Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-07-27
PIMA COUNTY MARBLE.


 'e silver ore ss the case might be, and thel when we have spent time and money e visiting them found out that the noun T. tain part Of 1t dwell in the imagination $ of the discoverer or seller only. But unlike these, the description here given, D mountains of marble, can be taken as 8 , vertable fact and nothing more. There is no eXaggeration about it. It is no play upon words as will soon be fully . demonstrated to the world, and especial s ly to the people of Tucson who will look upon these same mountains in the near future as one of the greatest re- sources in the possession of old Pima
 county.
 Near at hand they have consequently been overlooked for years. Scores, it might be said hundreds of prospectors have walked over them annually looking for quartz float and finding none have never given glance or thought to the formation of the country rock upon which they were standing. They would have stayed and sunk Geep holes on
 quartz ledges two or three feet wide of
 questionable value, but on .marble.moun-
 tains covering an area of oyer twenty
 square miles and containing an unlimit-
 ed supply of stone the value of which
 may safely be put at S70 per ton and
 then he will be within the mark, they had
 DO time to finger and investigate. And
 so they have remained these many years
 entirely ignored, until one prospector,
 more intelligent than his fellows broke
 the spell and located himself a marble
 quarry. This example was quickly fol-
 lowed by his friends who aTei now en- d svoring to interest capitalists in what 1t is confidently expected will before long prove to be one of the most productive enterprises in Arizona. Over a good wagon road, these mar ble quarries are situated in the foothills | of the Santa Rita mountains facing Tue son and rot over thirty miles distant l Their nearest railroad points however, Vail's siding or Esmond are neither of them more than ten miles away. Thus favorably located it will be seen that once quarried there will be little expense incurred in getting the marble on board the cars ready for shipment to markets either east or west. Nor is thls its only good point. In the matter of quarrying 1t is difficult to imagine any position in which such vast deposits, consisting of mouhtaIns rising thousand feet above the level of the surrounding coun- try, could be better placed. Right on the road. back of the Omega mine and smelter, IS enc point where work has already been commenced. So far but little has been done, but that which has, demonstrates the fact that there IS no necessity for clearing away much of the surface rock to secure clean face. But 8 foot in, and not trace of discolor from either mineral or atmospheric causes is to be noticed. The marble is perfectly clear and terraces can be cut from which the blocks could be lowered into wagons as soon as foot of the out side rock has been stripped off.
 As would be expected this deposit lies in limestone formation. It consists of marble of many characters and different colors. There IS marble. coarseiy crys- talized but susceptible of high polish, which is admirably adopted for facing the more expensive municipal buildings or private residences. This marble is snowy white and is also suitable for tombstones and similar purposes. In the same kind of grain there is a black marble, densely black with no sign of white iu it, and there is also variegsted stone, black with white streaks running through, suitable for Gcore of building and decorative purposes. In the close grained marble there is less variety. So far as et present known there are but two classes, pure white marble equal in all respects to the finest imported from Italy. such ss is used for sculp- turY and the finest styles of scroll work. aud bluish white, only different from the former in having slightly blue tint which cannot be distinguished either in the polish it takes or iu cleavage from the best Italian stone.
 At different times within the last few fhc-r Nl0n. haA stone workers in various parts of the country, and in every case the answer has been received that the marble IS | fully equal to that which is received | from Italy, or the best produced by the Vermont quarries. Marble from either of these countries is worth from S6 to | sl0 per cubic foot. The output of Italy is limited; that of Vermont becoming exhausted, and the new quarries dis | covered in Colorado and California are not sufficiently good ID quality CT con- venlently placed to afford substitute. | As a consequences this enormous deposit | right at our doors, here in Pima county | seems to have wonderful future before it. The marble IS as good as has been | said. There has been no mistake male | about the quantity, except On the safe | side, and there can be no doubt in the minds of practical men as to the case with which it can bd handled. Taken | at figure one dollar below that of the poorest marble, 5 per cubic foot, and allowing sixteen cubic feet to the ton 1 such marble is worth $50 per ton. What would quartz mine of these dimen- l sons be worth?
 Experienced quarrymen say that it |