The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-08-04
Buck1ngham's Great Mineral Wealth

The object of this letter is to call the atten-
ton of the public to the vast mineral resources
of Buckingham county which have recently
been discovered, consisting of gold, iron and
copper. According to the statement of Prof
VIM. B. Rogers, who is high authority, as far
back as 1868, the sum of 81 100000 had been
coined from the Buckingham gold mines at
the United States Mint. The gold belt is fif
teen miles long and ten miles wide, with vary
ing degrees OF richness. Surface washing in
almost any part of it has paid very well for
more than half century. In exceptional
cases from five to seven dollars day has been
made by one man with the crudest machinery,
and sometimes more; but up to 1879 all of the
expensive efforts had not turned out in accor-
dance with well-ground expectations and while
not exactly failures yet they were not very prof
table 1t remained for the Morrow Gold min
ing Company" to make the grand success.
This is wealthy New York Company, who
gave $4,000 for the old Booker mine seven
years since, which they now hold at some
thing like million, and do not desire to sell.
They are now extracting gold from quartz
each day, and in exceptional cases it has yield
ed as much as fifty dollars ton, and the sup
ply is apparently inexhaustable. A Philadel
phia company has commenced operations at
the old Staples mine, recently purchased from
VIM. N. Cabell, ESQ.,, with success so fabulous
that / hesitate to repeat the statement made
to me. 1t is unquestionable that rich
vein of gold bearing quartz underlies the en-
tire belt. Every stream in it is filled with
aurifereus sands, which, according to the the
DRY of distinguished biologists, is necessarily
the disintegratien of the original rock. The
writer heard Col. Morrow, the highly -intelli-
gent superintendent of the Morrow Gold Min
ing Company, remark that if this gold belt
was situated west of the Mississippi river
instead of in Eastern Virginia it would create
as much excitement as the discovery Of the
Black Hills. 1t is proper to say that compar-
atively recent discoveries in chemical and
mechanical science have ADDED very greatly to
the value of this gold bearing quartz by the
invention Of new processes which have result
ed in extracting the gold from sapd and quartz
in far less expensive manner than form
erly.
In iron the discoveries in the neighborhood
of Willis's mountain have been remarkable,
and mine after mine is in process of being
opened. The Pennsylvania Steel Company,
the Virginia Central Mining Company; the
we'll known Mr.. Pardee, Of Pennsylvania, and
the i1defatigable Dunlap, to whom this sec
ton Of fhe State oWes an everlasting debt OF
Various properties. Three sections Of the
country contain fron-frst, the southside of
James river from Warren to Ben creek, a dis
lance of about thirty miles; second, from New
Canton to the Old Furnace track, now owned
by Mr.. Pardee and third, the area adjacent to
Willis's mountain, near the home-place of the
late E. w. Hubbard. H4 ftt
In copper the discoveries haye been very re-
cent, and satisfactory in the highest degree.
The Lighfoot mine, near New Canton, is turn
ing out large quantities every Cay, which will
compare in richness, I am credibly informed,
with any in the world and i has been y d|sceY,
1t Ii needless to call attention to the wel-es
tablished reputation of our slate, the supply Of
which is ihexhaustable. = .
Buckingham claims to be the banner mineral
county Of the State.-Capt. Camms Pattersd,. IN
J Inc Rlssasoapd DisqpatA, ~ ''''''''