are many more asphalt deposits of great interest in this Province, notably one on which liquid asphalt running constantly from a gap in a ravine has formed a regular asphalt

lake which the neighbors have fenced in to keep the cattle from getting stuck in it. The day will come when a careful geological survey of the Island will be made which will reveal the real extent, importance and relations of all these deposits, solving many vexing problems, and offering new openings to prospectors, geologists and engineers.

Head-Frame of the "Panchita and Casualidad" Copper prospects, near Cienfuegos.

PROVINCE OF SANTA CLARA

With the exception of the mountain range on the south coast of the province which ex- tends from near Cienfuegos to the east of Trinidad, and a few lower ranges in the central and

eastern part of it, around Sancti Spiritus, the Province of Santa Clara is flat, rolling, and more hilly than mountainous. Gas, oil, asphalt, and a type of cannel coal are commonly found in different localities. Near Itabo, at a place known as San Juan de Motembo, in the northwestern part of the Province, there is a remarkable flow of gas which, since 1800, has been the source of the greatest interest,

and has been experimented with by different concerns for different purposes. The gas is believed to belong to the class of "wet" gases, and therefore useful for the extraction of gasoline therefrom. Naphtha in variable amounts has been found at various depths from 287 feet down, and this is universally considered a good indication in gas pockets intended to be used for the condensation of its gasoline contents. The company that controls this property at the present time figures that 1,000 cubic feet of gas will yield no less than 13^ gallons of gasoline. It was at this camp that in 1916 a potash boom was launched. The war having cut off the German supply, the reserves were exhausted and the world was looking around for a potash field, when a report was broadly circulated to the effect that potash had been discovered at Motembo. The cable and the mail were kept busy for a few weeks by chemical companies,

professional men and speculators ; a company had been organized in New York by men inter- ested in fertilizer factories with a capital of $5,000,000 and scores of technical men were sent to Cuba by different interests, companies and scientific corporations, for the proper investigation of the alleged deposits. THECUBAREVIEW 19

The President of the Republic took an immediate interest in the report and sent the writer to Motembo with unUmited faciUties to investigate the truth of the matter. Accompanied by an agricultural chemist of splendid reputation, Mr. P. V. Goldsmith, who had charge of the Agricultural Department of the Cuban-American Sugar Company, and had his headquarters at Tinguaro, a sugar-estate in the Province of Matanzas, fifteen days were spent on the ground, prospecting, investigating, taking samples, etc., until after careful analysis and study the con- clusion was reached that the American who had started the report was a vulgar faker who had

got hold of some commercial potash and was dosing rocks with it besides employing the potash obtained by repeated leachings of the ashes of j)almetto trees. Naturally our report was a great disappointment to the "discoverer" and "inventor" of the process of producing commercial potash from common dolomitic limestone, an old well-driller who had been stranded and lived like a hermit in the place, since the days w'hen well drilling was actively carried on in the vicinity. At a place about one and a half kilometres west of Placetas del Sur a good seam of soft coal has been located and is being mined and sold to improve low grade coals. This seam occurs in a claim which was very actively worked a few years ago for this bituminous product which was entirely used at Santa Clara for the production of gas for the city. The mining of this coal w-as discontinued as railroad facilities improved, and foreign coals could be imported cheaper than this product could be mined. The extreme eastern portion of the province is rich in copper indications, and particularly at Escambray gold was mined for years with good returns. The writer recollects that while attending the School of Mines of Harvard University, Professor Shaler, after an extended mining trip through the Island, stated that two things had particularly struck him in the course of his trip; first, the possible importance of the amount of gold and copper that could be recovered by modern milling methods from the dumps of the old mines that he had visited and examined, and second, the fact that a decent man could travel the Island from one end to the other without spending a dollar or speaking the language, through the hospitality and good nature of the Cuban country people, or "guajiros" as we call them.

Thesouthernhalf of Santa Clara Province is, however, the most interesting from a geolog- ical and mining point of view.

