Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-04-03
THE EVENING NEWS.
saturday Kve.ins.-.-.-.ApriI 3, 1869
Sierra Nevada.

That big blast of which we made
mention in day before yesterdays News
as about to be let of in the surface ore
workings of the Sierra Nevada mine,
was deferred until 10 a. NJ. yesterday,
when il was turned loose. There were
about 20 kegs Of powder confined at
the end Of a small drift co feet in
length, penetrating into u body of ore
the face Of which was u perpendicular
bank nearly 40 feet high, at the south
westerly end of the old hydraulic sur
face pit in the side OF Cedar Hill, in
the groupings of the ledge above the
Sierra Nevada hosting works aud mill.
When the blast exploded tho noise was
not loud, but the effect was something
similar to q medium-sized San Fran
cisco earthquake, shaking the houses
in the vicinity with a smart shock. An
immense amount of ore was thrown
out oil loosened, in much of which free
gold is plainly visible. In fact it is
essentially gold orc, of n rich char
ncter, easily worked and containing but
q small proportion OF silver This
body Of ore is many feet in width-how
many is not found out as yet, but We
may safely say 80 or 40-and over 100
feet in depth, as it extends from near
the surface down to the upper tunnel
Of the mine, and how much lower is
not known. Some Of this surface orc
pays a. high as $50 to the tou; and we
should judge that there is enough OF
high and low grade ore in sight aud
developed in these surface workings to
supply tho company'1 mill for the next
Ave or six years or more.
THE YIELD.
Tho most important item in the csti-
nation of all stockholders in Il mine is
its yield. Until the present Board of
Trustees came into power and assumed
tho direction of affairs, the Sierra Ne.
rada mine had yielded little else than
assessments, but With their appointment
of T. F. Smith MS Superintendent, a
very marked change, in both present
and failure prospects, has taken place.
This surface ore has always been known
to exist at that point, and IL has been
worked to some extent, but Mr.. Smith
has fairly demonstrated that operations
have not been conducted in the right di-
rection. He has opened out this body
Of ore, and will keep the mill running
on it. BY means Of ~wheelbarrows, it is
dumped down a shuts into the upper
tunnel, where cars receive it and run it
ont to whore another shute passes it di-
reetly down to the batteries OF the mill.
Thus, the ore isvery economically mined
and handled, and, owing to its decom-
posed, trsstable nature, ii 10 easily
milled. The batteries contain 20 stamps,
and the precious metal is caugh, on
amslgamatsd copper plates, or in the
very lengthy series of blanket sluise
arrangement through which the tail
inrs pass. A large grinding pan or set
tier is used in the finishing process, and
the smalgsm is all strained and retorted
nesr by. The yield from the last run
Of l4{ days was shipped to San Francis
co, per Wells, Fargo L Co.'S express,
last night. 1t was two sacks of crude
bullion, worth $4,000, making the
yield for the month OF March over
S32 900. The present appearance OF
the ore justiiss the anticipation that the
yield for April will be even better.
WORKS AND NINE.
The hosting works are nearly new,
and of a substantial well appointed de-
scriptiou, with good, new and con-
v~euieut buildings enclosing them. The
mill being attached in such r. manner
that the same boilers supply the motive
power for both hosting and milling
purposes-grsst economy 10 the result.
A vast amount of low grade gold and
silver ore is known TO oxist in the old
workings of the mine, which will one
day bo brought into active bullion
producing requisition, but the
lowest depths have never yielded any
pay ut all. The new shaft, II we
are not mistaken, is some 700 feet in
depth but it is nearly half full Of
water ut the present time, constituting
the source from whence is pumped tho
requisite water Tor the use of the mill
and the steam power. We understand
that it is the Intention to pump out the
shaft in the course of 3 few weeks, aud
drift east. Mr.. Smith is ably seconded
in his operations by Jas. \. Parks, the
efficient foreman Of the mine, and they
have nearly or quite 30 men employed
The Sierra Nevada Compnny's affairs
are in n very healthy condition at The
present time, aud they certainly have u
particularly good thing j n surface orc
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