[Rockhounds] Geology in Progress

[Earl R. Verbeek]

Hi Larry,

Great story about that magnetite sand you found concentrated on the beach. 
Thomas Edison in the 1880s had a similar experience -- while strolling
along a beach he saw great quantities of magnetite sand and thought "Here
is a great iron ore, already mined and crushed, ready for the taking."  He
sent out his land men to secure rights to mine the sand and soon had
acquired most of the properties he wanted.  And then a storm washed it all
out to sea again.  Here's what he wrote, in a December 19, 1881 article in
the Sussex Independent (that's Sussex County, New Jersey):

"Nine years ago I erected a plant for working sands which were more or less
impregnated with iron on the coast of Rhode Island and Long Island, but the
result was a failure for two reasons: First I found the furnace-men were
not educated to using fine ore, and second the deposits were dependent upon
the storms and would sometimes go out to sea, and remain there for three
months. It was too much like taking out a mortgage on a school of herring."

           Cheers-   Earl Verbeek

On Sun, 4 Jan 2009 19:33:45 -0500,  wrote:
> Nate: That's an interesting question. I have two thoughts as possible 
> answers....
> 
> One....It was the holidays and everything is upside down at that 
> time....or...
> 
> Maybe the layers were deposited at different times. The first storm laid 
> down
> Magnetite and Garnet in different places, and a subsequent one washed
away
> 
> the Magnetite to be redeposited on top of the Garnet?
> 
> I don't think there was any overturning where I saw the layers. They were

> even and discrete, no interruptions. They were at the higher portion of
> the 
> beach, where the wave action had to be stronger than normal, but nothing 
> really of super strength.
> 
> Are there such layers to be found in the old sedimentary quartzite
> deposits?
> Is layered granular Magnetite ever an economic deposit in quartzite? I
> don't 
> know that I ever saw that in the literature or in the field.
> 
> One other interesting fact about that same area of that beach. Some years

> ago, a strong storm washed away a great deal of sand at the upper levels
> and 
> exposed the wooden ribs and keel of a large old sailing vessel. We
> happened 
> to be there on vacation just afterwards. The State had posted a warning
> that 
> the wreck should not be disturbed. It was found to be not a pirate ship 
> laden with gold and treasures (Darn!), but a rum-runner which plied
> between 
> New England and the Caribbean. It subsequently has been covered up again 
> with sand.
> 
> Not really relevant, but a little more stimulating for one's fantasies
> than 
> Magnetite sand deposits!
> 
> Larry
>