The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1877-12-22
MINERAL DEPOSITION.

At the time OF gold discovery in Cali
fornia. says Professor Stewart, in an
article published in the Tuscarora Min
ing Review Of the 18th, men very gener-
ally believed in the theory Of Hutton,
which maintained that all metal.bearing
veins were extruded, or elected through
the rocks in molten condition. As gold
in any form is of much greater specific
weight than most of the liquids and
solids, the Huttonian hypothesis natur-
ally placed the royal metal at profound
depths and II was therefore not unrea.
sonable TO anticipate rich deposits Of
gold far below the other metals. Pro-
longed and costly experiment in the gold
bearing quartz lodes in California and
Nevada has at last very effectually ex-
ploded Hutton's ingious theory, and
miners are beginning to understand the
important fact that mineral veins have
been precipitated from hot seas and
crystalized in the deep assures by the
mysterious laws of molecular attraction.
In proof of the chemical origin of min
eral deposits, the silver ores of Leeds
District, Utah. may be cited as remark
able example. In numberless instances
ct Leeds isolated nodules of horn silver
have been found imbeded in a thick
stratum Of tough sandstone. the nodules
having no connection with quartz veins
or with each other. The position of
these masses of silver in the sandstone
stratum precludes the possibility OF igne-
Gus origin. and i: is reasonable to con-
clude that the nodules are simply aggre-
cations OF silver molecules and atoms
which were formed by the law OF attrac-
ton while the sand was yet sof. at the
bottom of..the ocean. Leeds furnishes
far more notable proof OF the aqueous
origin Of silver deposition. In the same
bed where the nodules occur there ~re
innumerable fragments of silicifed wood,
and oddly enough these petri6ed chips
and logs are all heavily charged with
chloridelof silver, ItIis therefore plain
that these vestiges of an ancient forest
must have been in existence prior to the
deposition Of the silver chlorides and
that the mineral found its way through
the pores Of the wood by chemical pro.
cess, precisely as silici6cation may be
performed in any labatory to-day. 1t
may be asserted, as a rule, gold forms
the crown or out-crop of the quartz veins
in which it occurs and that it rarely pen
etrates the quartz to any considerable
depth. There are few notable instances
in California where gold has been found
in paying quantities at profound depth.
but such instances are SO rare that 1t
may be fairly asserted that the royal
metal is modern deposit and occupies
superficial position in the rocks. In
Nevada 1t has been long known that
when the out-crop of ledge is in gold,
II is q sure indication of rich silver
deposit below, and strangely enough the
gold gradually deteriorates by combin-
ing with the silver, and finally fades into
simple alloy, or wholly disappears. One
OF the most encouraging Indications OF
permanency and richness in the quartz
lodes OF Tuscarora rests in the fact that
the lodges were originally crowned by
heavy deposits of gold. This fact is es-
tablished by the rich placers which
abound in every quarter of the district
and which were evidently formed by the
erosion Of the ancient matrices OF the
royal metal.