Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1871-07-21
MINING DEPARTMENT.

your readers the results of my investiga-
tons i'm ths lead district am aware that
have to deal with subject surrounded
with many difficulties a subject. notwith-
standing much has been written on it,
which is still an entangled one. and | d.
not expect. not even hope, 10 fully unravI
it.
The material collected during the survey
7 Have not x9rk a np into an ind pendent
III o:y br rhYehf would advocate dog
matically nv own views, but give 1T In
shape on which an indie dependant Judgment
may be formed. In fact prefer to put it
in such shape that your readers will fol-
low me, or rather accompany me. that they
may see the facts and phenomena as nature
presents them. But before we start, allow
me to say . word about the course all are
to pursue. Ief
When entered on the work of the sur
vey Of the lead district my instructions
from the Governor We're not to spend time
or money in doing what had been satisfac-
torily done before. This regarded as an
order to the trout; to push my investiga-
tons beyond where those who had been
before me in the work had labored.
Every one truly interested in our min
ing interests will not only admire the econ
omy Of the Governor in this, but his good
sense; tor we all felt that the facts and in
formation published before, although well
done 50 far as they went, did not satiSfac-
torily explain the phenomena of the min
eral region and we hoped that the true So
luton would be found in facts lying be-
yonj the already explored region that is
to say, from facts not yet in our posses
sion. trs -iH
Before, however. I had time to shape
definitely my course. | received a letter
from the Governor, with a petition signed
by many of the leading men in the lead
district asking the Governor to direct the
commissioners of the survey to commence
the work with careful survey of the min
al veinsin reference TO the lower strata
the Governor recommending that it be donc
unless conflicting with more important.
work. Concurring with the views Of the
Governor and other parties interested,
commenced the work where requested, and
have made q pretty thorough examination
of that class of phenomena bearing on the
question fa +. ...
In commencing this work felt that the
first thing necessary to be done was to
prepare map, giving us vertical section
of the rocks into which the assures would
extend in their downward course, and in
which are deposits may be found in depth.
Such map of the lead district we have
never had, consequently much error and
strange ideas existed in reference, if found,
to the chances of mineral below. Oul
zinc interests perhaps have suffered as
much as anything for the want of such
map, and little explanation with it.
If you will pardon M for moment, l
would like to say just here that but few
things are IF more importance to us just
now than our zinc ores; the uses of zinc
are SO rapidly extending, and the future
prospects for great and increasing de-
mand so strong that parties interested in
manufacturing this metal are visiting our
mines. anxious to obtain information in
reference TO the quality of our ores and
the extent of deposits.
The relative quality Of the zinc, ores,
and the extent Of the zinc deposits of Wis
consin and Missouri are now being dis
cussed by parties who have located their
zinc furnaces midway between these places.
And while Missouri is pressing her claims
for the capital seeking such investment By
furnishing the necessary information. Wis
consin is comparatively Indifferent to the
matter. What little information there is
accessible 10 such parties is calculated 20
rather mislead than to guide to the truth
[ met a gentleman a short time ago trar-
cling through the lead district. for the
purpose Of finding out the extent # oar
zinc deposits, and from the fact that he
had found zinc only alta comparatively few
IF the mines, he had concluded that our
zinc deposits were very limited. But when
called his attention to the fact that zine
was confined mostly to the blue lime stone,
and that large portion Of the mines had
not yet been worked down to that rock
his views underwent a change. And al
ter spending some time with him, pointing
ont the plain facts in the case, he left with
the impression that when our mines are
worked down to this rock, the supply Of
zinc ore in our State will be great.
To our zinc interests I shall refer again
in it's proper place. refer to it now to
show that one object of my MAJ is to
bring out the true position Of our zinc de-
posts, by showing that the blue lGe-stonr
the formation to which it seems to belong,
underlies the mines o: the lead district,
and has been reached only in few places,
and that we have good reason to suppose
those mines hitherto confined to the upper
limestone, will when worked down to the
next, be productive of zinc as those al
ready opened But to my map again in
our next. . Ha a5rjas
f j. MURRI>H, State Geologist
Lead Ore