Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1891-07-03
ERRONEOUS VIEWS ON ORE
DEPOSITS.

Prof. ] C. Carrera in FL Paso Bullion.
1t is an unpleasant fact to state
that the present knowledge OF ore
deposits is very limited, and more
unpleasant is the assertion that the
only available means to gain knowl-
edge, true and unquestioDable,
about the origin, the size, the value
and phenomena connected with
an unexplored deposit OF any kind
of ore, is the actual working and
exhaustion of the same.
The infant science of mining is
so deeply inoculated with superstit-
ious ideas and natural manifesto
tions are 80 often enormously inter-
preted that before the march OF
progress can be satisfactorily ad-
yanced the work of demolition and
removing this false knowledge must
be completed.
Like astrology that gave birth to
astronomy and alchemy to chemes-
try, from this empirical and inno-
want state of learning will rise the
science of intelligent mining. a
possibility made certain by the
: advancement of constructive geol-
ogy, physics, chemestry and mycro-
scopy.
Both the practical miner and the
! naturalist are too often ready to
draw conclusions from observations
not fully understood; the advance
ing of theories before the collection
of facts will never tend to promote
scientific mining, or of any other
human avocatlon. The evolution
of laws originates from the complete
understanding of the subject under
study, and since all of us believe
in the perfect systematic construc
ton of natures wonderful works VIC
know as a consequence that 1t II
: only question of time when thu
science of mining will be as positive
and as advanced as any OF the othel
natural sciences.
There ale a great many types o
ore deposits, why should it not b'
/ SO? Are there not great variet.
, of rocks of minerals, OF plants, o.
animals? But as each individna
is made like its fellow, so If eacl
~ ore body alike those of the sam'
Y type. Admire the infinite ant
systematic order of creation. Th
intelligence of man and the idioc.
of the turtle, the gigantic dimen
siops of the rhinoceros and tn
smallness Of microbe, but eacl
family is made distinct by con
slant likeness of its members, an
as man is like man and a pin
, like another pine tree and grant
rock like another piece of granite
Z so each ore body must be allk
those of the same type, to folio
this law, so evident and constar
throughout the cosmos; ergo tfl
study of ore bodies must to gre'
extent be comparative ono, as it
natural to suppose that, if certal
causes have produced similar effec
"simiIia similibus" and Inference
by analogy are the ones scrutinl
ing mind can indulge In not on
], In mining but in the investigate
of a great many other matter
Itwould probably be an lnposslbl
ity to enumerate the fallacio'
theories existing to-day among Il
\ miners of the world, each countr
80 each district must have its indigo
GUS amount, but only those existil
among ourselves and neighbo
interest us, to such we shall lin
! ourselves.
An ore body can exist in any roc
preference for one rock or anoth
is only superstition, limestone co
tanning as regular fissure veins
any other rock formation. 1
well known mines OF Catorce,
~. Mexico, are IN remarkable fssu
vein more than mile in leng
rs. and are worked TO a depth OF o'
and 2OOO feet all the way in lime. L
discovery of native silver In san
stone at Silver Reef, Utah, shot
ne. put an end to the belief that sar