Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-04-19
THE COCHITI COUNTRY.
Some Description, Geological and
Otherwise, OF the Great Ore
Bodies Already Opened.
Correspondence New Mexican.

Correspondence New Mexican.
Bland City, thirty-fve miles west of
Santa Fe, April 1.-THE ore bearing por-
Phyritic rocks of various types show up
here miles in extent, forming high noun
tain peaks and ridges, cut deep in various
directions by canons and gorges, formed
by the recent erosion of the softer parts
OF these rocks by food waters and
streams. Prior to the erosion that formed
these canons in some places, by volcanic
action, great breaks occur, opening
deep crevices into the interior of the
earth through these upper ore-bearing
rocks. Through these crevices vast masses
OF molten volcanic rock matter is pushed
up, and, in places, overfows and covers
the porphyritic rock with Gaping,
where it is soliditied and now appears in
the form of bearing rock of
volcanic basaltic character. 1t was prob
ably during this secondary upheaval of
these volcanic rocks that the rents and
great crevices were formed caused by
earthquake motons they now appear in
the older porphyritic rocks which were
ore-bearing.
These crevices broke through the Dor.
phyritic rock in anortherly and southerly
direction and now appear as true fissure
ore-beaflng mining veins. The vein fill
ing OF these assures, or earthquake
formed cracks, must have been derived
from the surrounding rocks through the
action of very hot waters which dissolve
very large percentage of silica together
with the ores of gold, silver and other
rock material which, while in solution,
were carried by the water into these
veins or crevices and there left to harden
and crystalline into the form of vein mat.
ter now to be seen alter the water eyapor.
ated.
II these facts briefly presented are
true, then it is safe to conclude that the
veins, whether barren or rich in ores, 20
deep into the earth, and are true fissures
of great extent instead of surface con-
traction cracks or shattered cracks in the
rocks of slight extent and depth.
Now, let us see what the facts present,
so far as development has gone in on
some of the principal veins and pros
poets, and those, also that can be determ-
lned by natures digging through the
erosion by water hundreds of feet deep
down across some of these veins to the
bottom of the deepest canons.
Some of the principal veins show their
vein ore-bearing matter cropping boldly
in places, one, two and three miles in
ength, north and south, the vein matter
being largely hard, whitish, crystalline
q uartz, in which the valuable ores are
This was not so easily at
acked by the elements and eroded away
10 was the softer country rock on either {
lde. 80 in some places it stands out in l
ldges ten or fifteen feet above the en-
'losing walls and from ten to fifteen or I
more feet in thickness. a
This vein matter some times, in places,
caches width between it's walls of from i
hirty to forty feet.
The pay ores SO far as development
hows on the surface, and in the Crown t
'oint, Lone Star, Washington Albermarle v
no other prominent prospects is irreg- Ii
larly distributed throughout the quartz Ii
nd other gangue matter of the veins. In lt
laces it is found well concentrated and t,
n Others thin or lean. &
Enough work has been done to prove
hat the rich ores are continuous, amply G,
ich and abundant enough, in proportion Il
D the whole of the vein matter that must tf
9 moved during the exploring work, to T
arrant rich returns for the most extern II,
i've development. u
Smelter returns show a general aver cl
ge of 25 to 35 per cent gold, the balance al
liver. Specimen assay samples have s.
IN very high, but the average smelter &C
sturns so far, for assorted ores shipped, n
ppears to be from $50 to 800 per ton
res taken out of all of the principal
respects ranging from $50 to $40 per d
IN are not being shipped at present. - -
undreds of tons of such ores can be W. w
en on the dump of the Crown Point, 81;
one Star and Albermarle, or where :.
uch work has been done. -, ~
So far as working depth has been ", W
ached the combination Of the gold and W ",
lver ores, with other mineral com 1n H
,unds, makes them better adapted to -. az
lelting processes than free milling, but W
ere are some strong indications that as ~ ~
nsiderable depth is reach in all of the VI
ines, the tendency of the ores will be to Z