Mohave County miner., 1883-02-04
OUR MINES.
A MOhave County Gold Mine.
  A Gold Ledge Fifty Feet i'm Width.

The Montezuma, better known by it's old
 name, the Moss,mine, is located in the San
 Francisco mining district, about nine miles
 from the town of Hardyville and eleven and
 one-half miles from Camp Mohave. It is
 true Assure vein of great strength, tra-
 versing through graniticporphyry coun- l try rock from west to east. Its dip is south,
 at an angle of 7O0 to 750 below the horizon
 tai, or within 15o to 2O0 of the vertical line. The outcrop can be traced on the surface a
 mile or more in length and forms a most
 conspicuous picture in the landscape, being
 seen standing up ln bold crests and pima cles from a long distance. This vein shows
 at the surface about fifty feet in thickness,
 as we'll as can be judged in the present state
 of development, while it's croppings rise to
 night of from fifty to one hundred feet or
 more above the wash, sinking in places to
 the surface and towering away again in
 bold peaks. Its highest point above the
 Colorado river must be at least 1900 feet
 The weathered aspect of this vein is reddish and rich brown, but on breaking away the weathered surface it is found to be com posed of whitish compact feIdspar and quartzose- porphyry, intersected by veins of very red, often marbled, quartz, at times violet colored, and all rich in gold. The walls of the lode consist of an ash-gray feldspathic-porphyry intersected by thread veins of quartz and hornstone.
 The mine has been opened by shaft ninety-four feet in depth, sunk ton or twelve feet in front of the spot where the first lot of rich ore was obtained by the or iginal owners. This shaft was set to cut. the hanging wall of the lode and pass through it's entire thickness at an estimated depth of about 100 feet Where it cut the south ern edge of the lode ore was found from which an assay was obtained showing $4,- 200 per ton of the precious metals. The hanging wall is perfectly defined and shows smooth 'slickinsides,'' with clay lining between them ill places from three to four inches in thickness. From bottom of shaft two crosscuts1xpose an ore body about fifty feet in width highly charged with gold. A tunnel started about 300 feet south of the shaft pierces the hanging wall at d depth of about 200 feet from the top of the out 1 crop and shows the same grade and char | acter of ore as the bottom of shaft. The | rich specimens of free gold, of which over | ton weight assaying $50 900 were taken at | one time are almost invariably found in | the subordinate veins of deep red iron | stained quartz, which intersect the main | body of the lower grade vein filling. The | gold often appears in beautiful polished | scales, the flat surface embossed with crys talline lines. The precious metal is some times imbedded in compact red jaspary | quartz, presen ting, when cut and polished, | beautiful graphic goldstoDe. The rich gold bearing mass of ferruglnous quartz, it will be understood, forming the outcrop of this gigantic vein at only isolated points. There are now over two hundred tons of good | grade milling ore on the dump and enough | ore in sight to keep hundred stamps run ming for a year. With sufficient capital to open the mine thoroughly and erect suit able reduction works, and the application of good, energetic business management this property should be made one of the great productive mines of the Pacific coast. Anybody acquainted with the physical | features of the ComstocF lode, in Nevada, will be foroibly struck with the great re- semblance of the surface aspect of the Moss vein with that portion of the Comstock | where similar deposits of gold ill the quartz outcrop gave it's name to the town of Gold 1 Hill, and if the magnitude of the outorop- pings afford any just ground of comparison the future of the Moss lodo should not sui fer in the contrast.