At Cumanayagua, some 35 kilometres northeast of the city of Cienfuegos, there is an extended zone just north of the coastal mountain range so rich in copper indications, carbon- ates and sulphides of copper, that one wonders at the rather negative results of the more or less extended explorations being carried on in the region. In the mountains, the Carlota Mine is the centre of great activity. A railroad is being completed from the foot hills to the main line to Cienfuegos. An aerial tramway is being erected from the mine to the railroad terminal below, and active mining operations are in progress blocking off the immense deposits of iron pyrites for intensive exploitation on the completion of the railroad and terminal facilities. The Davidson Sulphur and Phosphate Company is investing over $5,000,000 in this one mine, which is said to be capable of supplying the United States with iron pyrites needed for the production of all the sulphuric acid it may need. Further east, and on the coastal plane proper, extensive manganese outcrops of varying richness and purity are prominent. At Trinidad, specially, an important body of manganese ore is at present being actively mined by a Havana concern. PROVINCE OF CAMAGiJEY

The Province of lowest relief of Cuba, noted for its rich soil and pasture land, is also mineralogically considered, the second in importance from the point of view of the extension of

its iron deposits, second only to those of the Province of Oriente. Copper, however, is the oldest known mineral mined in this region, and the tow^n of Minas on the CamagUey-Nuevitas Railroad, over one century old, owes its name to the copper mines surrounding it, one of which was for sometime considered the richest mine in the world, on account of the grade of copper ore produced back in 1846. From Moron, or better still, from the western boundary of the Province to Minas, in a zone 150 kilometres long and 20 wide, there is hardly a ravine, a river bank, or a hill that does not show splendid copper carbonates in varying amounts. This belt has been explored for 20 THE CUBA REVIEW

An Aspect of the Plant and Headframe of the "Cridad" Copper Mine.

many years, but in a casual or erratic manner, and it is impossible to pass an opinion on it from the result and the conflicting reports of the prospectors who refer to the importance of the field according to the success with which they have met. The fact remains that the lack of transportation facilities has been a great drawback for this zone, and it will not be surprising to hear of some great mining development in this region as soon as the Nuevitas-Caibarien Rail- road, now being constructed, crosses this zone. ^' North of the belt, and more towards the central part of the Province, the immense iron deposits of the Mayari type occur. The ore occurs in different forms; brown hematite is very common, but the most important deposits are those ferruginous earth mantles, averaging 15 and 25 feet in depth and extending over many square kilometres of the surface. This ore, like its Mayari kindred, is a laterite formed in place by the laterization of the serpentines; the ore carries almost invariably a noticeable percentage of nickel which at times exceeds 2%, is very low in phosphorus and sulphur, and it runs as high as 55% of metallic iron, and higher in places. It is estimated that the tonnage exceeds 500,000,000 tons. Right in the centre of the Province, and around the north and eastern sections of the prairie surrounding the City of Camagiiey, 9 kilometres away, there are some very important chromite deposits with an estimated tonnage in sight, and to put it in graphical language, above the prairie grass, of over 20,000 tons of 34% Cr2''3, that is sesquioxide of chrome, with small nickel contents. Further to the northeast, and at distances varying from 3^ kilo- metre to 2 kilometres, there are other deposits with over 50,000 tons of similar and higher grade chrome; among these a hill about 10 metres high and some 100 metres in diameter has assayed as high as 56.28% of chrome, when sampled by a party of American geologists who made a survey of the Island in 1900, the analysis having been made by Mr. F. P. Dewey, of Washington, D. C. This mine is only 1,600 metres from the railroad station at Minas, and Like the best of the chrome deposits described above, is controlled by the Compania Nacional Minera of Havana. These chrome deposits were visited in part by Messrs. Burch & Burchard of the Bureau of Mines and the Geological Survey of the United States Government last winter, and after examining the other chrome fields of Cuba, they pronounced them as the most accessible and easily worked of the ones they had seen, for besides the proximity to the railroad, the roads are easily improved and kept in this "sabana land," and the ore occurs in a way in which most of it can be picked by hand. The writer, who, as a delegate of the Cuban Government, had the good fortune to accompany the American Government engineers through their trip in Cuba, THE CUBA REVIEW 21

study of the chrome can corroborate the statement, which is only emphasized by his further fields of Cuba. should be made Before finishing this review of the mining industry in Camaguey, reference at the present time, are the only to the Caguasal Copper Mines west of Ciego de Avila which, being shipped camps shipping copper ores from the Province of Camaguey, while chromite is from the chrome deposits mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

Mayari Iron Mines, showing the steam excavators at work. Notice thickness of ore Mantle.

