The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-02-20

high as 1000 ounces of silver to the tom
The principal ore is copper glanz, carrying
silver and occasionally pockets of gray
copper. The pay streak is from q few
inches to two feet in width, and averages
nearly 100 ounces of silver to the ton. A
considerable amount of wire silver is found
in places in the mine. The gangue which
is low grade ore of Is ounces to the ton,
is "a feet wide in places. This mine is be-
ing worked and the ore shipped out of the
state for treatment.
Our examinations show that there are
very many promising localities in this
range, and numerous specimens were OBJ
tanned of surface ores and ores from various
prospects, all carrying fair percentages of
copper associated with silver.
The other ranges of this regiOn-the
Eagles, Van Horn, Chispa. and Limpa or
Davis mountains-are all of the same char
acter as those already described In all of
them the work that has been done shows
very clearly and positively that they are
very promising as ore-bearing fields.
Added to this, the amount of water exist.
ing through these mountains and the we'll
timbered character of some of them should
certainly induce the attention of pros
peCtors at an early day.
The Chinati mountains, in Preside
courty, are composed of material similar
to the Quitmans, Diabolo and other
ranges of the district-porphyries and
GRANTEES, more or less decomposed, crossed
here and there with streaks of quartz and
occasionally overlaid by limestones. To
ward the southern extremity of these noun
tains limestone prevails, which belongs to
the Carboniferous period, and is often
strongly metamorphosed. Basaltic in
trustions are found in places, and some
lava also occurs.
Water in this section is much more plen-
fin N a
creeks hold fair quantity, besides which
there are several strong springs. Part of
the country is well timbered with cedar,
Spanish oak and live oak.
In these mountains there are great
many prospecting shafts as well as some
well developed mines. The ore on the
riverside is galena, the outcrops being
strongly ferruglnous streaks, similar to
those of the Quitmans. Some outcrops
show carbonates and sulphides containing
both bismuth and silver. An assay OF one
of these outcrops gave ten ounces of silver
to the ton; Bisnluth, 81 per cent; lead,
40% per cent. On the east side the con-
facts between the porphyries and crystal
line limestones are very clearly marked,
and it is on these that the most satisfactory
prospecting work has been done.
The best developed nine is generally
known as the Shafter, or Bulls mine, and
is owned and operated by the Preside Min
ing company, who are now working two
mines,-the Preside and the Cibolo. The
former which was discovered in 1880, con-
sists of pockets and punches of ore of irreg-
ular shapes and sizes, generally isolated
from each other embedded in limestone
country rock thus forming chamber de-
posts. The Cibolo has the same general
character, but in addition, has an ore body
situated in well-defined tissure, and is a
contact deposit. This company work their
own mill and ship their product as bullion.
The mill, which is a ten stamp of the Cali
fornia pattern, is located on a hillside so
that the ores from the crusher fall to the
automatic feeder at the stamps, from which
the pulp is lifted to the amalgamators. The
amalgam is freed from the excess of quick
silver by straining, as usual, then retorted
and fused. This mill averages from thirty
to thirty-fve tons of ore per day, which
yields from forty to forty-five ounces of
silver to the ton. The motive power is an
eighty horse power engine. There is ample
water supply in Cibolo creek to permit an
increase in the size of this mill, and the
erection of others as well, and there is also
good opportunity to build storage reser-
voirs along it,
There are other locations being worked
up, many of which promise good returns,
and there is no doubt that this district must
soon become one of the centers of the min
ing industry i'll Texas.
In the ranges east of the Chinati, the b.
ficillos, San Iago, Chisos and others, are
repeated the conditions described so often.
They are certainly ore-bearing, but at
present difficult of access. From all of
these ranges the survey has specimens of
silver. bearing ores, collected by Prof.
Streeruwitz on his preliminary survey, and
the assays made of them by the chemists
of the survey prove them to be very valu-
able.
There a,e other portions of the state
from which these metals are reported.
Some of these reports will probably prove
well founded; many will be otherwise.
They will be taken up and examined as
rapidly as the demands upon the attention
of the survey will permit, and the results
made public as soon thereafter as possible.