Subject: Smelting Bog-Iron (formerly: "Iron-Nickel Meteorites")

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 10:59 -0500 (EST)

I snipped the following from Mike's message.

Some of you will recognise by now the "voice" from Allaire Village.  Allaire 
used bog iron, and I've found only general descriptions of the mining of this 
ore.  I take it that the smelting is not so different from any ore, except that 
you have to keep it out of the rain (the iron dissolves out of it!).  I would be
very interested in learning more about this experience, disappointing though it 
may have been.

Bruce Freeman

=============================================================================

In 1975, in preperation for the bicentenial,  I worked with a gang of
historians here in the Boston area and we actually smelted some bog iron as
they had back in the colonies and again, what we thought would be a yield in
tons, or at least hundreds of pounds of pigs, ended up with enough wrought
product to make ONE trade axe.

Mike Schermerhorn

---

From: "Dr. Mark E. Williams" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 11:16:07 -0500

On Feb 12, 10:59am, [email-masked] wrote:
> Subject: Smelting Bog-Iron (formerly: "Iron-Nickel Meteorites")
>-- End of excerpt from [email-masked]

Bruce, Mike et al,

At Furnace Town, located in the wilds of Maryland's Eastern Shore, bog iron was
mined and smelted to pig iron with the help of charcoal and oyster/clam shells.
The process of bog ore production involves slightly acidic water moving through
iron bearing soil, dissolving the iron and putting it into solution. Later, the
iron-bearing water comes to the surface where it is home to varieties of
bacteria that "fix" the iron so that it is no longer in solution. These are
called iron springs. When you find one there are two clues, (1) thesands around
the spring may look rusty orange; and (2) the surface of the water has an oily
sheen.

Bog iron is mined by going out into an area of active iron springs, usually a
swamp, with pick axe & shovel and some conveyance to haul the bog ore back to
the smelter. Dig the stuff out of the ground, load it into the boat, row or
pole the boat back to the unloading dock, get credit for your load, and do it
all over again until you can't see anymore.

The problem with the bog iron and the pig iron at Furnace Town was it contained
a goodly amount of phosphorus. The slag produced was very colorful. When better
sources of iron ore were discovered, Furnace Town could no longer compete and
stopped operations. No one told the bacteria. They are still working, probably
below union wage. If you would like to see an active iron spring, come down to
Furnace Town and take a look.

For directions, contact me at address below or call 410-632-2032 and ask for
Kathy Fisher.

-- 
Dr. Mark E. Williams

Bldg N-159, Rm E-215
NASA/GSFC/WFF/EG&G
Wallops Island, VA 23337
804-824-1744

[email-masked]

Self-confidence is walking barefoot through a cowpasture at midnight on a moonless night.