Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-07-24
Gold Galore in the South.
Mines Abandoned During the War Still Re
main for Capital to Develop.

Mines Abandoned During the War Still Re-
main for Capital to Develop.
To the Editor of the Herald :
have read the recent articles pub
lished in the Herald on gold mining in
various parts of the world, and being
gold miner myself | wish to say word
lively small and unknown, although it
has produced very nearly $25,000,000
and has made many small fortunes.
Very few people know that there are
any gold mines in the South and that
Georgia was among the first of the
States, if not the first State, in The
Union in which a United States Mint
was established for the coming of the
gold and silver produced in the Caro-
linas, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia and
Tennessee the Carolinas
and Georgia, they having been the
principal producers and are now.
Their most productive period was be
fore the war. A great many of the
mines were allowed to fill with water
and their shafts to collapse during the
great struggle, and in a great many
cases have not been opened up since.
When you consider that lmost the en-
tire production of these States has
come from the ores lying above water
level. you can readily see that the main
value of the mines is still there and
easily accessible with the machinery
which modern science has placed at
our disposal, and the lack of which in
former days has led to the abandon
ment of mines which could now be
worked profitably.
1t is not the high grade ores of the
South that are valuable, although they
have been more sought after than the
ores of a low grade, in which the real
value lies, because of the great quaint
ties of it. Ores running in value from
eighty-five cent per ton to 81 per ton
have been the most remunerative.
These ores can be mined and milled for
from fifty cents to 81 per ton, accord
ing to the favorableness of their loca-
ton, figure which can be euualIed in
few parts of the world day, but which
is actually being accomplished down
there at the present time every day.
If we compare this section with some
of the other gold mining districts of the
world its advantages are very appar-
ent. We will take the Black Hills, for
instance, because the oles there are of
low grade, ranging in value from less
than So to not more than 81 per ton,
and, in fact, they will average less than
So per ton throughout the district, and
still these mines hive paid millions of
dollars in dividends, because the mines
and mills have been worked on the
most modern systems and on a very
large scale, hundreds of tons of ore be-
ing handled daily. In the South wood
costs, delivered, from 81 to 81 so per
cord; in the Black Hills, $40 per cord.
Skilled labor 80 ordinary labor At Der
day in the South: in the Black Hills,
So and 50 so per day, The climate of
the South Tin the mining districts) is
the finest in the world, and water for
all purposes is plentiful all the year
round; in the Black Hills water is scarce
and expensive, and the mills have to
be heated throughout almost the entire
winter.
But if these facts are true, one won
ders why mining does not seem as sue
cessful in the South as in the West.
The reason is plain In the first place,
mining is as successful in the South as
in the West, careful comparison will
show that the per cent of failures in
the South is no greater than in the
West; in the second place, mining is
not the industry of the country and is
less talked about, and the lack of prop
er machinery has been great draw
back, but modern improvements are
gradually creeping in, and | predict a
good future for the gold mining indus
try of the South, for the ores are there
| in plentiful supply, and it is only a
question of time when their value will
be appreciated.
ERNEST G MOORE.
New York, Feb. 81, 1895