Sally mailed a page of typed information on Croton and Clover Hill; I'll scan it tonight and email it to you.

Thanks Mike!

Very good read. I find it more interesting about the condemning of the mine in which NYC paid for the estimated 12 million tons of ore which was I guess part of the water shed. I wonder how, if any, of the mine or ore is under the water shed? Not knowing the layout of the vein or veins, could there be another portion of the mine underwater, or does the ore body end up there?

Miner Greg

Highly likely that deposits exist under the reservoir system there are several other mines and flooded shafts within miles of the Croton Mine. The Tilly Foster mine is approx 4 miles north, now flooded, an open pit mine 600-700 feet in depth, located at near the northern shore of the Middle Branch Reservoir.

Mike

Taken from, The Transactions of the American Institute of Mining, vol.20, pgs. 111-132, 1891, by J.P. Nau (10 test runs are documented at the furnace after standing idle nearly a year).

This is an article that focuses on the steel making process at a 10 ton open hearth furnace at the Croton Magnetic Mines. The process consists of smelting pig-iron, scrape iron, and adding to the bath of molten iron briquettes formed at the mine. The blast furnace cinder is described as black in color (low temperature) and gradually turning dark green and finally a light yellowish-green.

My question to the Iron Miners Forum is, does anyone remember seeing any glass colored slag at the Brewster site? On top of the dump there is a 100,000 tons of waste rock, but I don't know where the blast furnace was constructed, and can't locate any bricks except by the side of the reservoir road.

Thank For Your Reply.

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The Pawling Prospector

Very good find! I certainly have not, however my first visit to the site was after they destroyed it. I don't know if Miner CTMike or Miner Mike remember...

Miner Greg

Michael, I do not recall seeing glass colored slag specifically. Perhaps Miner CT Mike remembers. Would you like to share the entire article by chance?

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"If you thought old, abandoned mines were only in the west, then you haven't been to IronMiners.com!"

If the article was talking about a 10ton open hearth furnace , that is not a blast furnace. Typically an open hearth furnace was used to produce steel from molten iron and scrap (the molten iron from the blast furnace) Early in their development, which this would be, there were experiments with smelting ore directly, with at least 50% scrap, but this method was ultimately found to be inefficient. A 10 ton furnace is very small - usually the furnace itself was built of steel with magnesite or dolomite brick linings, most could be mechanically tilted. In most cases the furnaces were fired with manufactured gas (later fuel oil} so there were probably two or three gas producers also in this complex (these would be fed by coal) I never realized that operations at this mine had grown to include iron and or steel making, thanks for the info.

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Jim Musser
http://mussersteelmill.blogspot.com