The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-01-22
IRON MINES


Editors Hero1d:Wa 4a@
From present indica tions 1 would
infer that the Denver and Rio
Grande Railroad Company design
giving the citizens of this valley the
benefit of railroad some time in
the coming future. We find, as a
general rule, that men who build
railroads will locate them where
they please; and so you discover we
are yet ii the dark as to whether
the road will come in close proxim-
lty to our mines or not; but know
ing somewhat of the great ability
and business tact of the principal
men composing this company, hav-
ing an eye, as they do, to taking in
every point of interest, in order to
make capital, we feel almost conf
dent, when they get to understand
the true condition of things here
and the magnitude of our iron
mines, they will approach them by
rail as near as practicable. But
little has ever been said or published
concerning this valuable property,
and now we find men Of enterprise,
with capital, ready to invest their
money in the production of that all
Important article, namely, iron.
Therefore, for the benefit of your
numerous readers, for business men
generally, railroad constructors,
iron masters, capitalists, men of
knowledge and ability, who may
wish to engage in the manufacture
of iron and steel, will here give
you the outlines of one of the most
valuable iron mines yet discovered
in this district Of country. [ have
been prospecting it for eight years
past for precious metals, and | have
discovered by labor that I own a
magnificent assure vein of red hem
attic iron ore. This kind is the
favorite ore of the smelter all the
time. The mine is situated on the
east side Of Skull Valley, in the
foothills at the base of the noun
tains. Its course trends from
the southwest to the northeast, dip
ping in its course, sidewiss, to the
northwest. The casing of the ledge on
the south side is brown quartzite,
the hangingwall on the north is
Limestone; the working shaft is fifty
feet deep, the foot wall is white
Iquartzite; from this point we cut a
drift northerly dow the foot-wall
through Ochre, fre-clay and lime
stone. After much labor We beat
our through the wall of cave fif
teen feet in width and tending east
wardly and westwardly under the
massive ledge and iron above. This
cave is partly filled with ochre and
tough, yellow clay. In the arch over,
head are numerous veins or feeders
Of blue-black mineral changing the i
rock directly before US and pro-
ducing a three-foot vein of ore,
viz: zinc blend with traces of silver.
This drift is sixty feet in leugth. |
We now determined to make an ef-
fectiVe crOsscut on thirIy-Gve foot
level, taking out the iron ore before
us down to the underside Of the
ledge. Here found ore Of excellent
quality. 1t can be easily worked
with pick and CAD; it Is red in color,
and carries percentage of gold and
silver. Here are to be seen solid
blocks OF iron, right and left and
overhead and no deception. This
crosscut is 100 feet in length and
the hanging-wall not reached yet,
and iron ore the whole length of the
drift. From this development we
can safely conclude we have body
Of ore thirty-five feet in thickness,
and in width $50 feet-length Of
vein, 1900. l have prospected this
ledge effectively, having the true lay
of the same, with large, genuine
outcrop 1900 linear feet along the
vein above the working shaft, and
near the terminus of the mine.
Assays of iron lore made October
21st, 1881: No. 1, red hematite, 66.91
lper cent. No. 2. red hematite, 59.3
lper cent.
And now, Mr.. Editor, allow me
to expires nay views more fully as
touching this great branch of indus-
TRY. From the present outlook we
are sanguine there is every reason
to expect that the developments of
the iron mines will be pushed for
ward with constantly increasing
lenergy, and that the time is not fare
distant when many of the great
repositories of one now almost un-
Itouched, will be the seats of an ac-
tive industry aHd centers of a
thrieving population, supported by
the home markets they will create.
The great valleys of the west, when
I6lled with the population. they are
Icapable of supporting, and inter-
Isected in every direction with the
vast system of railroads of which
the present lines are mere outlines,
will itself require more iron than
the world now produces, and the
transportation of large portions of
this from the great iron regions of
the Rocky Mountains, for which
Utah, it is seen, stands most
eminent, and of coal back to the
mines will sustain larger lines of
Transportation than have yet been
IemplOved in conveying TO their
markets the most important pro-
duets of the country. The impOrta-
ton Of foreign iron, already falling
off in proportion to the increased
consumption, must before many
years cease, and be succeeded 10y
exports for the supplies Of other