The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1877-08-07
TIE RABBIT HOLE sULPHUR
MINES.

From an exhaustive article on sui.
phur mining published in the San
Francisco Mining aud Scientific Press
We clip the following relative to the
Rabbit Hole Sulphur deposits in this
county:
The only really valuable deposit Of
this mineral (sulphnr) in the United
States and. as far as we know. on the
Western continent. is this in Humboldt
county, Nevada; and it certainly reflects
unfavorably upon the enterprise and
business sagacity of the acid manufac
turers and druggists of San Francisco,
that this one Of our home resources
should have been SO signally neglected
To pat up refneries and otherwise
properly outfit an enterprise of this
kizd. requires but q comparatively
small amount of capital; aud yet, the
owners of this valuable property have
been suffered to struggle along, making
such improvements as could be effected
with their own limited and inadequate
means. many thousands of dollars ir
the meantime having been sent out of
the country for the purchase of com
modify that. with very small outlay,
might have been produced at bone. and
the mann faeture of which would have
given employment to good many
working men, furnish Transportation
for our railroads aud other carriers, and
incidentally afford aid to various other
industries Notwithstanding they have
been SO slightsd in quarter where
they had reason to expect substantial
aid. the proprietors of these sulphur
banks have succeeded in getting them
in tolerable condition for moderate
production.
EXTENT OF DEPosE1s WORK DONE AND
Production MADs.
SneA developments have lean
made as prove the mineral TO be
of extremely high grade aud practically
inexhaustible. Experts and scientists
who have visited the locality give it as
their opinion that there is sulphur
enough here to supply the worlds oors-
merce for an indefinite period; enough
within easy reach to meet the wants of
our own country for many years to
come.
There are two. Incorporated COM
panies operating at this place. who to-
gether own about all the valuable sui.
phur yielding land in the vicinity.
their joint claims covering on area OF
some four hundredacres. The mineral
occurs here in immense strata imbeds
ded in the earth, SONS of which crop
QUITO great reefs above the. surface.
For mile or more IN linear extent
these deposits exist in great magni-
tude. How far they reach downward
has not been determined. the mass
showing no sign of contraction at the
considerable depth to which it has
been explored. At one point an exca-
walton has been make 2iS-feet in length
and>59 feet across. allin
WORKABLE BANK,oF sULPHUaS
At another spot some distance from
this, smother of nearly equal extent,
has. with similar results, been made.
Altogether the two companies have ex-
tracted something over two thousand
tons of the crude material. about two.
thirds of which have been refined on
the ground and the balance sbipped in
its native state, the whole having found
market in this atty. Each of these
companies have erected refining works
with other needeG' buildings at their
mine. their joint expenditures for these
and other necessary improvements
having amounted to about $4,000
The sulphur containing material
taken out here averages about 70A per
cent. pure mineral great deal Of it
being, chemically pure; of this latter
variety many tons have been extracted,
the whole of it
OF SUFFICIENT PU2ETY. FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF POWDER
Without being subjected to any artif-