(Copy)Mr H F Talbot's ore
Wiltshire
The box of ore received as Sample was a little more than half full, it consisted of two qualities of ironstone one Siliceous the other with a good fracture being evidently hydrated peroxide of iron in a tolerable state of purity with some ochreous matter in the interior and on the exterior some siliceous ore. Some of the lumps contained cavities full of white siliceous sand in some quantity (1/2 oz in some instances)
The siliceous ore formed rather more than half of the sample one of the largest and heaviest lumps gaveIron per cent 17·9
The best portion of iron-stone gaveIron per cent 46·8
Each lump in the whole sample was broken in two and one half of the box of ore pounded together it gave an assay (mean of two respectively 29·1 and 29·5)Iron per cent 29·3
Samples 1 & 2 were taken from the ore not used in experiment No 3.
It will appear from the above results that one portion of the ore is nothing but a coarse quartzy sand cemented together with hydrated peroxide of iron. Ironstone of this character will make a very inferior quality of iron and unless it can be separated from the other portion will make the ore but of little commercial value
Signed Edwd Riley
Laboratory Dowlais <1> Iron Works
July 20th1857
Notes:
1. A mining town north and slightly west of Cardiff.