The herald., 1896-08-20

employed, or else refuse to make the In
vestment It Ia all very well to talk o.
practical bto1g better than scientific
knowledge. but on electrical work II
needs combination or both. Because
man can wire building or run dyna.
mo, 1t does not follow that he can proper
| ly plan and install an electric power
plant. 1t takes an educated electrical
engineer to do 1t in satisfactory man.
| ner.
]. NJ. Sumner, writing in Pick and
Pan. journal of Mojave, gives the fol-
lowing description of the mountain
mines, those of the north and south
forks of the Kern river:
The mines of the South and North
Fork valleys of Kern river comprise
first the Keysville and Corea districts.
| situated on the west side of the river
and extending from Black gulch on the
south to the county line on the north. a
distance of about fifteen miles. The
principal mines are Mammoth" in
Keysville. and the big Blue" in the
Corea district. They are both on the
| mother vein of the country, which runs
nearly north and south parallel with the
| river, from half to a mile distant This
| vein is from four to one hundred feet in
| width and crops out larger part of the
distance, has been largely worked, and
carries gold in all places. On the west
side of this vein for the width of mile
there are many lateral and parallel
veins and strata of rich, gold bearing
ore. There are from sixty to seventy
mines working in these districts a pres
ent
On the east side of the river comes
first Goldfish creek on which are the
Washington and Valley View districts
in which are many leads which have
been worked more or less The prin-
cipal mines being worked now are the
Portuguese in Washington district and
the Glen Olive and Pine Tree in Valley
View district. Both are large, eXtens
i've properties, and carloads of five to
six hundred dollar ore have been
shipped from Glen Olive.
Next comes Erskine creek, known as
the Green Mountain district in which
are many leads thGt have been worked,
also rich silver lead the ore of which is
very rebellious. Also the Piute, Bright
Star and Dedrich Bahtons new discov
cry, of which full reports have been
published 1t is a splendid locality for
working, and after he has plant estab-
lished he can work ore as cheap as any
one.
Farther UP we come to Kelso canyon,
in which is the Sageland district. There
are many large gold-bearing veins in
this district and when electric power
can be utilized, it will be a thriving re-
gion. There is no systematic MINING
whatever in the above described dis
tricts, and the ore is being worked by
the same methods employed thirty or
forty years ago. The gold is the most
difficult to save in the state, being of
poor quality, worth from $11 to Sl2 per
ounce, and every particle is porous and
spongy, and 1t is the opinion OF many
that not more than 25 per cent of the
gold is, or has been, saved.
There has been more than million
dollars each taken out ofrhe Mammoth
and Big Blue mines, and it is confidently
believed that three times that much has
been run off There is no place where
ore can be worked cheaper than there.
Ore can be worked from the Big Blue,
at profit, for 81 per ton, and the neces-
sary expenditure for plant not large
either. The mill can be on the mine AMI
the power transmitted very reasonably,
of course i mean by the present method
of famalgamating. Other processes might
be more expensive, but the increased re-
cepts would increase the profits. The
other mines are all situated so that
they can be worked cheaply.
Francis B. Austin of Tempe has been
granted a patent on an amalgamator.
According to this invention currents OF
electricity are applied to the amalgarh-
ating plates to attract and hold fine
particles of gold the apparatus provid
ing an improved arrangement Of the
plates and mercury receiving pan. The
sluice through which the pulp ami
water passes has a full width bottom
opening adapted to receive copper pan
having inwardly extending and horizon
tai flanges at its sides, a cover plate rest
ing on the flanges, and the plate being
insulated from the pan. Spikes project
from both the plate and the pan, there
being in the pan quantity of mercury,
and means are provided for electrically
charging the cover plates and pan.