Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-12-18

$sOO,OOO,O0O.
Tremendous Discoveries Of Ore
in the Great COmstOck
Ledge.
Sharon Estimates. the Value Of the
"Bulge' at Three Hundred
MilliOns-A Mountain
Of Silver.
Correspondence San Francisco Chronicle.

Correspondence San Francisco Chronicle.
VIRGINIA, New, Dec. 6.-At last the
great ''bulge," the true heart Of the world.
famous Comstock silver lode, would seem
TO have been reached. As far as explored
it lies in the Consolidated Virginia, Cali
fornia and Ophir claims. In all three Of
these mines have been developed marvel
Dusty rich bodies-wonderful masses OF
sulphuret and chloride ores. We have said
''bodies,n but there is in reality but one
bocy-one immense bonanza, chimney, on
whatever else We may choose to call it
one huge mass Of ore extending all the way
from the Consolidated Virginia through
the California into the Ophir, and no one
knows how much further; nor does any one
know how much Of its height or width, and
nothing at all Of its depth. As 10 its length
We know something defnite-namely, that
it extends 400 feet through the CONSOLE
dated Virginia, and undoubtedly traverses
the entire length (600 feet) Of the Califor-
Ma, as it has been discovered in the Ophir
mine, which adjoins the California on the
north. How far il extends into the Ophir
ground time and the honest miner can only
determine. Ii is conceded, however, that
the ore body cannot be less than LOO feet
in length.
THE GREAT FISsURE
in which this huge bonanza Of ore rests, ap-
pears to have expanded at this particular
point in the course of the vein in order to
form for it cradle suited to its giant pro-
portions. Measuring across from the true
'west country" rock to the true "east cOun
try rock, the distance is from 1000 to
1,2OO feet. The space between the east and
west country rocks is the assure in which
lies the body Of ore, which, Of late, has so
startled and bewildered all the ssexperts''
and the whole 'mining world" Of the Pa
ciic coast The great assure is filed with
what our mining men call ''Vein matter
gangue-a mixture Of quartz, clay and por-
phyry. Here, in the midst Of this vein mat
ter or gangue, which fills the vast assure
from side to side, has formed and is now
found the huge mass of ore which runs
through the three mines mentioned above.
To produce a body Of such great size, an
immense bed Of vein matter was required
you cannot rear whale in a trout
brook. For several months the COnsOli-
dated Virginia Company have been at work
in the crest Of
THIS sUBTERRANEAN SILVER NOUN
TAIN,
and the Ophir company have been gOuging
into it for shorter period Of time, while
the California folks have but just begun to
feel their way into its western slope at two
or three points. Never until lately have
the Consolidated Virginia company SEEM
ed 10 get fairly into the ridge Of the noun
tain-to penetrate a point where they
could begin to see what they were work
ing upon, although in their upper leVees
they have opened great breadths Of wonder
fully rich ore.
THE HIGHEST MINERAL DISCOVERY IN
HISTORY.
There can be no doubt that the body Of
ore now just being opened in the three
mines under consideration is undoubtedly
the largest and richest the world ever saw.
In the California the width will doubtless
prove to be immense; Just how wide it
may be found no one can say, and the ex-
perts themselves fear to risk an opinion,
but they hint at all the way from 200 to
400 feet. The length, as we all know, is
600 feet. From the developments now be-
ing made at each end Of the mine, we up
here are beginning to fear that somewhere
near the centre il will be found to be but
a solid mountain mass Of pure silver.
TIE BOSS OF 1T ALL.
San Francisco Chronicle.
A Chronicle reporter called upon Mr..
Sharon last evening. In reply to leading
question, Mr.. Sharon said: "Of course il
is not possible for any one to look into the
bowels of the earth, and consequently /
can't pretend to exaetness; the best judges,
however, say that its value is fabulous.
Requa, Of the ChOllar, and
Smith, of the Belcher, set
down the bonanza at double the size OF
that found in'the Crown Point and Belcher
and three times as rich"
Reporter-Haye you any notion what
the lead will pan out?
Mr.. Surroundings place the gross al
500, 600 900, and the profits at from $780,
100000 to $200,000,O00.
In general conversation, Mr.. Sharon said
that he considered the discovery the most
important event in the history Of the coast.
ats influence upon the commercial inter
eSts Of the State" he observed, "will be Of
untold value. The mines are owned in
San Francisco, and an amount Of capital
equal to the present assessed value Of the
whole city, will be brought here. Such
wealth must bring immigration, and slim
nlafa aTarv dararfnent If trade =