The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1883-05-04

frelghted to Engle and shipment of
several car loads made,which it is an
ticipated will run $500 to the ton,
Near the Silver Monument is the
Black Knight, a lode of similar charac-
teristics, opened by aseventy foot shaft.
This property shows from six to twenty
inches of ore, also of quite high grade.
The Black Knight is owned by Mr.. j.
II. Magner.
Several miles south of Chloride Is the
Pye lode, the first discovered int this Sec
tion, and readily traced four or five
miles, The vein ranges IN width from
one to twenty feet. 1t is located at the
contact of the limestone with the por-
phyry, and on its line many promising
prospects have been opened. Among
the locations made are the Tidal Wave.
Midnight, King Nos. and 2. Way Up,
Highland Chief, Silver Prince, Lost
Heir and others. The ore is manly
silver bearing, although sometimes con-
tanning copper, lead and iron in small
quantities. The predominating char
acter of the precious metal is horn sill
yer, together with sulphurets and sui
phides of silver. Few OF the proper
ties have any considerable amount of
work done upon them, yet contain
enough exploration work to prove their
value as undoubtful prospects, with
every indication of developing into
good mines under careful and we'll di-
rected work.
1t is claimed by a number of the resi-
dents of Chloride that mill with con-
centrating works attached, would do
well inthat camp. Theprospectors are
short of funds with which to carry on
their work, and are anxious to find a
market for the sale of their ores that
would net them a better profit than is
realized from shipments to Pueblo or
Denver. The cost of hauling ore to
Engle is great, and added to this amount,
IS to $12 railroad freight, and the cost
of treatment, brings the cost up to a
price which requires very high grade
of ore TO stand the expense and still
leave profit after the costs of mining
have been deducted.
About three miles east Of the town of
Fairview are the Cuchillo Negro noun.
tains, possessing geological structure
that is sufficient to invite any prospec-
tor, and seems to court the attention of
mining men by its favorable mineral
indications. Judging from the position
and appearance of the stratified rocks,
the range is the result of series of up
lifts, giving the entire formation a dip
to the eastward of probably thirty de-
grees. Approaching the mountains
from the westward the first distinct
feature is a conglomerated mass of
boulders and pebbles, very much like
that found at the foot of the Black
Range mountains at Chloride, except
that the cement contains more iron.
Ascending up the road leading to the
Cuchillo Negro mine, the next change
in structure of the mountains is oe-
casioned by the appearance of white
porphyry belt, succeeded in turn by a
brown and dark gray tachyte. then
quartz, porphyry, and GROWING the
whole mass, blue limestone.
Some prospect work has been done in
the eruption rocks where stain, seams
of ferruginous decomposed matter and
quartz seams have given the surface the
resemblance of containing an ore vein
beneath, also in the line of contacts be-
tween the different igneous rocks. So
far all this rock has been limited, and
no properties of merit have yet been
disclosed. This places all the desirable
mining locations of the section on the
contract between porphyry and over
laying limestone, or in the limestone
as interstratifled ore bodies or depos-
its.
The mineral bearing contact and the
sedimentary rock form the cap of the
east side of the Cuchillo mountains for
a distance of several miles or more.
The occurrance of ore in workable
chests or shoots appears to be frequent,
and many fair prospects are located,
and considerable work is being done
toward their early development into
producing mines.
The Cuchillo Negro. or Black Knife
mine,is the only one so far that has made
a record as producing property. The
mine is opened by an incline Of about
one hundred feet in depth, together
with a short level and parallel incline.
The workings all show ore ranging in
strength from a few inches to threes
or four feet solid mineral. Fromsan
observation of the workings, it i the.
opinion of the writer that the orr o.
ours as deposits in the limestone .sa|IIef
than in the contact, owing no dsnbt to
the greater affinity of the lime one for
the minerals than the underlss g for
nation. This feature, while > sener-
ally favored by miners accustdssed to