PROVINCE OF ORIENTE.

also the richest in The Province of Oriente is the most mountainous part of Cuba, and mineral production. the Province, The mining districts are distributed around the largest cities and towns of centre of a region in which gold and so we find Holguin, the biggest of the western cities, as the productive although the has been mined for many years; its gold mines, centuries old, are still kilometres northeast of the town output is rather limited. There is a chrome mine some 12 are several copper prospects, among which is shipping 33% chromite. To the northwest there which the Guabasiabo claim is said to be a real mine. deposits of the Spanish Amer- Felton, on Nipe Bay, is the shipping point of the great iron roughly speaking, ican Iron Company, which along the North coast of the Province, extend, kilometres wide, and about from Mayari to Baracoa, with an average depth of 25 feet, several deposit knowa in the 100 kilometres in length, making up the most important one body iron world, with a tonnage of thousands of millions of tons. cuts made by steam shovels. The The ore is earthy and moist and is mined by open turned right in to scoop the pine forest growing on the plateau is cleared and the shovels are locomotives to the edge of the plateau ore, that is the "soil," into the cars which are taken by here again it is taken and then sent dowoi an incline to the coastal plane 2,000 feet below, and is in big ovens and by steam locomotives to the drying or noduUzing plant, where the ore dried it into steamers deposited in appropriate bins from which a modern loading devise dumps Sparrows Point and other of about 8,000 tons which are constantly sailing from Felton to mineral centres of the United States. 22 THE CUBA REVIEW

MAP OF CUBA SHOWING DISTRICTS THE CUBA REVIEW 23

I

tPO'.li

WHERE THE VARIOUS MINERALS ARE MINED 24 THE CUBA REVIEW

Mayari Iron Mines. Notice special ore cars and inclined plane.

specially suitable for The ore is noted for its nickel and chrome contents which make it metal used. In certain types of rails and other steel forms requiring special features of the iron ore from the process of mining this ore the miners are trained to distinguish the common percentages of another type of ore of a more decided yellow tint which contains important shipped for its nickel nickel. This ore is loaded separately and dried in separate kilns and is contents. Santiago de Cuba, and Boqueron in Guantanamo Bay, and lately Antilla, are the shippmg asset of its points of the manganese production of this Province, which is another important mineral wealth. mines feverishly At Cristo, La Maya and Songo, there are many important manganese worked and shipping, an aggregate tonnage which exceeds 8,000 tons of 38 to 60% Laura, Abund- manganese ore per month. Besides the Ponupo group, the Boston, Isabelita,

A Pile of 8,000 tons uf Manganese from the Ponupo Mines. THE CUBA REVIEW 25-

Bed of the Bayamo River on which Auto-trucks are run to haul Manganese from th&~ Hills to Bayamo. ancia, and Dolores mines are big producers, the first three being the oldest manganese mines worked successfully in Cuba.

Daiquiri is the shipping point for the ore of the mines of that name which for many years, have been shipping excellent grade of low phosphorous and sulphur iron ores aggregating many millions of tons. There is storage capacity for 4,000 tons of ore, and ships drawing 24 feet caa dock there. Daiquiri is some 30 kilometres east of the City of Santiago. The Juragua mines are somewhat nearer Santiago at Firmeza about 29 kilometers east of Santiago. The shipping point is La Cruz in the Bay of Santiago. A railroad 29 kilometres long connects the mines with the wharf where ships are loaded and the ore taken to American, ports.

West of Santiago at Cuero Bay a splendid loading device has been installed for rapidly loading ships with the excellent low phosphorous iron ore mined at the Cuero mines. The mines are actively worked and promise a large yield. more One mining district has to be mentioned m Oriente Province and that is the Bayamo District. Manganese and copper ores are the important elements of its production. The highest grade of manganese chemical ore comes from the Manuel, Carballon, and Costa mines, near Bueycito, southeast of Bayamo. This district as well as the manganese zone, known as Los Negros, is being actively investigated, and considerable amounts of good grade ore are being shipped by Baire and Santa Rita on the Cuba Company main line, while most of the Bueycito ore is shipped by Julia on the Bayamo-Manzanillo branch, part of the ore being shipped by steamer from Manzanillo, but the bulk of it by rail to vVntilla, and some to Havana,, from which the ore is shipped by the ferry to the States. These lines complete a survey of the mming industry m Cuba. Only the most important prospects have been mentioned, and real mines alone have been described or referred to at soma :

