The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1893-11-23
A COPPER PRODUCER.
NORTH CAROLINA THIS AS
WELL AS GOLD FIELD.
Also Silver-BearIng Region, Not to
Mention Iron-Ores, Nickel, Mica, etc.
thinning Suggestions.
(Corrsspondence Richmond Dispatch. }

Following up the samo chain Of
thought expressed in M etter to you
Of the 9th ulto, and published in the
Dispatch Of the 10Th ulto, on the gold
fields of North Carolina, it would prob
ably be well to state some of the rea-
sons why the large value Of this field
($247 800, ,OOO,O ,OOO) is Improbable, and
how it can be made available. But |
let me go further than | did before.
The above figures only had reference
to the gold values. Assuming that
the same reasonngs that obtained and
were adduced by the mining engineer
who reported on the Wltwatersrand
field of Africa to be admissible here,
as regards not only gold but other min
erals. / contend that this State is
worth as much as a cOpperprOduclng
field as it is for gold, and that it is
worth half as much as silver-prOduc-
ing field, i. e., that the deposits Of cop
per and silver in this same field, in ad-
dition to the gold, can be made to
yield the relative sums each. This Is
independent and apart from the num-
erous immense deposits of Bessemer
iron ores. nickel, mica and the loO
other minerals to be found and prOduc-
ed in North Carolina, the most lmpor-
tant of which will be treated in letters
to follow this.
| know that | have already laid my
self liable to ridicule and disgust, and
possiblv that lots Of it has already been
heaped on me for my first letter by
those who do not know, by those who
have invested and lost, and by those
who are trying to solve the problem O.
how to make these mines a source O
profit. But that does not deter mt
from stating facts.
WHY NOT PRODUCTIVE!
The values have been asserted then
why are they not productive? In tn
: last TWENTY-FIVE years thousands OF pee
nle have invested IN North Caroline
mines. Millions of dollars have bee
spent on them, and in many-ye'
nearly every instance-the lnvestmen
has been total failure. No one kno"
y this better than | do, for l am one
the same kind Then, the wonder
II why I write as l do. 1t is not becaus
of ulterior sinister motives, but OF FAC
= adduced by experience. One reason
loss. is that in many instances tt
\ mines have been worked and the NIL
J run by incompetent managers. Ih
* the case everywhere but more
here, possibly than anywhere els
This reason covers the worthless rel
tive of a rich stockholder, who want'
to get him out of the way, as we'll
4. the scorndrcl whose cupidity kept hi
from ..renderino therefore unto Cacs
90, tho things which be Caesars. Anot
ar reason with foreign, mostly Engli
coonanjes. is, that instead OF perm
ting a competent manager, or ooa
here. to operate the mine, 1t usua
- has been the custom to operate 1t tr(
tho office of the London promote
and stock spectators, who usua
make the most by ''lquidatlng" t
+ old comnanies and forming new c
for what there is in the stock jobbe
and not in the mine. But what
IA the honestly-invested and now defu1
- company? No intelligent victim
that will admit one of two causes
That the company will not III
y enough capital to make a succe
that the ores were too refractory
phide ores to save the gold by the &C
:, mon amalgamating process that
6m been almost universally employed
extracting the precious metal
member. / am discussing vein mini
not placer mining.
~ OPERATIONS THAT SUCCEEDED.
That all operations when on
brown or oxydized and free-mll
= ores has been success Is ADMIT
This was the case and was the so'
of many a fortune here, ana the III
sold on their reputation, but "na'
,ver lowed ? These brown ores, whlch