Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1894-02-23
THE RULE DRIFT.

writer on Comstock mines and
mining, has just published lone
article on the old bonanz. find
in the Consolidated California.
Virginia mine, in the Salt Lake
Tribune. He closes with the fol.
lowing remarks about the Rule
drift, which will interest many:
The ground on which Mr.. Rule
proposes to search for a missing
bonanza lies between ths great ore
body found in the Con. Virginia
and the first bonanza in the Ophir,
that in which the first discovery
of silver was made by Peter ORR.
ley and Pat Mclaughlin, In 1859.
When this bsnanza was first
opened it was the wonder Of the
world. It was immensely rich,
both in silver and gold. at the very
surface. At depth of $50 feet,
at what was called the third gal
lery, it showed width of 45 feet
of ore, and on the fourth gallery
there was a solid body of ore &c feet
In width. At the time such a
vein of ore was unprecedented
The ere OF this bonanza was ex-
ceedingly rich. No ore was ship
ped to San Francisco that assayed
less than $1,000 a ton. and the"low
grade" ore reserved for milling in
the reduction works of the COM
pany, IN Washoe valley, averaged
5000 to $500 ton. The 'benanKa.
wastefully as it was worked, yield
ed over $4,000, 900. Bat, as al
ready stated, it pinched out at
depth of 500 feet.
Undoubtedly the formation Of
this surface bonanza was the re-
suit of the operation of the same
natural forces through whose ac-
tiv,ty was formed at point 1900
feet below in the vein Of the great
Con. Virginia bonanza. Now, as
the mineralized vapors and metallic
emanations from the heated mot
ais in the fiery depths near the
earth's crust must have sscended
through this blank space OF 1900
feet in the vein, the mystery is how
it happened that no ore was de-
pesited in anv part of it.
To the southwark, on the Com
stock lode, in the Gould & Curry,
Hale Il Norcross and other mines,
no such extensive barren space was
anywhere found between the first
or upper bonanza and the next sne
below on the dip of the vein.
There is one great cause of tbs
existing suspicion that bonanza
has been missed in the blank space
between the Ophir bonanza and
that of the Con Virginia.
Another reason for suspacting
the existence of an undiscovered
bonanza in this piece of ground is
that it lies between two fertile sec
tions of the lode IN the line of the
usual trend OF the Cemstock ore
chimneys, which is a little to the
seuthward in descending; there
fore it would seem that there car
be nothisg unfavorable as regards
the mere rock formation. Besides
where Mr.. Rule proposes to set to
work is in the vicinity Of the place
where the first feeders of the big
bonanza were found.
Many instances that might be
given In mining 60 to show that
drsft or erosseut may almost touch
an ore body without fnGicg it.
Had not the Ophir bonanYs first
been discovered on the surface,
tunnel run inte the mountain in
s1ck q way rs to haze cut the vein
at depth of 500 feet would have
found it pinehed out, and it would
have been pronounced worthless,
whereat just above lay S2G,000,000
Whether or not Rule deceived
himself when he supposed be bad
cut ints a before unknown body
of ore, most mining men will agree
that 1t is well worth while to give
this particular piece of ground the
benefit of mere thorough explora-
ton than it has yet received.
There are in it brilliant possibili-
ties.