26 THECUBAREVIEW

succeeded in convincing the American prospector, engineer or investor length . If the writer has Antilles, he will feel satisfied. Our greatest of the possibiUties of mining in the fair Pearl of the and the knowledge necessary to convince need is capable mining men who will have the honesty it drop at once. capital which are the prospects it should stick to, and which are those that must One phase of mining in Cuba which the writer has not touched, is what concerns the host faith of their employers to their of alleged experts that have been using the ignorance and good advantage, permanently injuring the future of the mining industry by inspiring disappointment in wealthy class and distrust in our mineral resources through their continued failures, our always ready to invest in new pursuits. mining The success of the various American Companies that have seriously undertaken the endorsement of the future of our copper and iron deposits is, in the opinion of the writer, the best of mining industry of Cuba. Havana, October 20th, 1918. TRAFFIC RECEIPTS OF CUBAN RAILROADS EARNINGS OF THE CUBA RAILROAD COMPANY The earnings of the Cuba Railroad for the month of October and for the three months of the fiscal year compare as follows 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 September gross $875,549 $690,124 $522,444 $411,923 .$314,675 $.340,251 Exiienses 695,396 614,227 339,597 242,922 191,826 191,876

September net $180,153 $75,896 .$182,846 $169,001 $122,849 $148,375 Other income 12,582 1,377 854 Net income 192,735 77,273 183,701 169,001 122,849 148,375 Fixed charges 95,154 93,886 87,091 72,012 70,195 66,791

Other interest charges.. . . 11,750

Sept. surplus $85,831 $16,612 $96,609 $96,988 $52,653 $81,583 From July 1st: Three mos. gross $2,968,678 $2,273,713 $1,652,262 $1,248,646 $1,040,707 $1,025,311 Threemos.net 831,657 581,810 705,499 576,481 415,879 445,628 Other income 36,656 3,901 2,546 Fixed charges 284,236 281,897 261,531 216,294 210,766 200,374

Other interest charges . . . 35,833

Surplus $548,243 $303,813 $446,514 $360,186 $205,113 $245,253 EARNINGS OF THE WESTERN RAILWAY OF HAVANA Weekly Receipts: 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 Week ending Sept. 14th.. £7,735 £7,026 £5,891 £4,638 £5,126 £5,304 Week ending Sept. 21st.. 7,941 7,058 5,567 5,039 4,696 4,940 Week ending Sept. 28th.. 7,600 5,365 5,902 4,411 4,206 4,848 Week ending Oct. 5th... 6,533 5,869 5,754 4,598 4,009 5,100 Week ending Oct. 12th... 7,041 6,237 5,191 4,080 4,707 5,151 Week ending Oct. 19th... 6,744 6,830 5,459 4,208 4,111 5,293 EARNINGS OF THE CUBAN CENTRAL RAILWAYS Weekly Receipts: 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 £6,735 £6,074 Week ending Sept. 14th. . £15,108 £11,552 £9,621 £7,881 Week ending Sept. 21st.. 14,355 11,737 10,564 8,259 6,508 6,174

Week ending Sept. 28th. . 15,710 10,351 8,778 8,341 6,011 7,209 5,551 6,064 Week ending Oct. 5th. .. . 15,163 9,728 8,900 7,967 Week ending Oct. 12th... 13,316 11,443 8,554 7,438 6,786 6,782 8,472 6,930 6,949 Week ending Oct. 19th. . . 13,627 12,003 9,215 THECUBAREVIEW 27

CUBAN FINANCIAL MATTERS

EARNINGS OF THE HAVANA ELECTRIC RAILWAY. LIGHT & POWER CO.

Month of September: 1918 1917 1916 1915 Gross earnings $714,696 $617,641 $507,562 $443,502 Operating expenses 323,241 260,586 187,561 183,372

Net earnings $391,455 $357,055 $320,001 $260,130 Miscellaneous income 15,463 9,046 10,840 8,052

Total net income $406,918 $366,101 $330,841 $268,182 Surplus after deducting fixed charges 245,030 212,745 201,587 161,344

Nine months to Sept 30: Gross earnings $6,042,506 $5,036,586 $4,407,453 $4,108,935 Operating expenses 2,765,347 2,185,469 1,692,626 1,683,839

Net earnings $3,277,159 $2,851,117 $2,714,828 $2,425,096 Miscellaneous income 107,957 106,450 99,929 76,917

Total net income $3,385,116 $2,957,567 $2,814,756 $2,502,013 Surplus after deducting fixed charges 2,119,269 1,544,153 1,660,101 1,524,847

EARNINGS OF THE UNITED