Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c23.s4: Iron Mines of the District of Katola
Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c23.s4
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Iron Mines of the District of Katola
c23.s4.1
The district of Panna produces diamonds, and the tract in which they are found, borders on the iron mines of Katola; the Ken river being the boundary between them; and though this circumstance is foreign to my present object, it is at least curious, as it may perhaps serve to show, the connection, between the gem and ferruginous matter: the iron mines of Katola are in a cluster² of hills which extend between the Ken and Dessan rivers, and the ore, with one exception only, consists of varieties of the red oxide, its changes being from the most compact form, having a metallic lustre, into common argillaceous, according to the quantum of clay, associated with it; the nature of which will be best understood from the specimens which are sent herewith.
c23.s4.2
Commencing from the Ken river and proceeding westward, the first mine is in the Pandua hill (No.23) but as it is nearly exhausted, I pass on to those of Amrownia, Majgaon, and Motehi; the ore of the first and second of these places (No.24) resembles that of *Deora* to be described hereafter, and that of the third (No.25) is in the form of water worn pebbles of various sizes, which are embedded in ferruginous sandy clay; the mines are situated near the foot of the Bindachel hills which are here composed of *sandstone conglomerate*, and capped with the newer horizontal *sandstone*, which everywhere is uppermost in this range; the iron stone pebbles are about fifteen feet below the surface, and are intermixed with blocks, and fragments of *sandstone*, the whole bearing evident marks of attrition; the metal made from them is not esteemed.
c23.s4.3
Next in succession still proceeding westward, are the mines of *Deora*, the ore of which (No.26) is of two kinds, one compact with a metallic lustre, and the other containing a large portion of clay; the second of these is found high up in the hills, and in a vein, or deposit, immediately below the upper *sandstone*; it yields very good malleable iron, not brittle like that of *Motehi*, but such as may be drawn into thin plates without bursting.
c23.s4.4
About five miles farther west are the mines of Kotah, but the iron is bad, and I therefore pass on to the more celebrated mines of this district, viz. those of *Saigerh* and *Chandrapura*, which are situated on the crest of the Bindachel range, and near the point where the waters separate; in this respect they correspond with the mines of *Baragaon* and *Emliya* before mentioned, and like them also, the ore (No.27 and 28) differs both in nature and character, from all the other ores of this district; it lies in a thin vein, in ferruginous sandy, or gravelly clay—very near the surface; and its streak, in some specimens is yellow, in others yellowish brown, whilst that of all the other ores is red; in general appearance, it somewhat resembles the ore of *Baragaon*, but the grains are not so perfectly formed; its iron is excellent, possessing tenacity and malleability in a high degree far excelling every other description of iron produced in this district; *coal shale* crops out in its neighbourhood, and in all probability *coal* exists near the mines, but with all these advantages, the want of water carriage will ever prevent them from becoming more valuable than they now are.
c23.s4.5
West of the above, are the mines of *Piperiya*, *Rejkoi* and *Kanjra*, the ore of the former (No.29) is something like that of *Saigerh*, and is usually mixed with the other two, to correct them; that of *Rejkoi* (No.30) being nearly compact, and that of *Kanjra* (No.31) containing more argile.
c23.s4.6
Next in succession, still proceeding westward, is the *Chapar* hills near the town of *Bajna* which abounds in iron, and viewed at a distance it appears as if blackened by fire; its base is surrounded by protrusions of greenstone, and its stratification appeared to me to exhibit marks of derangement; at the foot of it is a cavern, and a chasm, filled with water to the depth of 220 feet, and an isolated fragment in its neighbourhood seems to have been separated from its parent mountain by violence; these appearances are very striking, and furnish grounds for speculation, but my present business is with its mines, which are situated at *Bajna*, *Keritanga*, and *Suka*, near to *Surajpura*; the ore of all which is nearly compact; the former (No.32) is on the summit of the hill, in large amorphous masses, the ore appearing to have penetrated the *sandstone* rock from a fissure of which it is excavated; the second (No.33) is a vein, in Syenite about half way up the hill, and the third (No.34) is in a small adjoining colline; there are some rounded pebbles of iron stone—dug out of ferruginous clay near the village of *Bhojpura*—but they closely resemble those of Motehi and deserve no further notice.
c23.s4.7
The last of the mines of this district are at *Serwa*, *Hirapur*, *Tighora*, and *Mandewra*, the former of which is in a small colline near the village, and the ore (No.35) does not appear to deserve notice; that of the latter (No.36) is of the same kind; but the ore of Hirapur is rich, and its iron in great request; it is also cheaper, and being situated on a good road it is often purchased in its crude state, and carried elsewhere to refine.
c23.s4.8
There are other iron mines still further west which are situated in a similar cluster of hills between the Dessan and Jamni rivers, as at Weldana, Sarai, Dhori Sagar & c.—and towards the north-west iron abounds in every part of the hills from the mines of Katola to those of Gualior.
c23.s4.9
The Katola mines extend from the Ken to the Dessan rivers, and it is remarkable that the ore is confined to the cluster of hills, which lie between those points—never being found northwards of them—and only in a few instances, in the *sandstone* range south of them; this cluster, like the detached hills of *Callinger* and *Adjyegerh*, have all the appearance of having once formed part of the great range; their bases are all composed of Syenite or Syenitic Granite, and their caps of *sandstone*, and there is strong reason to conclude that the iron ore, here found, is an associate of the latter rock;—with one exception only—it consists, as I have stated above, of varieties of the red oxide, and in no instance have I found it affect the needle, unless it is heated, and even in that case, it is the compact variety alone, which does affect it slightly; its principal vitiating constituent is clay—which the native smelters do not manage well—and this perhaps is the reason of their obtaining so little produce; the refiners also have *bad usages* in their refining process in common with other parts of India, and though it cannot be said that they are unable to make good iron if they please, yet it is a fact that they have an objection to make it good for bazaar sale, except in the shape of culinary or other utensils which yield a better profit; their furnaces both large and small, and also their refineries, are exactly the same as those of Tendukaira in form, and the only difference in their process consists in keeping the wind tubes separate, as at Jabalpur.