The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-10-14
VIRGINIA GOLD BEDS.
ospE THE PRECIOUS &ETAL LAYS
THE OLD DOMINION.
r.,,. Of the yellow Metal In this State
d, Known by Very Few Of the Native In
,ti,ants- Richest Ores Yet Pound.


a Mother Earth stimulates men
.s..ls OF privauon and daring equal
.s.ae.fs of battle
r.eter ana interesting theme, ana YET
r. know that our own state pos
t.- gold fields rich In this yellow
Interstate Land Bureau. at Wash
.., has recently issued a pamphlet
.- Very interesting facts about VIZ
. sold deposits. .,-.,..
.. result OF their Investigations,
.,. officers ~ the Bureau have reached
......Iuslon. that n any reliance what
is lo Doe placed in the testimony v.
.ts mining experts ana pf"Su0ats
... there as to-day q great boay OF
..5 dearly defined gold bearing ore
..4rcr beds in Virginia. Norm caro-
and Georgia comparatively UNI
..I.i That while millions OF doliars
..l have been taken out In those
. the surface has been scarcely more
. scratched. That the richest and
t..t bodies OF ore are still waiting Tor
.tu..mt modern enterprise and capital
.. develop them.
tn very few exceptions. gold hunt
.. u.s never carried on In the South
..-t bv wastefu methods now obsolete.
and the war wiped out completely what
... Isft ~ the gold mining Industries OF
r. south. Recovery has been slow, but
.H The official figures show that up TO
I
N.-h Carolina produced in gold, 2l,5s5.8h.
l..H.ll. ........................... lo.5JlzD.
rf-..rfI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 3.lSy,bl0
This does not represent the total pro-
g.rl0ns. bat only that Of which there is
.r official record. Competent authorities
estimate that in Virginia nearly as much
NOR. gold was produced, which found its
uls through tIe banks and various chan
r.s NJ trade and of which there is no
record whatever. unless OF isolated mug
...s of extraordinary richness.
10 is wen 90 recall. just here, the his
fur.c fact. that at the great Centennial
Exposition held az Philadelphia, IN 1876,
m competition with the whole world. Nir-
g.ra carried off the prize for the finest
exhibit of rich gold ores.
I1 the Financial and Mining Record,
~ New York. August Il. 1892. appears the
following from Columbia, Va:
Something of a gold furore IS at fever
1a.t In G0ochland and Fluvanna counties,
over rich washings surreputiously car
r0l 0u hy negroes. One darkey found
ft.aa-pouud. nugget a few days ago In
.Ilh adjoining the Busby tract, conceded
tIa richest mine I'm the State. lie sold
Ia yellow lump I'm Richmond for $500
Washing out one two. three, four. five
f.l. fifteen mp 10 thirty-five pennyweight
nHaeets ifs almost "a daily occurrence.
"Whne native Nirginians are waiting
patiently for Northern capital 10 open up
and develop their rich mines, the darlies
arc developing them with muscle and bone
and buying horses, buggies and carriages
with their populations
Professor Stowe frOm a letter written
Iy him in 1913. just after his return from
California and Colorado, regarding his
estimate of the value Of the Virginia
mines. says: 81 am now Of the decided
opinion that the ores Of Virginia are the
richest and easiest TO work Of any / have
ever met. ! have made over two hundred
assays OF ore from the Atlantic slope.
and have visited ln person many Of the
localities whore gold is found. and !
speak from facts
This is "a strong opinion. coming from
an expert mining engineer:
Major H0tchNss writes OF this belt. In
Guiding buckingham. Here is a mass OF
precious metal enclosed in the rock)
which cannot be exhausted for ages, and
iu this respect. the region An question
SIS the most important of all known de-
p0sits. California not excepted. The cele-
rrated Oyerman practical mineralogisO
slys: we have here i'm Virginia. a belt
wi gold OF unparalleled extent immense
width, undoubtedly reaching TO the pri-
mItlve rock
'ln the earlier days very large nuggets
were found by breaking up the quartz
rocks with sledge hammers one OF these.
in spotsylvania, sold for S43S 1t was not
unusual for farmers, after they laid by
their crops. to direct the overseer to take
B..
and there were times when thousands Of
dollars We're made per annum. this way.
Another three-pound nugget, found in a
EIch skirting the Busby mine, Gooch-
land county, was sold I'm Richmond Oc-
ther 1892, for Sl20 by the finder, Tyler,
e1.9r.d."
'Ihe largest masses Of gold have been
discovered in or near rivulets or brooks.
or runs % water called In the language
oi the country, branches In such situa-
lions pieces have been found weighing
several ounces, and I'm North Carolina
n' several pounds. On a branch in the |
Whitehall mine gold Of the value OF |
$1,000 was found in the course OF a few |
days. in space OF about twenty feet |
square. and $500 value Of gold was found |
at finders mine I'm Louisa county. IN the |
course Of one week. IL happens not un- |
frequently that the vein mines are dis |
covered in consequence OF washing the |
earth, particularly in the branches
ahe Richmond Trade Journal in 1892 !
DAD the following:
Io show the profits Of gold mining In |
Virginia when using ores above water !
.rttD it is only necessary TO say that |
Ae Naucluse sent 60 the United States !
Alat and 10 Europe gold bullion tc the
amount OF over one million dollars, as |
ue records kept by express companies |
aaI banks I'm Fredericksburg Will show; |
and 10 BIS claimed that one mine I'm Buck !
nlaam has a record nearly up 10 a mil |
Lul dollars.
The old Tcllurum mine, so success |
fully worked by Commodore Stockton.
paid largely until they got to pyritous
ores or water level. IL may be said just
bore that the values in Virginia gold
mines are more than twenty nine-thir-
us,hs in the veins below the water level,
and about one-thirtieth was at or Is
n tae free gold above, the water level.
IL need not be said the yields above
claimed DO not add 10 the present value |
4 ue mines, and for the reason that |
ye same gold can only be gotten once. |
probably half or more OF the gold In |
."t ORE, mined and milled previous 10 /
l'' sl, away with the tailings, went !
".,' lle streams and 50 on TO the rivers |
and tle ocean
iof fully fifty years branch working
-'' t'.i has been going on In all the gold
COUNTIES 0f Virginia. and always with
t.thsi ty success is meant that those
WHO work in this way can and have
'"'+e more than they could have made
p" any other way. IL is not unusual Tor |