The San Francisco call., 1895-10-14


cludes the above officers and George Bar
beck and J. s. Inglis. w. III. Bailey and
L.'W. Forsting, capitalists, are also among
the principal shareholders. Their princi-
pal claim is known as the Edna mine.
The claim of this company comprises
160 acres of land about TWO miles north of
San Andreas, and the superintendent
claims that at least two of the main mother
lode veins run diagonally through the
ranch. There is also a gravel channel
not entirely worked out. 1t was while
hydraulicking in Spring Gulch that Mr.
White became impressed with the idea
that there was quartz mine on the
place. He noticed that along the east side
of the gulch nearly all the gold was
bright, sharp quartz gold, while on the
west side was round and smooth channel
gold. Tracing the quartz gold to the sum-
NIT of the hill, Mr.. White was rewarded
by finding indications of big ledge, and
further exploration satisfied him that he
had found the top OF chimney of pay ore
on one of the main veins Of the mother
lode.
Two prospecting tunnels were run into
the hill from opposite sides. That on the
west side is ninetyfour feet from the sur
face and sixty feet long, all in decomposed
quartz. The tunnel on the east side is 134
feet long, and the last forty feet run
through a sort of rotten porphyry full of
small quartz stringers, the entire mass
averaging about 81 per ton. A winze was
sunk in this material sixty-five feet and it
is richer on the bottom than at the level
of the tunnel. 1t can all be worked easily
with the pick, and the walls stand without
timbering. Mr.. White is of the opinion
that at depth this will all concentrate into
big and rich vein of quartz.
Having determined by his prospecting
the best place to sink a shaft Mr.. White
started one about sixty feet east of the
footwall, calculating that at about 800 feet
vertical he will have passed through the
vein. At this level he will run drifts on
the footwall of the vein and determine the
character and quantity of the ore, and if
justified Immediately erect a large mill
and begin crushing. Then a permanent
three-compartment working shaft will be
started still further east to cut the vein
1000 or 100 feet deep.
At present the shaft is down lao feet and
is being sunk three feet day, working
three eight-hour shifts. About half of the
bottom OF the shaft is in quartz and the
indications are that in ten or fifteen feet
more it will be all in quartz and continue
so to the footwall. The quartz prospects
finely and the slate is heavily mineraliZed.
The ore resembles very closely that of the
Utica, and Mr.. White thinks he is on the
Utica or east ledge.
The millsite below the ledge is perfect
=
by gravity, and a ditch 5000 feet distant
carrying 600 inches of water, is 230 feet
higher than the millsite, affording un-
rivaled facilities for obtaining power. The
county road runs right by the mine. The
ranch is covered with oak and pine timber.
Natural springs afford abundant and de-
licious water.
There are numerous lodges cropping on
different parts of the ranch, as yet un-
prospected. On the north side of the hill
from the shaft there is cropping fully 100
feet wide, the quartz powders being COW
cred with moss, and apparently never hav-
ing been struck by hammer. Running
across the south forty acres is another
large vein, known as the west vein, on
which little or nothing has yet been done.
The developments on the Edna mine are
fully as promising and of as much i'm
portance as those on the Thorpe. Hundreds
of tons of good pay ore are in sight, but
the company will not put up mill until
they have thoroughly prospected the mine
and opened it up for production on large
scale. Their course in this respect receives
the commentator of all good miners.
About midway between San Andreas
and Angels, on the Copperopoiis road,
Sheriff B. K. Thorn has forty acres of
patented land, through which the main
footwall ledge of the mother lode belt
courses. Enough development has been
of the most important mines in Calaveras
County. The hanging wall of the ledge is
dlorlte and the fooLwall black slate, with
heavy gouge. The general characteristics
are said to be identical with those of the
Gwin and Kennedy mines in Amador
Ben Johnson, the present superintendent
OF the Illinois, was formerly a part owner
OF the Kennedy mine and has worked for
years IN that and other mines in the foot
wall belt in Amador, and says he has seen
nothing elsewhere so favorable to a per-
manent and paying mine as in the Illinois.
All the work 80 far done has been in pay
ore, and seems to insure a chimney at least
$50 feet in length on the vein.
The general course of the vein is north
westerly and southeasterly. The vein dips
to the east, at an angle of about 55 degrees.
On the surface there are bold outcropplngs,
prospecting well in the pan, and at the
bottom of tie shaft the assay value of the
ore is said to be $40 a ton. There is an in
cline shaft 120 feet deep, following the
course of the vein. At the 100 level a drift
is being run south on the vein and is now
in between sixty and seventy feet. The
ore prospects well the entire length of this
drift. The vein varies in width, swelling
and plnchlng in the manner characteristic
of the footwall ledge, in places being six
feet wide and again contracting to few
inches. The depth is not sufficient yet to
be below the surface disturbances, which
have twisted and contorted the upper
strata.
About 200 feet from the main shaft an
other shaft has been sunk on large vein
which intersects the footwall vein some
hundred feet north of the main shaft. This
shaft was in good ore all the way, and
shows six feet of quartz at the bottom. All
the material extracted has been piled up
as mill rock. A drift will probably be
started north from the main shaft to pros
pect the intersection of the two veins,
where in the natural order OF things a
bonanza ought to be encountered. The
richest ore so far found on the surface was
in shallow hole $50 feet south of the
shaft. A dozen pans of rock and dirt in
the intervening space showed rich pros
poets which at a low estimate would av-
erage $40 per ton. 1t is safe to say there
are 1000 tons of ore in sight that would
mill from So to $40 per ton. In much of
the rock on the surface fine free gold can
be readily seen.
Sheriff Thorne is desirous of securing a
partner with capital to sink deep shaft
and put up mill. He does not wish to
dispose of the entire mine, as he has held
1t many years and believes firmly that it
is one OF the great properties of the mother
lode With the ore in sight he thinks a
ten-stamp mill would pay all expenses
II flaN lT..D