Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-02-09
4 New s..ree sf Prea.s !. s.r Cea.s.

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A New gsurce OF Prsat - sur Csast.
Wealluded about a week ago, in an
article on the industrial condition Of
the State, to the discovery Of valuable
deposits Of borax east Of the Sierra
Nevadas but the matter seems 70 be
Of sufficient importance to deserve
more attention than 1t has yet received:
Borax 1.-THE biborate of sodal Is used
to the amount of about 1850 ton an
nually in Christendom, mainly In
welding and working iron, glazing fire
pottery, medicine, and the toilet. Inc
greater part of the supply comes from
Tuscany, and so much Of 1t goes Into
the hands of Woods & Sons, of Lon
don, that they may be said to have a
monopoly of it, and they fix the price
at such rate that the consumption
keeps pace with the production. The
price In Europe is about fifteen cents
per pound, and In the United States,
under a high tariff, twenty-five cents,
or $500 per ton. Its high cost greatly
restricts Its consumption, especially In
glazing the cheaper pottery and In the
toilet, and it Is impossible to know
how great the demand would be If tho
price were reduced fifty or sixty per
cent, rs there Is reason to hope that 1t
will be In a few years, by the help or
the deposits lately found In California
and Nevada, whence 1t Is supposed
that 20, 900 tons can be obtained annu.
ally for many years, at an expense OF
not more than five cents per pound, or
500 per ton.
The newly-discovered deposits Of
borax, or minerals with which borax
al be produced, are flats or sinks Mt
the end or near the course of various
streams, and lie nearly In a straight
line, extending from Pyramid Lake In
q s~outheasterly direction 800 miles, to
the vicinity Of Fort Mojave. These
flats include the sinks or parts Of the
sinks of. the Truckee, Humboldt, Car
son, Walker, Fish Lake, Amargosa,
Owens and Mojave rivers. Within o
few days q tract Of 6,000 acres, rich In
borate Of lime, has been found neal
Hot Springs, eighteen miles east Of
Wadsworth, on the Central Pacific
Railroad. The next noteworthy de-
post, going southwark, Is forty miles
from tile railroad, near Carson Lake,
and covers 5000 acres, Another borax
Hat of unknown size, but supposed to
be large, lies between Dead Horse
Wells and the Hot Springs, east Of
Walker Lake, flfty-flve miles from the
iron track. The Rhodes or Virginia
Salt Marsh, one hundred miles from
WadSworth, contains much borate of
lime. The largest and richest known
deposit Is in Columbus Flat, and has
an area Of 30, 900 acres, 100 miles from
the railroad nee! Ms.sh west o. Co
lumbus, has 10000 acres from which
borax can be obtained, and Fish Lake
Valley, fifteen miles south Of Column
bus, has 5000 acres bearing borax,
borate of lime and boraclc acid.
All the flats mentioned above are in
Nevada, and going further southwark
We now enter California and find large
deposits Of Borates near Owens Lake,
and some of the mineral has been sent
to this city, but we have not heard the
result of the venture. In Death Val
ley, Amargosa Valley, and Mojave
Valley there are various flats, contain
ing, according to report, considerable
deposits, but they have not been care
fully examined, because they are not
conveniently accessible, and the Indi-
ans In the vicinity are troublesome.
A lot Of q few tons has been brought
from Columbus Flat to San Francisco,
and Is now being prepared for the mar
ket, The experiment so far promises
very we'll, for 1t Is said the expense
will not be more than five cents per
pound, leaving a large margin for
profit. Even at ten cents there would
be a profit Of $500 per ton, and that is
more than any of our large gold or
silver mines pay. No systematic work
has been done as yet, however, capital
lists being afraid to venture much In an
enterprise which, however profitable 1t
may be at first, will soon have to con-
tend with n large competition. The
days of monopolfzing borax will soon
come to an end. The deposits arc too
large and numerous to be managed by
one house. The flats have not been
examined yet with sufficient care to
ascertain (which will yield the most
profit. Much will depend on the
freights by wagon and rail. We are
justified IN hoping that borax will, In
q year or two give much business to
the commerce of our bay and form an
important addition to the already large
and varied list Of the valuable mineral
productions Of our coast.-S. +. Alta.