Editing Dent County, Missouri (section)

===References===
Minerals have greatly influenced the Dent County economy. The iron furnace, built at Sligo, was the greatest, starting in 1880 and active until 1923 (43 years). Sligo was the fourth iron works built in the state, following Meramec, Midland and Nova Scotia. There was plenty of [[iron ore]]—Simmons Hill in Salem, Orchard and Cherry Valley, Millsap, Pomeroy, Hawkins Banks, Red Hill and Scotia. Elmer writes in his history that the Sligo furnace was the most successful and continued longer than any other iron furnace in Missouri. The Sligo furnace was built on Crooked Creek and produced 60 to 80 tons of pig iron a day with some runs of up to 100 tons. E.B. Sankey came from [[New Castle, Pennsylvania]] in 1870 to survey the St. Louis-Salem and Little Rock Railroad from Cuba to Salem. The Sligo & Eastern Railroad ran a branch to East End to gather wood for the kilns producing charcoal for the furnace. Sligo's population in its big years reached 1,000.

In recent times, the largest mining and milling operations were in the "New Lead Belt" some {{convert|30|mi|km}} east of Salem. [[St. Joe Minerals|St. Joe Lead]] started the mining boom at [[Viburnum, Missouri|Viburnum]] in neighboring [[Iron County, Missouri|Iron County]] and soon other major mining companies bought land and mineral rights. The mines brought new families and well-paying jobs with many choosing to live in Salem. [[Doe Run, Missouri|Doe Run]] in nearby [[Saint Francois County, Missouri|St. Francois County]] continues mining and battery reclamation in the area today.