The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-06-05
SOUTH CAROLINA GOLD MINES.
An Attempt on Large Scale To Mine I,
the Upper Part OF the State.
GREENvILLE, S. c., May 10.

Sh'EN lLIsEy =. VI, may III.
The much disputed question whethe
the deposits of gold known to exist i,
the upper portion Of the State will re
compense the working Of the mines /,
about to be settled by John Cochran
late chairman Of the State Senate inyes
t.Iting committee. Gold has been discoy.
cred in some of the branches" (stream
lets) III the Southern portion of Oconee
County, near the Anderson line, several
years ago, but only within six months
have steps been taken to utilize this
knowledge to any extent. a recent visi,
to the mine opened by Mr.. Cochran on a
wooded eminence on his plantation, sit.
uated about five miles from Seneca City.
disclosed considerable activity in the
l:ne of drifting" and hauling quartz aud
pay dirt" To the surface. Workmcu
were also busily engaged in tho erection
oi mill, wherein the quartz will be
pounded and ground.
The mouth of the mine on the north
side of the hill is reached by circuitous
path, and through it one enters we'll
ventilated tunnel or level" about eight
feet III height and ten feet wide. From
IT, III almost every direction, lead sever
al drifts connected with shafts, ranging
from twenty to fifty feet in depth. Tho
VEINS OF quarts being found To run i'm
different directions and at different dis.
tances from starting point, different
drifts are necessary. The shafts are
sunk to search for Il continuation of the
bearing quartz, which from some
natural cause, has been interrupted
Huge timbers, supported by substantial
props, line the tops and walls of these
passages. The veins of gold quartz run
mostly east and west, and are claimed to
be very rich. The material is brought
to the mouth of the mines in whcelbnr-
rows; here the quartz and dirt are sepa-
rated, the former is stored and the latter
IS conveyed in carts to the washing
troughs," which extends for about two
hundred yards along the foot of the hill.
Alrof the miners, twenty. eight in nun
Der, are colored men. They seem to en-
JOY the labor they arc engaged in. and
.''eir voices car be heard all day chant
ihg plantation hymns. Mcssrs. Hubbard
and Mordccai, both practical miners,
superintcnd the work. One great draw,
back to Mr.. Cochran's enterprise is n
scarcity of water. The "branch" used
Tor washing purposes, except in rainy
'', "oS' NV III ihiou clouBn WutcT
TO conduct operations on q desirable
scale, and there seems to be nc possibli-
y, except at an enormous expense, to
remedy this defect.
Concross Creek, 1ut five miles from
the mine, could be nlnde available only
through very expensive machinery, rs
the water would have to be lifted fully
200 feet to bling it on level with the
mine. 1t is clamed by the inhabitants
that pan of dirt taken from the beds
of the branches" in this region will
yield from fifty to seventy-fiyo cents
worth of gold. There are unmistakable
signs of rich deposits, but until Mr..
Cochran has thoroughly tested the ma
terial, about GOO tons now on hand, it
will be impossible to form correct es.
mate Of their extent and Value Cor.
n. y. Times