The old Abe eagle. (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 189?-189?, 1893-04-13
Mining Matters.
THE VERA CRUZ.
correspondence from Nogal.

Correspondence from Nogal.
knowing that it has always been your policy
to print no mining news unless you were assured
that it was correct and to under rather than
over-estimate all reported strikes and rich finds,
believing it best for capitalists and inquirers to
find better than was expected on investigation,
and thus encourage steady growth, therefore,
on hearing rumors this week of a rich strike in
Vera Cruz mine, your correspondent went there
to investigate the facts.
first visited the well which is about 30 feet
deep and which they sinking as rapidly as
possible, working on it night and day. They al
ready have MS much water as they can handle
with an inch and quarter hand pump and the
flow OF water is increasing rapidly as they sink.
Two small buildings have been erected at the
well, From the well to the mill site is about
mile and quarter and the trer ch is dug for the
pipe line the whole distance. The excavation
for the mill has been commenced but there will
be little work to do there as the mill will be sit.
uated ON a hillside, steep enough to facilitate
the erection Of crushers and self-feeders without
any costly timbers or masonry to support them
Two cottages have been built and there is lum-
Der on the ground formore houses which will be
nice but did not show where the money for this
work was to come from, and, getting anxious
about this part of the programme and preferring
mines and gold to plans or buildings, | hastened
up the side of Tucson mountain about half
mile over good wagon road. steep enough to
run down the ore in wagons or by tram with no
power necessary except for returning the empty
vehicles.
The old Vera Cruz company, which practically
abandoned this mine years ago had driven three
tunnels into the ore body, in and above which,
the present company have been prospecting.
The lowest tunnel was not visited The next is
about $50 feet deep and 100 feet below the sur
face, the last Is about thirty feet higher, 100
feet farther ~ the hill and is seventy-five feet
long in direct line and then turns to the right
for about sixteen feet more. Above that are
numerous open cuts, all showing ore
The ore body lies on the hillside south of
gulch which runs to the west down the face of
| the mountain, is from 100 to 1j0 feet wido, over
500 feet long, extends upwards to the grass roots
and downward no knowing how far, certainly a
great distance. The ore is soft and works easily
and looks very much like tale or soap stone, but
is really decompose quartz and quite gritty. 1t
lies on a steep hill side and can be quarried in
stead of mined. Six different samples were then
chosen from the mine in the following manner
One from the whole exposed surface of the mid
die tunnel, one from the end of the cross-cut,
one from the whole roof of tho cross-cut, one
from the dump, and one from the pile Of ore the
miners wore shoveling all of these from the up
per tunnel, and one from the cut farthost up the
mountain, nearly 600 feet away. All of these
were panned and every one produced quantity
of free gold, mostly coarse colors.
To sum up should say that thore is ore that
will run S15 to the ton, great deal that will run
| from s. to Sl2 a ton, and any quantity that will
run 81 or S5 a ton and as the management only
figured on So ore, they have a large margin for
profit which they did not know Of till recently
and which is no doubt pleasant surprise to
them.
Rumors Of $50 ore which have been floating
around town during the past week are decidedly
incorrect, but when the wire tramway and 100
stamp mill are in operation, we will have one Of
the biggest, best and most profitable mines any
where as the ore from its quantity and favor.
able situation can be mined and milled for 81 n
ton or less.
The company contemplate leasing a small mill
OF ten or fifteen stamps to run till the large mill
is ready, and even with that, by choosing good
ore, could make u nice profit.