Arizona weekly citizen., 1884-03-29
THE BLUE JAY.
VISIT TO THE MINE AND DESCRIPTION
 OF ITS WORKINGS AND ITS ORES.

oh dSCounl ol tue WoTh uOne upOu lt, | its ore developments and prospects, would be of interest to the readers of the CITIZEN, has concluded to give them the benefit of his observations. The | writer does not clam to be mining ex- pert or mining engineer, but, having visited many mines, claims to be able to jndge something of the merits of mine when opened.
 Ths mine Is situated iu the Santa Rita mountains twenty-five miles south of Tucson.
 The road leading to it from this city Is excellent, twenty miles of the distance being over plain slightly undulating. The remaining five miles through the foothills has few easy grades.
 This property has passed the stage of prospect and is Tn fact mine. It IS now one of the resources of Pima coun- ty. The mine is in a black limestone formation some 200 feet in width bear ing $. E. and x. w. the formation dip ping east at an angle of sixty degrees froG horizontal plane. On the easter ly side the limestone Is of lighter color than on the westerly side which has some granite. The rock, at intervals, across the entire 200 feet bears evidence of carrying metal and the Superintend- ent, Mr. J. H. Holt, says it gives assays in silver while metahferous veins of great value crop cut in several places, three ot winch have been aItially deyel- oped.
 The ground has been opened by shafts and tunnels III a manEer retiecsing great credit upon the management, as the work already prosecuted has developed | great mineral wealth and put tue mIne in a condition to be worked with great | economy of labor and as much comfort to tue miners as If working in open air. | ihis Is true of the main portion of the mine at present.
 All portions ot this extensive ground Con be put in equally good condition to ne worked and at a comparatively small expense.
 1t Is no small undertaking to develop a formation 200 feet wide and at the same time make all the prospect work of such a character as to be of use in the working Ot the mine.
 l The mine IS opened by 8 main tunnel | $50 feet long commencing at a point on the easterly side of the cOnical hill in which 1t Is situated, cuts the formation at right angles and taps the ore vein 200 feet below the apex of the hIll | Where the tunnel cuts the ore of vem IS about three feet wide; at this point six assays. from as many samples taken across the veIn showed an average oi over Sl00 per ton.
 4 drift from the point of intersection | of tunnel, was made along the ore vein in a southe ly direction some 70 feet for the purpose of connecting the tunnel with the shafts sunk on the vein from the top of the hill. Along this drift the ore of vein Is in some places over SIX feet in width, and samples of black ore taken across it's face averaged S173.4O in silver exclusive of gold which 1t Is | known tO carry. Just before reaching the bottom of the shaft with the l tunnel a morse" was met which crowded the ore of vein to the l right but the object being to connect l the shaft and tunnel, the drift was con- | tinued through the horse and the con nection made with great accuracy. This | connection has given the mine excellent ventilation. So strong IS the current ol | air through the tunnel, drift and shaft, that is has been found necessary to put doors at the mouth of the tunnel to | regulate it. The horse spoken of does not cut the ore off but merely turns it aside. This IS shown by the following facts: the ore ou the right side of the JulneI was strong and wide where the | horse was encountered and was picked into and samples taken which as>ayed S20S per ton; again the same class of ore was found in the shaft on the same side from top to bottom and samples assayed from S50 to S3,200 per ton. This shaft IS lS0 feet deep.
 The oujecE of the drift was not SC | much to develop ore es to connect shaft and tunnel and secure good ve0tllatIon Although tbe hanging wall Is clearly defined. no foot wall has yet been found
 .iong the vein. The dip of the bang ing wall is, of course, the same as thai oi .he formation (sixty degrees.)
 In many places rIcn ore may be picked from 1t and nearly every part of I
 | After securing ventilation as herein before described the management dritted in a northerly direction along the ven .ome thirty-five feet. At a point some twenty feet from intersection of drif-
 md tunnel the writer measured the ore
 f vein and found 1t ;o be six feet three inches wide and took samples from the roof of the drift across the ore which were assayed by Mir. A. K. Brewer with
 he following results: Silver S3ll.l0 gold SlO.O5, total S32l.15 It was de- signed in taking these samples from tbe vein 10 get an average, but they may have | Deen taken from an exceptionally rich place. However this may be, the ore along the entire drift for a distance of over 100 feet bears the same character isvics and when we reflect that this drift is from I5O to 200 feet below the surface where the ore crops out, and that the vein apparently improves Tn size and | richness as 1t goes down, some idea oi rbe value of this property may be formed. This is not guess work but | actual observation of present develop ments. The writer has no interest ID the mine whatever flor which he Is truly | sorrv) aside from the indirect interest which every citizen of Pima county has in the development of its mineral re sources and 1t is for the encouragement of our citizens that thls article IS written In justice to this property the de>crlp- hon cannot end here. The facts that DC foot wall has yet been found, that the ore on the floor of the drift is very rich and the vein strong: that the vein may be traced on the surface for 8 distance of 800 feet giving assays of SD to S4U per ton cannot fail to impress those ac0usinted with mines and mining as to what may be reasonably expected from this property. On the north side ot the bill Is another tunnel showing at Its month eight feet of ore bnt pf low grade. This tunnel is about l5O feet from inc main tunnel and IS separate and distinct therefrom and must be described senarateIy. The mouth of this tunnel i' about loo feet above the floor Of the main tunnel and on another veln. The ora in tbis vein is the same black ore and of great strength. It lies along norphyry wall and is parallel with thai " r,i- .,,,oI follows this yeln 4l feel