CHAPTER XI

CUBA'S MINERAL RESOURCES

THE possession of gold ornaments by the natives of Cuba at the time of Columbus' discovery of the Island gave it a reputation for mineral wealth which was maintained for centuries on a somewhat slender basis. The precious metals have never been found in considerable quantities, and it was only in comparatively recent years that any serious mining enterprises were established. The Spanish Government, for some incomprehensible reason, discouraged the exploitation and even the investigation of the mineral resources of Cuba, and practically nothing was definitely known about them until the United States Geological Survey made a geological reconnaissance shortly after the Spanish-American War.

With the exception of asphalt, which is produced on a commercial scale in the provinces of Habana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Puerto

Principe, the mineral development, and perhaps the mineral resources of Cuba are restricted to the mountainous region at the eastern end of the Island, occupied mainly by the Province of Oriente. There is no doubt but that this region is extremely rich in many valuable minerals. The present development is insignificant as compared with the future possibilities. Lack of labor is a bar to the extension of mining, and several deposits of ascertained value are not worked on account of the absence of transportation facilities. With improvement in these conditions it is certain that the mineral output of the Island will take an important place in its commerce.

To the east and west of Santiago de Cuba are many deposits of iron ore, most of them denounced, but none of them developed. Among these is a group of mines, chief of which is the Camaroncids, fifty-six miles from Santiago de Cuba, the ore of which is said to average sixty-eight per cent. iron.

In part, it is widely believed that iron ore of the finest quality abounds throughout the Sierra Maestra region. A mining engineer of experience is responsible for the statement that, in the vicinity of Mayari, near Nipe Bay, de

posits of high grade ore have been discovered "of sufficient extent to supply the demands of the whole world for the next century."

Iron is the chief mineral product of Cuba. The first" denouncement " of an iron mine in the Island was made in the year 1861, but it was not until 1883 that the investment of capital made the exploitation of the deposits of the Sierra Maestra possible. In the following year, the Juragua Iron Company, an American concern, made the first shipment of iron ore from the Island. At this time the Spanish authorities granted a number of concessions favorable to foreign corporations engaged in mining. Under this encouragement the pioneer company extended its operations and a few years later the Spanish-American Iron Company, organized in the United States, entered the field. The Sigua Iron Company and the Cuban Steel Ore Company followed. The operations of all these concerns were carried on in the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba until a few years ago, when the Spanish-American Iron Company established a large plant at Felton, in the Nipe Bay district.

The most important recent development in the industry is the acquisition by the Bethle

hem Steel Company of an iron ore deposit occupying an area of about 900 acres, lying twelve miles to the east of Santiago. This is regarded by experts as one of the most important mineral discoveries ever made in Cuba. Measurements by mining engineers give the contents of the ore-beds as 75,000,000 tons.

The ore obtained from the Sierra Maestra is both hematite and magnetite, rich in iron and low in phosphorus and sulphur. It is especially adapted to the Bessemer process of manufacture. An average analysis shows more than sixty-two per cent. metallic iron.

These properties are not mines in the strict sense of the word. The ore is found in small irregular bodies, near the tops of the hills, and it is extracted by quarrying, so that the workings are entirely exposed to view. Explosives and steam shovels are used in taking out the ore, which is unusually hard. As it does not lie in seams, with definite walls, one of the chief difficulties of operation consists in sorting it from the ordinary rock.

The first shipment of iron ore from Cuba, made by the Juragua Iron Company in 1884, amounted to somewhat more than 25,000 tons.

Since that time there has been an almost steady increase in the output of Oriente. The annual production is now in excess of a million tons, approximating $5,000,000 in value. It is probable that the American investments in iron mines in Cuba amount to at least $20,000,000. The large operating companies, with one exception, originated in Philadelphia, and have now affiliated interests.

The labor problem has been a constant difficulty with the mining companies. They find the native whites quite unequal to the arduous work of the mines, and the blacks are not satisfactory on account of their irregularity and difficulty of control. Despite the cost, the greater part of the labor employed is imported from the provinces of Spain. These men are strong, steady workers, and orderly. The companies take great pains to secure their comfort and health, with the result that there are practically no desertions and little difficulty in recruiting the force.

In this connection it will be of interest to describe the measures by which the SpanishAmerican Mining Company has almost banished malaria from its settlement at Daiquiri, especially as their experience should be sig