Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1871-01-27

IONIllS StdISI1ICIlC nav hicAtVNt
many different ledges in various por
tions of the district, and, to my utter
astonishment, they all exhibit the. same
general and uniform appearance. and
show the best indications known in sill
yer quartz. Fine specimens of various
characters, both as to combination and
riches, have been found in many of the
lodges, while it is very common and
easy matter to procure specimens of
nearly all the different forms in which
silver exists from the same ledge and
even from the same claim. Any at
tempt to give q pen description by
which even a practiced MINER or miner
alogist can realize in a faint degree the
magnitude of these ledges, must ever be
&tile. Nothing in history. has any re-
semblance. The famous and world-re-.
nowned mines of Mexico and Peru fall
into utter nothingness whea brought in
to comparison with this grand argen-
tiferous deposit" Itshouldbe remember
ed that the mountains containing these
rich ledges have, been looked upon by
thousands of travellers, have been passed
and repassed for years, and yet, for the
want of scientific knowledge, have been
considered to consist only of granite,
until the secret of their great value was
made known by accident. ..'
AN ISLAND OF SILVER.
On the north shore of Lake Superior
very important discoveries of silver
mines have recently been made, which,
though at present in British territory,
are principally owned and worked by
citizens of the United States. Silver
Island in or near Thunder Bay, has been
purchased from Canadian company by
some Detroit capitalists, and promises to
yield a large supply of valuable ores.
Operations were commenced here on the
lst of September last, and on the 14th
of October sixteen tons of the ore reach
ed Detroit. Other shipments followed,
and up to December 9 about eighty tons
had been brought down. This islet is
so low that it has to be protected by a
breakwater and Golfer dam, and the vio
lent gales which prevailed in October on
Lake Superior twice carried the former
away, leaving the Golfer dam exposed to
the fury of the waves so that for twen-
ty-six days not a bit of ore was taken
out. Notwithstanding all these difficult
ties, about $4,000 was taken from the
island in the short space of time during
which mining was in progress. The pro
prietors have formed somewhat extrav-
agant estimates of the value Of the ore,
which they expected would pay about
$1,000 to the ton; the actual product
has been about ST 900 to the ton, which
is simply enormous. The company are
now engaged in creating rSew protec-
tions against the inroads of oile waves,
and expect by next season to be able to
resume their operations upon more ex-
tensive scale than ever.
VERY BIG STORY.
The whole north shore of Lake Supe-
rior is supposed to be rich in veins of
silver. The Superior (Wis.) Times, of
December 10, gives the following ac-
count of mine on the Amethyst :
"The vein is about four feet wide, well
defined, and projects above the surface
from four to six feet, the VEN rock be-
ing much harder than that surrounding
it. It can be traced for miles through
the country, and into the waters of
Thunder Bay. Capt. Beck had a force
of twelve or fifteen men employed, and
had sunk shaft about ten feet in
UGDbIl OIL UllS Nolll. p1I NIICClCl DOtbUSO
that at least fifty per cent. of the rock
obtained from the shaft seemed to be
pure silver. An assay of small piece
of ore from this mine-an average spec
imen-made yesterday by DR.. S. S. Wal
bank, shows it to contain $5, 293.6O to
the ton The ore, or vein rock, is q
rich argentiferous galena, containing ma
tive silver, both brittle and crystalized
sulphide of silver, a small quantity of
zinc blende, and very little or no other
base metals" 1t is hardly probable that
DR.. Walbank's estimate of the ore will
be confirmed; but there can be no doubt
that there are very rich ores in that re-
gion. - hos -.t.
. SILVER MINES IN UTAH.
In Utah, silver mining has suddenly
sprung into life within the last year, and
for some time past not less than one
thousand tons per month of ore have
been shipped for production. The ores
are generally argentiferous galenas and
silver sulphurets. The ores in the vicin
ity of Salt Lake City are principally lead
ores carrying silver; but ores containing
no lead, but rich in the chlorides and
sulphurets of silver, have recently been
discovered. A car load ten tons) of
such ores, shipped from mine owned
by Gen. Connor and others, not long
ago, yielded, after paying expenses of
transportation, over 5000, or 5000 per
ton. Brigham Young and the dignita-
ries of the Mormon Church have dis
couraged mining in this Territory, as it
was thought that any efforts to develop
it's metallic wealth would have the effect
of bringing in horde of Gentiles who
would prove troublesome neighbors. 1t
is said that some remarkable discoveries
of silver ore, not yet made public, have
occurred and it is certain that there are
strong indications that Utah will in time
produce large quantities OF silver.
THE FUTURE OF SILVER MINING.
The few instances given above of re-
cent silver discoveries, occurring at wide
ly separated points, will give an idea of
the vast extent of territory through
which the metal is distributed. 1t
should not be forgotten that silver min
ing in this country is as yet in its infan-
ey, this branch of industry having been
neglected for the more exciting pursuit
of gold. But the extraordinary charac-
ter of late developments cannot fail to
give new impetus to the search for ar
gentiferous ores, which now promise to
be source of incalculable wealth to the
nation. And when improved processes
for the economical reduction of the ore
come into use, as assuredly they will,
there is every reason to believe that by
the application of greater capital and
skill the increase in production will be
continuous and permanent, since silver
is obtained mostly from mines wrought
in the solid rock, unlike gold, which,
from the nature of its occurrence, can