Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1848-10-18
VIRGINIA GOLD MINES.

Having few days of leisure and being DESTROYS
Oh some rural recreation, | was induced bv tw
oco''Sh gentlemen to accompany them ON a visi
TO some OF The Virginia gold mines We accord
l"Siy SET oil Tor Washington, from whence afie
seeing the capital and every thing else at ali wor
my OF notice, we proceeded down the Potomac To-
! wards Fredericksburg, passing i'm our way by
mount vernon, celebrated as the residence of the
immortal Washington. After devoiinp n day in
fredericksburg and its neighborhood and seeing
some very bad farming, we visited three mines w
ing wthln circuit OF twenty miles from tina, city;
out as only one OF them offered any thing at ali
worthy OF remark, shall conine myself to a dc
scrlption of that alone
his mine, known by the name of the Vaucluse
lies In Orange county, Virginia, at distance of II
miles from Fredericksburg and of one mile from
The southern branch Of the Rappahannock River.
and was first discovered in 1882. For many years
II was only worked a deposit or surface mine
very much after the manner of some of the Cornish
Steam works-no one suspecting that any veins or
lodes OF ore existed below. Since that period how
ever, several have been discovered varying i'm width
from to 5O feet, and all running in diagonal dips
or Ike so many inclined planes, n. n f.. and S.
.. w. through klllas, or slate country These
ioues are composed of slate, talcose, schist, and
quartz, with sulphurets, brown oxides. brown and
oiacK hydrates OF iron, and are in general connect
ed one with another by small threads or leaders of
the same description
Many openings may have heen made on differ
ent VEINS at various distances from each other and
IN all OF mem the same indications and contents are
lound-the same ''mineral'' running i'm the same
nclined course, through the same ''killasv'' coun
Try. he only difference which could discern in
any part or the several lodes was that the amount
OF suiphurets increase in DEPTH and that the veins
Were harder at the bottom than at the shalower
levels of the mine
The ore or stuff, constituting the contents of
holm oil
with gold is all indiscriminatey dug uu,and drawn
TO the surface; where, by means of soreness it is di-
vided into two portions-the coarse and the fine
the former of which is sent to the slams and The
latter TO the CHILEAN Mills. The averape value of
this stuff is calculated to have been about 20 cts
ouShei, though under better system of cleaning
and smelling II would be much more valuable as
an immense portion of the finer particles must be
now washed away and lost
Inc ground opened extends about 500 wards in
length, 30 yards in breadth and go feet in depth.
From Ibis space about third of the ore. or stuff
has been raised, cleaned and snelted realizing up-
wards OF lO4,OOO dwts or about $l0i, 900 purest
gold. Under better system OF washing and
smelling, ii would have BEEN | am sure. al least
double In value OF this the proprietors have bs
come convinced and they now in search of some
German sTelter. On the whole, the mine is GER
tany very extraordinary one, well worth visit
Ing and cannot fail, if properly managed of yield
ny =" very large PTolt 10 lis owners. In fact, the
quantity of vein stuff Gall of which as have before
stated imprcgnated with gold) seems inexhaustabIo
went 10 the spot prejudiced against the whole
concern and believing it to be like so many other
gold mines have read of in ancient and modern
travels, but came away altogether changed in opin
Ion and satisfied that with careful management and
an improved mode of cleaning and smelling. even
gold mine may be made good speculation. The
owners of the Vancuse Mine have had several pieces
OF inc vein stuff (taken ndiscrmnately from the
different Iodes) analysed by Prof Booth of Phila-
deiphia, and the results of his analysis are as fol-
lows: light colored sulphuret of pyrites, char
acterized by its crumbng nature, containing 3SS
grs. in lib. or 10 dwts. grs. in 100 lbs. These
mines are Mr.. Smiths